First Romney insults 47 percent, then your intelligence

Posted on Monday, October 08, 2012 at 10:07 AM

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GOP candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

I was 'completely wrong' to say that 47% of the American people are victims and moochers, 'dependent on the government ' Mitt Romney told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday night.

To recap, first Romney admitted he said it, then he defended saying it, then he said that it was completely indefensible.

Take your pick from the Etch-A-Sketch candidate.

'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 reassured a rapidly nodding Hannity. 'In this case, I said something that's just completely wrong.'

At the moment, he might have added. I'll get back to you if the polls change.

A week earlier of course Romney was talking about President Obama like this: '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.'

Entitled to health care, food and housing. Why the nerve of those poor people. They really ought to be homeless, hungry and destitute and what a lesson that will be for them.

But Romney has bluntly stated - and I think even his supporters still take him at his word - that his 'job is not to worry about those people.'

And I think that may be the most candid statement of his entire political career. He said this at a $50,000 dollar a seat dinner after all, among the kind of people he is himself, and he never thought he would hear himself quoted afterward.

So first he insulted half the nation, then he defended insulting them, and now he's just content to insult their intelligence. That's what progress looks like, Romney style.

Meanwhile the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September.

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patrickesq | Oct 08, 2012, 11:21 AM EDT

Just as he did in the Republican primaries, Romney will say anything he thinks will gain him votes to win the election (or raise more money from his well-to-do supporters}. Inconsistent representations usually earn a label of incredibility, which is how Romney should be viewed .

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jflanagan | Oct 08, 2012, 11:02 AM EDT

Many are aghast and confused on how a man with such great speaking skills, President Obama, could have been so bad at the debate. The difference is in 2008 he really believed huge government policies would save the economy. Now, after almost 4 years of a terrible economy he sees those policies don't work and if he doesn't believe in them anymore his basic goodness won't let him show fake exuberance for the failed policies. I don't think he is evil, just someone who was taught left leaning policies were the answer for all ills and now has been disillusioned when they didn't work as promised.

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5generationsago | Oct 08, 2012, 10:16 AM EDT

Cahir, Perhaps you should move to Ireland where the government supports only 40% of the population (and where the other 60% who earn a living are trying to find ways to leave.) Obama's reported unemployment figures are bogus, they are magically improving as the election draws near. They have decided to stop counting people as unemployed who have not worked for over two years. The effective unemployment rate in the midwest is over 9.5%. Finally, Obama raised $180M in September, much of it at lunches and dinners exceeding $50,000 per plate. In return his supporters are selected as winners for all kinds of handouts ($90 Billion to green energy for example) On that subject did you know that Manure Shoveling is classified as a "green job". Find comfort in the fact that the US government considers your work in that profession to be environmentally responsible.

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5generationsago | Oct 08, 2012, 10:03 AM EDT

The problem is that he was right the first time. 47% ARE dependent on government money of some type. And there's nothing wrong with stating it. And that 47% AREN'T going to vote for anyone who doesn't promise them more cash. So he was entirely right in what he said. It just isn't a politically correct thing to state in public.

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PhlutiePhan | Oct 08, 2012, 09:58 AM EDT

You can do all in your power to build Romney into an elitist snob. On the other side of the coin, Obama is a radical and I mean radical world socialist who believes in the "redistribution of wealth". In order to pay the 47% who are entitled (government fact), someone has to generate wealth to pay the taxes to pay for the entitlements. Sure, you can pay bribes to 47% and then appeal to radical women to win the election. However, somewhere the Piper will come calling in the name of rampant inflation just like in the well meaning Carter Administration.

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