Romney identified who he regards as extemporary Americans, the ones most likely to vote for him, as those with ideas and dreams and a strong work ethic. This came off especially unflattering with regard to who he thinks are likely to vote for President Obama:
“There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what… 47% 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 has identified these people, not as those who won’t benefit from “trickle-down-economics” but those who don’t want to, having a more immediate pay-off. The comment has led to widespread attack on Romney, though it appears entirely consistent with his values and appropriate for the context.
Romney took some time to detail his vision for American, strongly differentiating it from his experience of visiting a factory in China that was shaped like a prison, and socialistic economies in Europe, the latter of which he identifies as possibly Obama’s model.
As Romney iterated at a fundraiser this last Wednesday:
Obama “really believes in what I’ll call a government-centered society. I know there are some who believe that if you simply take from some and give to others, then we’ll all be better off. It’s known as redistribution. It’s never been a characteristic of America. There’s a tape that came out just a couple of days ago where the president said yes, he believes in redistribution. I don’t. I believe the way to lift people and help people have higher incomes is not to take from some and give to others, but to create wealth for all,” Romney said.
“This idea of redistribution follows from the idea that if you have a business, you didn’t build it; someone else did that,” he continued. “It’s the same concept — that see, government is responsible for everything that’s gone on here. And therefore government can take and give as it chooses. It’s an entirely foreign concept that will not work, that has not worked, that has never worked anywhere in the world. And what we have to do in America is not to make us more like Europe, but to make America more like America.”
Many have criticized these words for misrepresenting Obama’s position, which wants to redistribute wealth within certain limits, “Giving everybody a chance.”
Romney’s lack of tact came through in his criticism of illegal immigration as well:
“This is an amazing land. And what we have is unique, and fortunately it is so special we’re sharing it with the world. I’m concerned about the future, but also optimistic as I said, and I look forward to getting America back on track, and having people plan on bringing their ideas and their dreams to this country. We get big dreamers, by the way. Oh, I just, we didn’t talk about immigration today. Gosh, I’d love to bring in more legal immigrants that have skill and [unintelligible]. I’d like to staple a green card to every Ph.D. in the world and say, “Come to America, we want you here.” Instead, we make it hard for people who get educated here or elsewhere to make this their home. Unless, of course, you have no skill or experience, in which case you’re welcome to cross the border and stay here for the rest of your life.”
The video was hoped to be a smoking gun, but sounds more like Romney as usual, though without the tact.