Mother Jones has the story behind a collection of video shorts of Mitt Romney talking to donors at a private fundraiser.
From Mother Jones:
During a private fundraiser earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a small group of wealthy contributors what he truly thinks of all the voters who support President Barack Obama. He dismissed these Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don’t assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them. Fielding a question from a donor about how he could triumph in November, Romney replied:
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.
Romney went on: “[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
Jim Messina, Obama for America campaign manager, issues a statement:
It’s shocking that a candidate for President of the United States would go behind closed doors and declare to a group of wealthy donors that half the American people view themselves as “victims,” entitled to handouts, and are unwilling to take ‘personal responsibility’ for their lives. It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation.
Andrew Sullivan notes:
This is a major coup for Mother Jones and you should read the whole thing and watch the videos from a private fundraiser earlier this year. The contempt for 47 percent of Americans as parasites is really quite something.
Slate’s Dave Weigel observes:
There’s a lot here, but the main problem for Romney is that he goes even further than Perry in his critique of the people who don’t pay income taxes. “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what,” he says. “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’re hopeless. “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
Got that? Romney is conflating the people who pay no net income tax with the people so dependent on government aid that they have to vote for Obama. But these aren’t the same people! Most of the “lucky duckies,” to use the classic WSJ term, are old people who subsist on Social Security. Elderly voters broke big for Republicans in 2010. Scores of poor whites who benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit vote for Republicans.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2012.
Jim,
Here is a link to a great article breaking down the numbers on who pays federal income taxes and why;
http://www.logarchism.com/2012/04/14/meme-watch-the-half-who-dont-pay-taxes/
Romney just can’t help but put his foot in his mouth and has displayed a complete absence of leadership skills and seems to lack any sagacity with both international and domestic issues. Everything is in his favor in terms of our economic situation (the number 1 predictor of presidential elections since the 1940’s) but he just F’s it up at every turn.
This is only a coup in the minds of those who won’t vote for Romney anyway. Beyond that, I guess that you can’t handle the truth.
@Pay: That 47% includes all retirees and anyone paying payroll taxes instead of income taxes.
Here’s the chart showing the 47% Mr. Romney is referring to (and a compilation of ’round-the-web reactions):
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/20…
He expressed pretty clearly his opinion that all retirees and anyone who pays payroll taxes instead of income taxes are freeloaders and therefore (again, in his opinion) will vote for Obama. Tax-paying, undecided voters in those categories should find that quite insulting.
Here’s a good explanation of the difference between payroll and income taxes: http://www.quora.com/Whats-the-difference-…
Users of government are victims? Wow.
Nobody is allowed to drive beyond their driveway. Stay away from the library, figure out your own garbage collection, and educate your own kid.
Oh well. Romney never really said he was here for ALL Americans. Just the 53% he wants to vote for him. This “victim” is disabled from sever Rhuem. Arthritis. This “victim” worked her ass off for 30yrs and paid into the system. This “victim” spent almost 2 years fighting to get disability. This “victim” must live below the poverty line just so she can have health insurance that would otherwise be unattainable….and w/out she would be dead. This “victim” lives the high life on less than $1000mo. That’s for rent/bills/groceries etc. Oh yeah, I purposely live “this” close to homelessness because I think I’m “ENTITLED”.
In Southern Arizona the percent might well be higher than Romney’s disdained 47. If one counts Raytheon (other employer of Frank Rantenori), Border Patrol, DMAFB, Ft. Huachuca…
I am retired and I pay income tax.
It goes to show you Romney was born w/out a brain, it makes him a Scarecrow a straw-man. He really has no idea of what he is saying……and people what to vote for him?
Romney has been sucking off the tit of the Government his whole life if you want to look at it that way. In the early 90’s Bain was bailed-out and he played the bank against the government for $30 million bucks…..So why won’t he release his tax information? It will cost him the election.
Thank goodness, I must not be part of the 47% loafers and leeches that Romney detests. Even though I’m retired I still pay Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, state and local sales taxes, various excise taxes, etc.
This man has such a contemptuous view of people outside his own class he would do better to run for mayor of the Hamptons.
How deluded can people be to actually believe that their entire life functions and has always functioned independently of some kind of government program or another?