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Mitt Romney hidden camera video
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OAW
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Sep 17, 2012, 02:27 PM
 
So apparently there's a hidden camera video making the rounds of Mitt Romney at a private fundraiser with wealthy donors. Where he made some rather "interesting" comments ....

Originally Posted by Mitt Romney
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. And I mean the President starts off with 48, 49 ... he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. So he’ll (President Obama) be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean, that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the five to ten percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not.
And in speaking of his Mexican born father he joked ....

Originally Posted by Mitt Romney
Had he been born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot of winning this."
The Obama Campaign has responded ....

Originally Posted by Jim Messina - Campaign Manager
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.
SECRET VIDEO: Romney Tells Millionaire Donors What He REALLY Thinks of Obama Voters | MotherJones.com

I'm certainly not surprised that this sort of mentality exists in the GOP. It's displayed around here quite often. I just find it quite telling that the nominee of a major political party for POTUS would be careless enough to make such politically tone-deaf statements out loud. I'm an Obama supporter. And I've never depended upon the government ... never thought I was "entitled" to government handouts ... and I damned sure pay a lot of taxes. And most Obama supporters I know have the same outlook. So f*ck you very much Mr. Romney. That's my personal reaction to his comments. Now I'm going to switch gears and put on my "political analysis" hat ....

The Romney campaign is already in trouble. If this story continues to get traction it just may sink it altogether. When did it become a good political strategy to essentially insult nearly half the US electorate? Did I not get that memo or something? When did it become a good political strategy to basically imply that Latinos would be supporting you in greater numbers if your father had Mexican blood ... simply because that would make you Latino as well ... regardless of your actual policies? If minorities actually thought like that Alan Keyes might have managed to win an election by now.

Something tells me that it's time to stick a fork in it ... because Romney's done. While he might be able to dismiss the "Mexican parents" comment as a joke ... I just don't see anyway for him to spin those other comments. This guy just can't seem to stop putting his foot in his mouth. He's been unable to shake the narrative that he's an "out of touch rich guy". And now we know why.

OAW

PS: Edited the 47% quote to reflect Romney's full remarks.
     
lpkmckenna
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Sep 17, 2012, 02:32 PM
 
Romney speaks with one face to all America, and another face to his millionaire buddies.

The Romney campaign will make the Goldwater campaign look like a brilliant success.
     
Chongo
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Sep 17, 2012, 02:46 PM
 
It sounds like he taking about trying to preach to the Democrat choir.
45/47
     
OAW  (op)
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Sep 17, 2012, 03:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
It sounds like he taking about trying to preach to the Democrat choir.
Consider this ....

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. ... My job is is not to worry about those people. winning their votes. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. should vote for me because I have a better plan for America."
Now THAT would have been a "no point in preaching to the Democrat choir" statement. And I daresay a much more "presidential" thing to say. But Mitt Romney went WAAAYYYYY beyond that.

OAW
     
OAW  (op)
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Sep 17, 2012, 03:45 PM
 
As expected, this is no longer a story in the political blogs. It's now the top story on a mainstream news outlet.

In Leaked Video, Romney Shows Disdain for Obama Voters, ‘Entitled’ ‘Victims’ | ABCNews.com

OAW
     
turtle777
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Sep 17, 2012, 04:19 PM
 
I don't see how this would be hurtful.

It's a fact that Obama voters are idiots.
It's also a fact that Romney voters are idiots.

Let's call it even.

-t
     
Demonhood
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Sep 17, 2012, 06:44 PM
 
I think it's mostly just about how wrong he is about the facts. Those 47% that don't pay income tax are all mindless moochers voting for Obama? Um, not so much:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/09/17/who_doesn_t_pay_taxes_.html


and

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3505

These figures cover only the federal income tax and ignore the substantial amounts of other federal taxes — especially the payroll tax — that many of these households pay. As a result, these figures greatly overstate the share of households that do not pay federal taxes. Tax Policy Center data show that only about 17 percent of households did not pay any federal income tax or payroll tax in 2009, despite the high unemployment and temporary tax cuts that marked that year.[5] In 2007, a more typical year, the figure was 14 percent. This percentage would be even lower if it reflected other federal taxes that households pay, including excise taxes on gasoline and other items.
Most of the people who pay neither federal income tax nor payroll taxes are low-income people who are elderly, unable to work due to a serious disability, or students, most of whom subsequently become taxpayers. (In years like the last few, this group also includes a significant number of people who have been unemployed the entire year and cannot find work.)
So most are paying payroll taxes, which means they have jobs. So they're not moochers. They're just not earning enough to hit the minimum for federal income taxes. But yeah, we should definitely dismiss their concerns because it's one uniform group of people (elderly, military, disabled, students, very poor, etc) who will always vote for Obama for some reason.
Nonsense.
     
besson3c
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Sep 17, 2012, 07:53 PM
 
If nothing more it was an incredibly dumb thing to say given that many welfare recipients are in the red flyover states that are likely to vote for him.
     
subego
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Sep 17, 2012, 08:16 PM
 
Well, he got us to stop talking about his tax returns.
     
ebuddy
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Sep 18, 2012, 03:16 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
I don't see how this would be hurtful.
It's a fact that Obama voters are idiots.
It's also a fact that Romney voters are idiots.
Let's call it even.
-t
Wait, that's not fair of either turtle. I don't think OAW is an idiot for supporting Obama and I certainly don't regard myself as an idiot. I think this will hurt Romney, but I think anything even remotely questionable will always hurt Romney more than Obama.

What's hurtful about Romney's statement is that he's absolutely correct, but the ol' Republican PR problem of attacking people instead of policy is going to get him.
ebuddy
     
Wiskedjak
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Sep 18, 2012, 04:18 AM
 
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
... the ol' Republican PR problem of attacking people instead of policy is going to get him.
When did this become a problem? To my memory, the Bush campaign didn't attack people. I really noticed it in the last election, though. On the other hand, maybe it's always been there and people like Romney don't yet realize that everyone has a video camera in their pockets these days?
     
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Sep 18, 2012, 05:48 AM
 
Originally Posted by Wiskedjak View Post
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
... the ol' Republican PR problem of attacking people instead of policy is going to get him.
When did this become a problem? To my memory, the Bush campaign didn't attack people.
I'm sure "Speedboat" Kerry would disagree.
     
andi*pandi
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Sep 18, 2012, 05:52 AM
 
SH, I think he meant attacking the people, aka the citizens, not the candidates.

Wow. That video was both incredibly smarmy (reasserting my belief that Romney is an a$$hole) and kind of oddly candid and straightforward. Behind the doors politics, strategy for aiming at the independent center. You can't insult Obama for fear of insulting these indies who voted for him. What a conundrum. Oh, and the market will magically rebound if Romney is elected, without them doing "anything" but who knows what will happen if Obama is relected. (wink wink).

I tell you, I pay taxes, I work for a living... if I was on the fence, being told that I'm a moocher would not sway me toward the Romney side.
     
Demonhood
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Sep 18, 2012, 06:29 AM
 
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
What's hurtful about Romney's statement is that he's absolutely correct...
Except for the part where he's not correct at all. At least on the math, the stats, or the reasoning. See above.
     
The Final Dakar
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Sep 18, 2012, 07:07 AM
 


Isn't that the stark contrast to the Embassy deaths smirk.
     
Shaddim
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Sep 18, 2012, 07:33 AM
 
It appears that no one is surprised that he feels that way, just that he said it. He's a schmuck, but I appreciate the candor.
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Mrjinglesusa
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Sep 18, 2012, 07:49 AM
 
Romney"] 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. ... My job is is not to worry about those people.[/quote]

Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
What's hurtful about Romney's statement is that he's absolutely correct, but the ol' Republican PR problem of attacking people instead of policy is going to get him.
You really believe he's "absolutely correct" that the people who support Obama are dependent on the government, believe they are victims, believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing and pay no income taxes?

There is no way to spin this...
     
The Final Dakar
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Sep 18, 2012, 08:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
It appears that no one is surprised that he feels that way, just that he said it. He's a schmuck, but I appreciate the candor.
It's an admittedly retarded thought, but I can't decide whether this look inside the rabbit hole is a good thing or not. I mean, I was all for transparency in the CFA thread, but all I feel like Romney's comments do is promote voter apathy rather than galvanize people to try to reform the system/politics.
     
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Sep 18, 2012, 08:16 AM
 
The Owe-bama Admin has openly advertised how to get more from the Government, so your argument is already blown.

The slums aren't filled with PHD's and successful business owners, but low IQ slackers and such. OWEBAMA VOTERS.

Thw OWS crowd, also big Owe-bama supporters seem to agree that the gov't owes them everything.

Union slacks with 100 weeks of unemployment under their fat belts are big Owe-bama supporters too.

Handouts sound great when you have no skills or ambition, but sit, feeling sorry for themselves and playing the victim.
     
The Final Dakar
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Sep 18, 2012, 08:20 AM
 
     
OAW  (op)
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Sep 18, 2012, 09:41 AM
 
Seriously people. At some point little things like facts have got to matter. Demonhood already posted the breakdown of this 47%. Romney is simply full of it .... because the fact that 47% of Americans pay no income tax was NOT his fundamental point. Oh yeah that's the way he's trying to spin it now but what else is he going to do? He certainly won't apologize because he's too spineless to stand up to the right-wing base of the GOP. No the ISSUE here ... the REASON why he's being so justifiably criticized ... is that he A) showed utter contempt and disdain for nearly half the population by essentially calling them "freeloading moochers", and B) equated them with Obama voters. But the REALITY is this ...

A. If 28.3 % of Americans pay no federal income tax but still pay payroll, state, and local taxes .... well then simple common sense should indicate that these are WORKING AMERICANS. These are not "freeloaders". These are not "moochers". These are people who go to work everyday but aren't paid enough to be subject to federal income taxation. And WHY does this situation even exist? Because of the incessant use of TAX CUTS as a solution to damned near every problem in Washington DC. Which is a phenomenon that crosses the aisle. But as we all know it's ESPECIALLY true of Republicans. Need I remind everyone that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) ... which the GOP has been knee-deep in since its inception ... is one of the largest anti-poverty programs in the country? That the Child Tax Credit ... created by the GOP ... is major contributor toward eliminating federal income tax on low to moderate income earners? And let's not even get into the GOP refusal to raise the minimum wage to keep up with inflation. That right there is the source of that 28.3%. Furthermore, 10.3 % are elderly Americans who have worked all their lives and are now retired living off of Social Security that they paid into for decades. So I suspect they don't appreciate a guy like Romney saying they consider themselves to be "victims" and "entitled". Are the 1% that are disabled and can't work at all "moochers" to our good friends on the right as well? So you are left with 6.9% who pay no taxes at all but they make under 20K. Many of these are high school or college students working part-time jobs. And if they are an adult they are well under the freaking poverty line. What exactly are they going to pay taxes with? How much in taxes should a guy making 12K a year from the only part-time job he could find pay exactly in order for you to feel better?

B. As I tried to explain earlier. Everyone who's a part of this 47% is NOT a Democrat. There are PLENTY of Republican voters who comprise this figure. Don't believe me? Why do you think the Romney campaign is going so hard after working-class white males without college degrees? Oh yeah it's a gang of them in the 47%. We probably even have some who hang around in these forums talking sh*t yet don't have sense enough to realize that Romney just dissed them too. And everyone who's a part of the other 53% are NOT Republicans. This notion that some on the right hold that the only people who work and pay taxes are conservatives ... and that everyone else are just a bunch of lazy, professional mailbox watchers who only believe in "government dependence" is some bullsh*t. So if the shoe fits .... you're a f*cking idiot. Yeah ... I said it.

But don't just take my word for it. Conservative opinion seems to be split on his comments. With those who are defending him taking the Romney tack and focusing on the "47% pay no federal income taxes" ... while conveniently being willfully obtuse with respect to A and B above. And there are those who are willing to criticize him for being dumb enough to INSULT nearly half the electorate ... including many of his own supporters .... partisanship notwithstanding. For instance ....

Originally Posted by David Brooks
This comment suggests a few things. First, it suggests that he really doesn’t know much about the country he inhabits. Who are these freeloaders? Is it the Iraq war veteran who goes to the V.A.? Is it the student getting a loan to go to college? Is it the retiree on Social Security or Medicare?

It suggests that Romney doesn’t know much about the culture of America. Yes, the entitlement state has expanded, but America remains one of the hardest-working nations on earth. Americans work longer hours than just about anyone else. Americans believe in work more than almost any other people. Ninety-two percent say that hard work is the key to success, according to a 2009 Pew Research Survey.

It says that Romney doesn’t know much about the political culture. Americans haven’t become childlike worshipers of big government. On the contrary, trust in government has declined. The number of people who think government spending promotes social mobility has fallen.

The people who receive the disproportionate share of government spending are not big-government lovers. They are Republicans. They are senior citizens. They are white men with high school degrees. As Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution has noted, the people who have benefited from the entitlements explosion are middle-class workers, more so than the dependent poor.

Romney’s comments also reveal that he has lost any sense of the social compact. In 1987, during Ronald Reagan’s second term, 62 percent of Republicans believed that the government has a responsibility to help those who can’t help themselves. Now, according to the Pew Research Center, only 40 percent of Republicans believe that.

The Republican Party, and apparently Mitt Romney, too, has shifted over toward a much more hyperindividualistic and atomistic social view — from the Reaganesque language of common citizenship to the libertarian language of makers and takers. There’s no way the country will trust the Republican Party to reform the welfare state if that party doesn’t have a basic commitment to provide a safety net for those who suffer for no fault of their own.
Thurston Howell Romney - NYTimes.com

Originally Posted by Bill Kristol
It's worth recalling that a good chunk of the 47 percent who don't pay income taxes are Romney supporters—especially of course seniors (who might well "believe they are entitled to heath care," a position Romney agrees with), as well as many lower-income Americans (including men and women serving in the military) who think conservative policies are better for the country even if they're not getting a tax cut under the Romney plan. So Romney seems to have contempt not just for the Democrats who oppose him, but for tens of millions who intend to vote for him.
A Note on Romney’s Arrogant and Stupid Remarks - WeeklyStandard.com

Both of these gentlemen are onto something. Imagine how swing voters who went for Obama in 2008 and may be rather disaffected with him today feel... now that Romney has said that they believe they are "victims" who don't take "personal responsibility for their lives" for no other reason than they voted for the President before? Romney may be a successful businessman. Even if it's of the Gordon Gekko variety. But he's not a very good politician for sure. Like the other thread said ... it's like he WANTS to lose.

OAW
     
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Sep 18, 2012, 11:16 AM
 
Originally Posted by Demonhood View Post
Except for the part where he's not correct at all. At least on the math, the stats, or the reasoning. See above.
ebuddy has a problem with graphs, pie charts etc.
     
OAW  (op)
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Sep 18, 2012, 11:22 AM
 
Well that certainly didn't take long. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.



[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUQ-j2sOA7c[/VIDEO]



OAW
     
subego
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Sep 18, 2012, 11:40 AM
 
Originally Posted by screener View Post
ebuddy has a problem with graphs, pie charts etc.
Completely unnecessary.
     
OAW  (op)
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Sep 18, 2012, 03:37 PM
 
And speaking of those who pay no federal income taxes, let's see how it breaks down by state:



OAW
     
turtle777
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Sep 18, 2012, 04:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
Wait, that's not fair of either turtle. I don't think OAW is an idiot for supporting Obama and I certainly don't regard myself as an idiot. I think this will hurt Romney, but I think anything even remotely questionable will always hurt Romney more than Obama.
What's hurtful about Romney's statement is that he's absolutely correct, but the ol' Republican PR problem of attacking people instead of policy is going to get him.
If you care about this country, you can't care about neither of these clowns.

Both of them will perpetuate the common DC fu*kery.

-t
     
ebuddy
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Sep 18, 2012, 04:51 PM
 
Originally Posted by Demonhood View Post
Except for the part where he's not correct at all. At least on the math, the stats, or the reasoning. See above.
To be clear, he couldn't have delivered this message more sloppily. I've long-maintained that the US is center-right and I can't imagine a way Romney's numbers are accurate. About the only thing I could say in his defense is that we are at a place where nearly half the popular vote believes the government should do more, probably closer to 40%.

On the other hand, I believe Romney is entirely accurate about the concern and he obviously wanted his donors to know that he wasn't going to waste their resources on an impossible bloc of voters. I'm not sure how he figured it'd be worth a bid for President without 47% of the vote, but...

The segment of the popular vote that wants government to do more will naturally have a better rapport with our President. When considered along those actively using the services, you have a strong voting bloc for whomever stumps on perpetuating the services. i.e. voting immigrants close to illegal immigrants understandably do not want them deported for seeking medical care for example, younger folks don't want less tuition assistance, those on Medicare do not want less Medicare, those using EBT cards do not want a decrease in benefits, etc... not unlike people wanting lower taxes, Corporations wanting benefits and/or bailouts, etc. The problem is, there is a lacking balance and one will inevitably alienate the other; one of which provides the lion's share of the resources necessary to fund the services. Any attempt to even slow the rate of growth on enter program here is an "attack" on the recipients of that program. Perception wins the day and the republican once again fails to do the PR on it.
ebuddy
     
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Sep 18, 2012, 04:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
If you care about this country, you can't care about neither of these clowns.
Both of them will perpetuate the common DC fu*kery.
-t
Agree with this 100%. How does this get fixed?
     
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Sep 18, 2012, 05:48 PM
 
More conservative fallout from Romney's comments .....

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told campaign donors that Palestinians are “committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel” and are uninterested in peace, in a video from a private fundraiser in May posted today by Mother Jones magazine.

In the video, Romney discounted the prospects for Middle East peace between Israel and the Palestinians, a goal that has been sought for decades by presidents from both parties.

“You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem,” Romney says. “And we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it.”

Romney said that a former U.S. secretary of state, whom he didn’t name, had told him that there was a chance for a “settlement” between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Romney said he didn’t pursue that discussion with the former official.

“I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say there’s just no way,” Romney said in the video, which Mother Jones said was recorded at May 17, $50,000 per-plate fundraiser at the home of private-equity executive Marc Leder in Boca Raton, Florida.


Romney’s comments will limit his ability to fault President Barack Obama’s handing of the Israeli-Palestinian tensions, said Richard Armitage, former U.S. deputy secretary of state under George W. Bush.

“It’s difficult to criticize the president and his Middle East policy on the one hand, and then suggest, on the other hand, that the best you can do is kick the ball down the street,” he said in a telephone interview today.
Romney Told Donors Palestinians Won’t Embrace Israel Peace | SFGate.com

OAW
     
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Sep 18, 2012, 06:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
What's hurtful about Romney's statement is that he's absolutely correct, but the ol' Republican PR problem of attacking people instead of policy is going to get him.
Except that Romney is just plain wrong in the matter: even though the first part of his claim, 47 % do not pay income tax, is correct, his insinuation that 47 % are freeloaders and live off of the other 53 % is wrong. Of those 47 %, the vast majority are retirees and those who earn too little to have to pay federal income tax. E. g. for a 2+2 family with one earner, you need to bring home at least ~$46k to have to pay federal income tax, and 93.4 % of Americans make under $50k. At minimum wage, you literally have to work 24/7 for 260 days/year to earn that much. So, people have been attacking the message rather than the messenger. Note that tax breaks are part of the reason why 47 % do not pay taxes.

I hate when politicians feel the need to resort to factually incorrect »feel good« statements to try to garner support.
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Sep 18, 2012, 06:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by OAW View Post
More conservative fallout from Romney's comments .....
Romney Told Donors Palestinians Won’t Embrace Israel Peace | SFGate.com
OAW
That probably is 100% correct, though. After the antics in the ME of late, I'm again starting to think that nuking the largest population centers may not be a bad idea.

Hey, DC nuckfuts! Pull out of the ME, use the oil over here, and let the primitive bastards tear each other to pieces. All the Jews can just come here for a while, enjoy Florida, then go back in a decade or so after those f***wits have all butchered each other. Sure, they'll charge more for the oil than the Arabs, they're Jewish, but at least they won't try to blow your shit up over movies, books, and Madonna videos.
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ebuddy
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Sep 19, 2012, 02:48 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
If you care about this country, you can't care about neither of these clowns.
Both of them will perpetuate the common DC fu*kery.
-t
This has come up before and we just disagree. I think cabinet appointments and Supreme Court appointments matter, not to mention a different message and representation coming from the office. I believe these two candidates differ enough from one another that a choice still matters.

Granted, it's not the complete do-over some wanted to be sure, but then I think it's pretty naive to assume the do-over candidate will get anywhere that wouldn't just make the current setup appear diligent and organized. I'm not interested in ushering in a do-over for my grandkids to figure out or divorce myself from the process entirely just because I was feeling all anti-establishment during the election of 2012.
ebuddy
     
ebuddy
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Sep 19, 2012, 03:01 AM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Except that Romney is just plain wrong in the matter: even though the first part of his claim, 47 % do not pay income tax, is correct, his insinuation that 47 % are freeloaders and live off of the other 53 % is wrong. Of those 47 %, the vast majority are retirees and those who earn too little to have to pay federal income tax. E. g. for a 2+2 family with one earner, you need to bring home at least ~$46k to have to pay federal income tax, and 93.4 % of Americans make under $50k. At minimum wage, you literally have to work 24/7 for 260 days/year to earn that much. So, people have been attacking the message rather than the messenger. Note that tax breaks are part of the reason why 47 % do not pay taxes.
I hate when politicians feel the need to resort to factually incorrect »feel good« statements to try to garner support.
If you listen to the full statement, he alludes more to what I've been saying; that nearly half believe government should be doing more in general. He's lumping all different sorts in together and this is why I refer to it as sloppy, but the fact remains -- this bloc of voters will have a better rapport with our President. As this bloc grows, anyone recommending cuts in the rate of growth for this program or that will be met with accusations of hatred and the perception will win-out.

ebuddy quatrain 1:3; We'll continue to make promises we can't keep until we begin to literally pull them in a fiscal emergency; woe to us as there will be a great gnashing of teeth and rioting in the streets when the cuts come down.
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Sep 19, 2012, 10:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Completely unnecessary.
Yeah, it was.
     
BadKosh
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Sep 19, 2012, 11:56 AM
 
And it 'seems' the clip has a missing portion of almost 2 minutes.

Was that Jimmy Carter 4's fault?

DID HE erase the parts that make Owe-bama look bad.
You'll have to ask Carter.
     
subego
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Sep 19, 2012, 12:22 PM
 
If only Romney had some way he could communicate his opinions of Obama to the public.
     
lpkmckenna
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Sep 19, 2012, 03:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
After the antics in the ME of late, I'm again starting to think that nuking the largest population centers may not be a bad idea.
That's because you're an idiot.

C'mon mods, you have to admit he deserves that insult!
     
Shaddim
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Sep 19, 2012, 06:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by lpkmckenna View Post
That's because you're an idiot.
C'mon mods, you have to admit he deserves that insult!
So is yo' mama, and she's fat and fugly too!

Hey, acting like I'm 10 is fun! I can see why you do it so much.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
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besson3c
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Sep 19, 2012, 06:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post

So is yo' mama, and she's fat and fugly too!
Hey, acting like I'm 10 is fun! I can see why you do it so much.
It was kind of a dumb thing to say. There are millions and millions of innocent people in the middle east.
     
Shaddim
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Sep 19, 2012, 07:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
It was kind of a dumb thing to say. There are millions and millions of innocent people in the middle east.
The idiocy here is, you (and Guardian up there) think I'm serious when I've stated, many times in the past, that I'm anti-capital punishment.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
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Sep 19, 2012, 07:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by Wiskedjak View Post
Agree with this 100%. How does this get fixed?
I'm very pessimistic about a fix that would prevent a big blow-up.

Politicians are just not interested in doing what's really right.
They'll kick the can down the road until it's too late.

Best case: we'll have another economic depression that will really wake DC up to change its ways.

Worst case: a bloody revolution.

-t
     
besson3c
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Sep 19, 2012, 07:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post

The idiocy here is, you (and Guardian up there) think I'm serious when I've stated, many times in the past, that I'm anti-capital punishment.
I don't keep a journal of your viewpoints. Why not just say what you mean?
     
Shaddim
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Sep 19, 2012, 09:03 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
I don't keep a journal of your viewpoints.
You should, I keep a decent track of the positions of the people in this forum. It isn't that tricky.

Why not just say what you mean?
Like how you always speak in literal terms?
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
ebuddy
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Sep 20, 2012, 03:36 AM
 
Originally Posted by screener View Post
Yeah, it was.
Meaning, yeah it was -- completely unnecessary. Why the attack on me anyway? Because you disagree? Did you learn this tolerance for dissent from our Great Uniter in Chief?
ebuddy
     
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Oct 5, 2012, 09:49 AM
 
Looks like now that the polls have shown his comments were killing him with swing voters Romney has finally decided to backtrack instead of continuing to double down in order appease the Tea Party crowd ...

Mitt Romney said he was "completely wrong" when he argued that nearly half of Americans were "victims" and dependent on government.

The admission came Thursday as the GOP presidential candidate sought to clarify his controversial "47%" comments.

"Clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right," Romney said on Fox News. "In this case, I said something that's just completely wrong."


Last month, secretly recorded video of Romney at a May fundraiser showed the Republican candidate saying 47% of Americans will vote for President Barack Obama "no matter what."

"There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."

The non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimates that for tax year 2011, 46% of households will end up owing nothing in federal income taxes. But if payroll taxes are counted, the number of non-payer households drops precipitously - to an estimated 18% in 2011.

Adding to his argument about entitlement, Romney said his "job is not to worry about those people."
"I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives," he added.

"What I have to do is convince the 5 percent to 10 percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful."

After the videos, which were posted on the progressive news website Mother Jones, caught fire, Romney called a last-minute press conference with pool reporters while he was in California at the time.

The former Massachusetts governor acknowledged the comments were "off the cuff" and "not elegantly stated," but he defended the main point of the message, saying he was criticizing the increasing size of government and entitlement programs.

"We have a very different approach – the president and I – between a government-dominated society and a society driven by free people pursuing their dreams," Romney said.

The following day, Romney still stuck by his comments and elaborated on the logistical reasoning behind his remarks.

"We were of course talking about a campaign and how he is going to get close to half the vote," Romney said. "I'm going to get half the vote, I hope, I want to get 50.1% or more. Frankly we have two very different views about America."

In the first presidential debate Wednesday, Obama surprised political observers by not going after Romney on the comments, as he has on the campaign trail in the last two weeks.

On Fox News Thursday night, Romney was asked what he would have said if the president had brought up the controversial statements–which is when the GOP nominee went as far as to say he was "wrong."

He then argued that, if elected, he would represent all Americans, not just half.


"I absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that I care about 100% and that's been demonstrated throughout my life. And this whole campaign is about the 100%. When I become president, it will be helping the 100%."
Romney on 47% comments: I was 'completely wrong' - CNN.com

OAW
     
lpkmckenna
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Oct 5, 2012, 01:43 PM
 
An insincere non-apology. Especially since, two days ago, Ryan said the "correct figure" is 30%, not 47%.
     
   
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