Was Romney Right About the 47 Percent or Will This Doom His Campaign?
Mother Jones released a video of Mitt Romney telling a private audience that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on the government and will never vote for him. Was this a ruinous gaffe, or has Romney told a hard political truth?
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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 those 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 said 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.
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.
(Editor's note: This question came from Jamaica Plain NY Patch.)
Pam J
9:35 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
He can spin it any way he wants, but the truth is what it is.
Tony
10:26 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
The truth hurts.
The Dems are trying to spin this in by saying Mitt is dismissing the 47%, Not what he said at all. As any smart businessman does. he uses statistics to know where to target a market and in this case, he sees that these 47% are NOT his target market and has no issue saying so.
And speaking of the video, does anyone else think it odd that it was secretly recorded by the UNEMPLOYED grandson of the worst President ever. Maybe he is trying his best to do whatever it takes to ensure his grandfather does not go down in history as the worst president by making someone else look bad. And this guy is in that 47%!!
JACQUE
10:49 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Romney was right about the 47% and that's what's wrong with this country. We need to rely more on ourselves and quit looking to the government to solve every little problem but having said that, many won't vote for someone who tells them they will have to get a job and support themselves instead of living off someone elses tax dollars. This is only a big deal because it's the truth. We need less government not more. I was once divorced with a sick young child and no child support coming in. I was working 2 jobs and when I asked what I could do to make my situation better I was told to quit my job and the government would take care of us, provide food, shelter, medical care, etc. I was way to proud to do this but a lot of people did and never looked back. That was 45 years ago and some of those people are still on the government dole and now their children and children's children are too. When will it stop? I say never if the system doesn't change!