Well, the lamestream media has spoken and it seems like Mitt Romney’s
goose is cooked after his latest gaffe. Even David Brooks, the vapid
self-proclaimed dean of sensible centrists, was brutal in his
condemnation. The scandal started when a secret video of Mitt speaking
at fundraiser was released to the media. Speaking in front of friends he
was a lot more candid than his normal milquetoasty self. He essentially
said that 47% of Americans don’t pay taxes and receive government
benefits and they are going to vote for Obama because they rely on his
fiscal largesse. It’s an old Republican talking point: people are gaming
the system, living well off your hard work, and they are likely black.
People are outraged and I agree that this sentiment is outrageous.
However, it’s not really a different argument than we have consistently
heard from Republicans throughout this campaign. Remember
when Mitt said, “I’m not concerned about the very poor”? Remember when
Romney nominated Paul Ryan, a man who built his career on a budget that
severely cut entitlements? In fact, what has Mitt Romney ever said that made it seem like he cared about anything besides money and advancing
his own career?
The Republican message for four years has been that the debt is out
of control and defense spending is sacrosanct. The subtext being that
frivolous things like social services need to be drastically cut. If you
don’t think that shows disdain for people who get government
entitlements, then you aren’t thinking clearly. Of course Romney doesn’t
hate everyone that gets government assistance, which includes people on
Social Security, veterans, etc. It’s a dog whistle, this is the party
of “get your government hands off my Medicare,” of “Welfare queens,”
they don’t have a realistic view of what the government does. They
envision people relaxing on their couch; they don’t envision the grim
realities that drive many folks to rely on the shriveling social safety
net.
It’s a cheap shot to even note that Mitt presided over a law that
provided free health insurance to folks earning below 150% of the
poverty line, during his time as governor of Massachusetts. Just in case
you think Mitt Romney isn’t an elitist rich asshole, he’s apologized
for passing this law every year during Mormon Yom Kippur.
The most ironic thing of this whole thing is that Romney denounces
the 47% of Americans who don’t pay federal income tax. This is a man
campaigning on a message of lower taxes. Romney’s just jealous; he paid
an effective rate of 14% in 2011. He stored his money in the Caymans and
Switzerland, but he hasn’t figured out the best tax loophole of all:
being poor. Republicans don’t believe in low taxes, they believe in
whatever is in their self-interest.
In fact, consider that more than 1/3 of all people who receive
government benefits get Social Security, and that 44% of people who
don’t pay income tax are exempted by elderly tax benefits. That would
seem to indicate that the majority of people who receive entitlements
and don’t pay taxes are older than 65, the only subset of voters that
favored McCain over Obama in 2008.
The whole situation reminds me of when Obama said that rural folks
cling to “guns and religion.” Both Obama and Romney were speaking to
their base, and put things in a blunt way, but my guess is their
statements reflect what they really believe. However, they aren’t the
same. The people Obama defined were nebulous, Romney’s statement is
surprising for its specificity. Obama’s platform didn’t target the
people he described, Romney’s built a campaign on doing just that.
Romney’s comment will energize liberals, and, if David Brooks is any
indication, turn off independents. Conservatives were already frothing
at the mouth to beat Obama, and just in case any started wavering Drudge
blared a headline linking to a Youtube clip of Obama saying he
“actually believes in redistribution.” This link attempts to neutralize
the discussion, by equating government entitlements to redistribution,
which they kind of are. Though it’s worth noting that the rich benefit
from government redistribution in the form of defense contracts,
business contracts, and bailouts.
So Mitt Romney is a rich asshole, but what else is new? He believes
that if you don’t make a lot of money, you’re a lazy freeloader.
Remember when he argued that Israeli’s have much higher per capita
incomes than Palestinians because of their work ethic? He’s not someone
who has a realistic view of what makes people successful or not. He’s
rich so he’s good, and you’re poor so you aren’t. He argues that if he
were Mexican he’d have a better shot at the presidency, without
considering the fact that a different grandfather would have led to
different circumstances. Forget his outlandish statements, his logical
abilities disqualify him from the presidency. Hopefully, Americans can
finally see what the Republican Party is all about, because Mitt put it
about as simply as you can.
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