Doug Johnson @ Wizbang:
That scandal is Mitt Romney talking candidly with supporters at a private fundraising diner caught on video.
Long-time partisan hack David Corn is trying to get traction for a series of unremarkable secret Mitt Romney videos by distorting the actual words spoken on the video – leaving some out of his story at Mother Jones – to make a story appear more sinister than the videos on their own are. Here’s Corn’s partisan spin:
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.”Instead of relying on the veracity of that transcription you can just watch the video. It’s kind of important…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnB0NZzl5HA[/youtube]
Notice anything?
The “[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.” quotes are made in the context of the voters he has to reach. He’s telling supporters why certain themes work and others don’t, especially as it relates to Obama’s core supporters. To understand the context you need to see the next video, one that Corn fully transcribes instead of selectively editing.
Context is so important.
Thanks.
I had been wondering what else was said.
MITT ROMNEY WILL WIN , no matter what the opponent try to pin on him,
they are playing dirty, that is who they are and those liars will fall,
because AMERICA HAS THEIR EYES OPEN TO THEIR AGENDA WHICH IS TO FINISH THE DOWNFALL OF THIS AMERICA.
we are contemplating it in the MIDDLE EAST NOW BURNING OBAMA IMAGE SEEING HIM AS A LIAR,
So what’s the big deal about the context of his speech. It was the same offensive indictment of 47% of the population as blood-sucking ticks, regardless of the context of his words.
@liberal1(objectivity):
But it’s OK for the left to call the uninsured freeloaders?
Of course it isn’t as cut and dry as Romney makes it out to be.
I know loads of folks who have been forced by Obama’s abysmal economic policies into (hopefully) temporarily accepting gov’t assistance of one sort or more.
Not only are they anxious to get OFF THE DOLE, they are also anxious to get Obama OUT OF OFFICE!
So, technically, they are part of that 47% Romney spoke of.
But, in reality, their loyalty has not been bought with a mere bowl of pottage (see Genesis 25:29-34).
Too bad Obama doesn’t actually KNOW his Bible, huh?
I like the way it was explained by David Brooks:
– LW/HB
This is a continual problem with Republicans, and most generally the Establishment type. They can’t get it through their heads that they have hostile media and Democratic operatives who are out to get them. Their words will be taken out of context and used against them. They have to think of how they can get their point across while limiting the ammunition that their opponents can use against them.
Romney can not win by jumping into this class warfare battle that the Democrats want to wage with him. And it is frankly stupid for him to try. His campaign handlers are trying to play the same kind of method that McCain did, and “nice-guy” politics is not going to beat the Obama machine. This exactly why he was a poor choice, but many Republicans allowed the Democratic MSM to convince them that a milquetoast moderate Republican was what they needed to beat Obama. Romney’s campaign needs to get their heads out of their arses and fight the Obama smoke and mirrors with details on:
How they are going to fix the economy.
How their policies will create American jobs.
How their policies will bring a more peaceful middle-east.
They need to explain exactly how Obama’s regulatory machine is stifling business.
What their energy policy will be, and how it will improve the economy.
They should also show how Obama has expanded the power of the Executive branch and bureaucracy, bypassing the legislative power of Congress and Constitutional separation of powers and giving it to unelected agency bureaucrats.
The people who the Government Should be helping are our Elders, Mentally ill, Physically disabled and dirt poor [ there are a lot of rural communities with poor] … Everyone else, is just living on the Government teat and are free Loading off the Taxpayer…..Anyone with common sense knows that… except for the Liberals and the Left because they are in denial.
Mitt Romney has Hit the Nail on the Head and, although the “Truth Hurts the “feelings” of the Liberals/Progressives/Democrats” …. The “Truth is” Socialism is a FAILED ideology and the Left /Progs/Dems…. can’t or won’t admit it…because they are in perpetual denial…
Out of the context of a private fundraiser attended by highly affluent donors focused on their own interests, and in the context of the America that the remaining 90 or 95 percent of the population lives in?
I saw an airing on Judge Judy one time….There was a doofy moron about 23 yrs old and [I believe] ‘he’ was being sued. Well, during the course of the Trial, it came out that this idiot was getting SSI Diability to the tune of $900.00 a month!! And even Judge Judy though this was “suspect” because of his “alleged” illness… it was something that was not THAT debilitating [he made it to court didn’t he? was standing, speaking, and alert..] I think Judge Judy turned him in later on as a Fraud… at least .she made a claim to that effect…
My Aunt is 93 years old [has old age disabilities but her mind is there] she WORKED all her life….she is Lucky to get $500.00 a Month DUE her because she contributed to her “own” SSI account all her working life….SSI = a Fraud perpetuated by our Government.
And the Judge Judy moron [above ] who most likely never worked or worked a minimum in his life until he figured out how to scam the system…. gets $900.00 a month off the teat of the taxpayer…
WOW! There’s no disparity there!
So, Liberals, who exactly is scamming who?
Nan It’s better when Romney is taken out of context. Seems his “in context” hurts even worse lol
Hi Faith, You say:
We didn’t have a financial meltdown because of guys like this. We didn’t have a financial meltdown because of neer-do-wells on food stamps. The total amount of money spent on the undeserving poor is a pittance, compared to the money lost to wealthy tax cheats and crony capitalists. Once, just once, I’d love to see even a single F/A post about some rich guy or some rich corporation who/which was cheating on taxes and/or gaming the crony capitalist system.
People cheat. It’s a fact of life. There are poor cheats and there are rich cheats. When some people have the chance to cheat, they do, whether rich or poor. Only the rich get away with it much more often and the cost of rich cheating dwarfs that of poor cheating.
Rich cheating can even be extended to include wasteful defense programs, such as the Bradley fighting vehicle and the F-22 fighter jet.
But it’s so easy to find and condemn outrageous behavior in a few poor cheats and use this as a talking point to denigrate a vast swatch of the population and use it as an excuse to cut assistance to people who need it.
Romney said that 47% of the population of the USA are freeloading neer-do-wells. It wasn’t out of context; it was entirely in context.
David Brooks may not be a “true conservative” in the minds of many, but he’s someone who really does understand true conservatism and how true conservatism is not the same thing as Darwinian libertarianism. It’s good that Romney has exposed himself as being a Darwinian libertarian capitalist. That is an entirely legitimate form of capitalism, and people who want that form of capitalism now have the opportunity to vote for it, after being forced to endure a long series of compassionate conservative GOP Presidents. It’s also good that the undecided independents will now have a better understanding of the choice between the two candidates in 2012.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA
@FAITH7, #10
The first thing you might want to find out about is the fundamental difference between Social Security and SSI. One is based upon the FICA taxes paid in; the other is a needs-based program designed to provide basic subsistence income to impoverished blind, disabled, and elderly people–a task that the Federal Government took over from the states, because so many weren’t tending to their responsibilities adequately. The Social Security Administration manages both programs, in addition to Medicare.
Crony capitalism? One need look no further than obama and his administration. Yet you still love him.
Larry, the F22 was hardly a wasteful program and we will find that out the hard way in coming conflicts. Take a look at the latest Russian and Chinese fighters that will be exported. We were very wrong to think it would take so long for them to be fielded. Not to mention the Chinese and Russians have been working very hard on SAM technology. The F35 is not going to cut it.
I am sick of Democrat talking heads trying to make this about the “poor” seniors who get Social Security and how Mitt Romney is bashing them for not paying taxes.
THEY PAY TAXES, and here is why:
most employees who are currently retiring, or have retired in the last few years, that worked for companies like AT&T, the auto industry, etc will get in a range of $1,800/2,200/month in Social Security benefits at age 65. Their spouses will be able to draw their own SS benefits, or even if they have not paid into the system the required 40 quarters, will be able to draw, at age 65, 50% of their spouses benefits. So you do the math:
a guy retires from a UAW job at age 65 and draws $1,800 a month. His wife will draw at least $900/month. That is $2,700 a month or $32,400 a year and they will be required to file income taxes on that amount. Let’s assume that by now their home is paid for, they have no minor children at home and the only deductions available to them are the standard $3,600 per person ($7,200 per couple) and the standard $11,600 personal deduction. 85% of that level of Social Security income is taxable, so do the math:
32,400 x .85 = $27,540 minus $18,800 ($72,00 + $11,600) = $8,740 AGI. They will be in the 10% bracket and will pay $874.00 in federal income tax.
So this meme that seniors on Social Security don’t pay taxes is bogus. If a man is drawing Social Security, and his wife is still working (which is not unusual) his 85% of his Social Security benefits are added to her income for a “net income.” Chances are that will put his Social Security benefits in the 25% tax range.
Also, here is another little dirty secret the Democrats won’t tell you: when you become eligible for Medicare, if you take Medicare Part B, which you need, you are charged for Medicare Part B. That charge, currently ususally around $96/month, is deducted from your Social Security payment each month, but when the government sends you a W-2, that deduction is put back into your total annual income from Social Security.
So all you whining progressives who want to make this about seniors, get the facts before you start making stupid accusations.
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
No, Larry, we didn’t have a financial meltdown because of entitlement programs. We had a financial meltdown because Bill Clinton put the Community Reinvestment Act on steroids and destroyed standard lending practices and put people in homes that could not afford them.
Now let’s see if you are honest enough to admit it was the actions of a Democrat, Bill Clinton, that basically created the atmosphere that created the financial meltdown.
@retire05, #16:
Dang that Clinton, for signing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act–enacted by a republican-majority House and Senate. He probably should have seen that coming when he had the Community Reinvestment Act regulations updated 4 years earlier.
@Greg:
Like all progressives/liberals/socialists you think that if you throw out “the Republicans did this or that” I will go “ooooh, well if a Republican did it, then it is OK.” And like all progressives/liberals/socialist, you are dead wrong. Unfortunately, blind stupidity is non-partisan.
I suggest you read two things; Anatomy of A Train Wreck, written by economics Professor Stan Liebowitz in 2008, and Housing Boom and Bust, written by the economist, Thomas Sowell. The wheels for the economic collapse were set into motion long before 1999, when Clinton signed that act.
Did you ever wonder why Texas was one of the few states to NOT see a housing meltdown and massive foreclosures when other states, that had experienced huge growth, like Florida and California, did? What made Texas different? The basic truth is that due to a Boston Fed report, that turned out to be wrong, it caused Clinton to redesign the CRA and force the lessening of lending standards. People who could never possible pay for a home were allowed to buy one with absolutely no “sweat” equity. Payments were low for the first few years, and then BANG! their payments went up, along with their real estate taxes, and they could no longer meet their finacial obligations because their income had not followed suit.
Retire05 I notice you’ve added socialist to the liberal/progressive or lib/prog tag that John Galt is so fond of using.
What do you think J.G.? Can Lib/Prog./Socialist/Commie be far behind? Adding Nazi still a little much?
BTW Retire05 Pls. restructure your first three sentances in final paragraph of #18. Thanks
Bees Thanks for the thumbs down. You still think Mitt has a shot?
Correction to 05 Pls restructure first 3 sentences of final paragraph.
@Richard Wheeler:
I noticed that you didn’t include Mata, whom you have professed respect for, as one who also is “fond of using” liberal/progressive, or lib/prog, tags. Why is that?
@Richard Wheeler:
Rich,
#1, there isn’t a nickles worth of difference between those who call themselves liberals and those who were progressives or socialists in the past.
#2, when I want you to critique my sentences, I’ll pull your chain.
Retire 05 Sorry but you make no sense. What are you trying to say about Texas?
J.G My point was I haven’t seen you add Socialist as has 05. I would be surprised if Mata went that route. Wouldn’t you be?
Bees, rich has become little more than a troll. I think even he doesn’t believe the B.S. he spews, he just wants to antagonize. He used to at least pretend to be a moderate, but he had dropped that facade.
He gives kudos to tom and greg two scumbags,and deliberately ignores obama’s and the dems class warfare to claim Romney is the one dividing people using class warfare.
I doubt he’ll see that I’m being kind by calling him a troll, because if he really does believe that crap, than the only explanation left is that he must be suffering from an incurable case of syphilis or untreated senile dementia.
Hard Right Exactly what I’d expect from a crass old broad like you. Thanks for confirming just how crude you are.
Hard Right
yes we can see their delirium begin now as their time to go spit in their dong is getting nearer,
just by the way his high pitch message resonate, he should be careful because his heart
cannot pump faster than he type.
bye
I bet you liked the LOS INDIOS
@Richard Wheeler:
Because your limited mentality causes you to not understand what I was trying to say, should I type slower?
Question; if Texas was experiencing the same increased growth as both California and Florida during the housing boom, why didn’t Texas experience the same mortgage foreclosure rates as those two states when the housing market went bust?
Is that clear enough for you?
Hi Retire: The Community Reinvestment Act had absolutely nothing to do with the financial meltdown. The vast majority of the foreclosed property were refinances, investment properties which were purchased to be flipped, vacation houses, second houses. Less than 1% of the foreclosures by dollar amount were for first, owner-occupied homes for relatively low income purchasers, which was what the CRA was all about.
This fits well with my narrative of blaming poor people for everything. Blame the CRA. Blame Food Stamps. Blame Pell Grants. Blame, blame, blame. Give a pass to anyone with big bucks.
Obama’s crony capitalism? You are talking Solyndra, I presume. A pittance. About the price of a single F-22. Which, despite Hard Right’s enthusiasm, is, according to Secretary Gates (who has more expertise than Hard Right in this matter) an overprice lemon of a plane, e.g.
What caused the meltdown was too much capital with no place to go. Thanks to Greenspan, T Bills paid squat. Thanks to the Bush tax cuts, there was a capital glut. This led directly to a demand for investment vehicles, which led to an explosion in securitized mortgages. and then credit default swaps, to insure the mortgage securities.
Brokers sold these mortgages on commission and steered people into higher yield subprimes. These were prople who could have qualified for lower interest, fixed conventional loans. The incentive was to loan, loan, loan. And to sell the highest yielding loans. Every day, I’d get multiple letters from mortgage brokers wanting to refinance my several real properties. These brokers didn’t do due diligence on the buyers. In some cases, appraisers were complicit. Everyone wanted to sell mortgages to collect commissions. Everyone with money wanted to buy mortgages. Because there was nothing else to buy. How about investing the money in new businesses to grow the economy? That’s not what most people (and pension funds, etc.) do. That’s considered too risky. They’d rather put it into stuff which doesn’t help the economy. Like securitized loans. Like secondary market equities.
But you blame it all on the poor people and on the politicians who wanted to make it possible for poor people to move into their own home. The CRA program was a great success, and had nothing to do with the meltdown. The banks with the greatest number of CRA loans had the lowest failure rate. Not a single bank which ever failed blamed their failure on the CRA.
Mata and I argued this for a couple of years, at least. Mata claims that the CRA produced a “climate” which eventually led to the overall erosion of loan standards, while not, in and of itself, being the root problem, in terms of the actual foreclosure dollars. But the CRA went back 20 years and there was never a problem, until the capital glut of the circa 2005 era. That’s when lending standards declined across the board.
With respect to Texas versus CA real estate…apples and oranges. Even after the crash, CA real estate goes for 3 to 4 times the price of Texas real estate. More money to be made pushing mortgages and re-fis. Of course it was a bigger problem in CA. Arithmetic, you might say.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA
openid.aol.com/runnswim
please spare us the bashing of MITT ROMNEY,
HE IS A NEW COMER WITH MUCH SKILLS TO GET THIS AMERICA GOING TOWARD SUCCESS ,
HE HAS THE ABILITY TO BE A GREAT PRESIDENT, AS OPPOSE TO OBAMA’S ABILITY TO BE A BIG MOUTH AND NO SUBSTANCE NO ACCOMPLISHMENT, TOWARD THE AMERICAN BETTERNES, ONLY HE FOCUS ON THE MUSLIM’S BETTERNES BY SPENDING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WHICH HE BORROWED
FROM CHINA ON THE BACK OF THE AMERICANS WHICH HAS RAISE THE DEBT TO A CEILING OF 3 GENERATIONS TO PAY FOR IT,
DOES OBAMA CARE FOR AMERICA NO SIR, HE MUST LET GO, BECAUSE HIS POPULARITY IS OF A FACE WITH A SMILE AND A MOUTH SHOUTING WORDS, THAT THE YOUNG FALL TO PIECE FOR,
THEY CAN HAVE HIM ON U TUBE ANYTIME BUT HE’S NOT FOR PRESIDENT AS AMERICA HAS LEARNED THE HARD WAY, THE SAYING FROM THEM IS “THEY ARE NOT LIKE US”
WELL HE IS NOT LIKE US EITHER, HE WOULD FIT WHERE HIS LOVE IS IN INDONESIA,
NOT IN AMERICA.