Was Romney Right About the 47 Percent?
The Republican presidential nominee spoke in Atlanta today, just days after controversial comments from an earlier campaign fundraiser appeared on a video.
Videos
A secret video obtained by Mother Jones magazine has rocked the political world. In that video, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims, are dependent on the government and will never vote for him. He went further, saying he wasn't worried about them. The magazine released a portion of the video Monday.
In a late night press conference Monday, Romney said the comments were not "elegantly stated," but were part of a larger conversation about the role of personal responsibility. Romney went on to say the comments were a reflection on "the political process of winning an election, and, of course, I want to help all Americans — all Americans — have a bright and prosperous future."
Mother Jones later released the full video.
In a campaign fundraising appearance in Atlanta Wednesday, Romney continued to defend the outline of his argument -- that too many Americans are dependent on government -- while vowing to find alternatives to what Democratic President Barack Obama is offering:
“The question of this campaign is not who cares about the poor and middle class. I do, he does. The question is who can help the poor and middle class. I can, he can’t, he couldn’t in four years.”
Do you think the video shows Romney's true feelings about half of the American electorate, or was this an out-of-context snippet? Will this hurt Romney's chances of willing the election, or is it one blip in a very long campaign? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
CM
7:29 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
This video is not "secret" it is surreptitious and it is not complete. The editor of Mother Jones, David Corn admitted that a portion of this video is missing and here is his quote to attorney William Jacobson of the blog Legal Insurrection. The quote is as follows "According to the source, the recording device inadvertently turned off. The source noticed this quickly and turned it back on. The source estimates that one to two minutes, maybe less, of recording was missed."
David Corn ran this edited video and released to the world without clarification and I know why.... the continuing meme that Romney is out of touch with the middle class and thus, unelectable. Here is the link http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/09/critical-audio-gap-in-complete-romney-tape-released-by-mother-jones/
Though I agree with Romney's words, the missing portion of video is critical and thus crucial to Mother Jones' "secret video" in determining proper context of the video which you cannot get without all of Romney's words. Why did David Corn of Mother Jones only release this information when confronted? I am sure I know...
Deonka
9:40 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
I understand Romneys stance on people not being government dependent. But for him to just toss those people aside was wrong. There are so many people on government assistance since the financial plunge. We need not think of them as lazy individuals looking for a handout. Now my family has money and always has. And we've worked hard for our comfortable living. I don't believe I should be told what to do with my money. But I also feel it's not fair that I pay a lower tax than people who make a lot less than I do. I am willing to pay more, but not willing to let government rule my world.