You probably know about that secret video of Mitt Romney talking to some well-heeled donors earlier this year. Mother Jones has uploaded some clips, and promises more.
Now, I'm not at all convinced that this will have much impact -- not even the most inflammatory of the clips, the one in which Romney basically describes every Obama voter, and everyone who depends on government programs, as a parasite, and equates the two. Obviously, this should offend a lot of people -- but remember, many Americans who use government programs don't think they do, and even many of the people who strongly approve of those programs engage in a sort of doublethink -- they accept benefits while declaring that they think self-reliance is much more admirable than using benefits. So I'm not sure it's devastating for Romney, as a lot of people believe:
There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what...These are people who pay no income tax.This is clearly based on
a meme started by conservative blogger Erick Erickson, who has noted that only 53 percent of Americans pay federal income taxes. Erickson argued that the rest of the country, and in particular the Occupy Wall Street movement, should "suck it up you whiners."But I want to ask Romney (and Erickson and most of Wingnuttia) this: If everyone who's not paying income tax right now is perfectly content to live with little or no income, why does America have an unemployment rate above zero?
Remember, the most widely publicized measure of unemployment -- the one that's at 8.1% now -- consists of people who are not only unemployed but looking for work. The Romney/Erickson formula presumes that everyone who's not making enough money to pay income taxes is a fat, happy, contented slacker. If that's true, why are any of the unemployed in the labor market? Why are they writing resumes and applying for jobs rather than wallowing in indolence? Why isn't the unemployment rate 0.0%?
Governor Romney, your thoughts?
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UPDATE: Alex Pareene makes my first point more succinctly:
good luck convincing any white american that they're in "the 47%" romney's talking about
— Alex Pareene (@pareene) September 17, 2012
Steve, there seems to be an inherent contradiction in your attitude towards Romney. On the one hand, you almost always say that any gaffe, untoward remark or outright lie he peddles won't hurt him because Americans basically believe the lies are true. On the other hand, you appear to accept the notion Romney is very much disliked. If so, WHY do you think he's disliked?
ReplyDeleteHe's socially awkward and he radiates an utter lack of empathy. Also, he threw in his lot with the modern GOP, which is mean and vindictive.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the things in the past week or so that were supposed to doom his campaign just didn't seem to me as if they'd strike ordinary voters as outrageously offensive -- the response to the embassy attacks and now this. Voters may disapprove of his comments, but I just don't think the moments are turning points. (I think we already see that with his embassy comments -- he's not losing more ground in tracking polls, which he would be if that doomed his campaign, even though the Pew poll says voters disapprove.)
I'm not saying he won't have a campaign-killing moment -- I just don't think these two moments qualify.
On the other hand, saying that it would be helpful to his campaign if he were Latino (as he does in another clip) really might significantly reduce his already low level of Hispanic support.
ReplyDeleteIf there IS such a thing a competent Conservative, he/she would probably be winning.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, Mitt is B/NOT/b a competent Conservative, President Obama has a decent chance of reelection.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteUhm...
What was that tip again on how to BOLD something?
You put a b between these(<>) at the start of the part you want bolded, and then you put this() with a b between the forward slash and the 2nd (>) where you want the bolding to end.
ReplyDelete<>
ReplyDeleteI personally think that the best way to deal with this is to tie it back to Mitt Romney's refusal for not paying taxes.
ReplyDeleteTo be more exact his tax returns/
ReplyDeleteI dunno, I'm a white American and the comment kind of bothered me.
ReplyDeleteRetirees, children, the disabled.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot.
And guys like Mitt!
Let's see...
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, <> not only doesn't bold, it makes whatever was inside disappear.
ReplyDeleteLet me try it again.
It's < followed by a small b followed by >. No spaces.
ReplyDeletethen to close the bold it's < followed by / followed by a small b followed by >. No spaces.
Do that to MITT SUCKS and you get MITT SUCKS.
ReplyDeleteMitt sneered at people who think they are entitled to have food to eat...at a banquet for rich people. I realize you like to play the contrarian Steve, but even Eeyore couldn't find bad news in this Mittastrophe.
ReplyDeleteBesides, you omitted the ugliest part of his comments - where he said that you can never get the 47% to take responsibility for their own lives.
I'm not saying this is good news for Romney -- I'm just saying I'm not sure it will move the polls in any meaningful way, because we already seem to have half a country that doesn't regard what Romney said as particularly outrageous.
ReplyDeleteI'm just trying to see it through those people's eyes.
Yup, and I understood your point. But there are major inherent problems for Romney.
ReplyDeleteHe's campaigning on lowering taxes, and refuses to prove how much he pays, but complains about ordinary voters paying too little. He says his policies aren't harsh toward the poor, and yet he demonizes and dismisses the poorer half of the country. He says that it's Obama who failed to unite the country, and yet he writes off 49.9% of us. He's proud of what his healthcare law achieved in MA, but he sneers at people who think they're entitled to
healthcare (and food).
And on top of all that, Romney tries in the most ridiculously dishonest way to walk his statements back...esp. the most inflammatory one, that those people will never take responsibility for their lives.
I think there is a hard core of maybe 35% who will embrace pretty much any mean and crazy GOP talking point. But Romney now has another almost 10% of support above that level which is capable of being shocked by his extremism.