Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made headlines again last week after a controversial video of him speaking at a fundraiser surfaced.
In the video that has achieved national spotlight, Romney said that “47 percent [of Americans] who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims … will vote for the President [Obama] no matter what.”
The statement, among other notorious ones, was response to a question from an audience member.
The member asked, “How are you going to convince everybody … you’ve got to take care of yourself?”
Romney’s answer, which also included the widely misinterpreted “47 percent of Americans pay no income tax,” illustrated his overall weakness to communicate and reach the American public.
Romney’s statement on the “47 percent” is somewhat misleading.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it is true that approximately 47 percent of Americans do not pay federal income tax.
What Romney did not include is that 83 percent of Americans paid the payroll tax in 2009.
According to CBPP, most people who do not pay federal income or payroll taxes are “elderly, unable to work due to a serious disability or students.”
Romney’s comment isn’t wrong; it just isn’t complete.
The decision by Romney to alienate 47 percent of Americans is just plain absurd.
In an election that is bound to be close, I’m surprised that Romney chose to cast off such a sizable portion of the voting public.
In the video, Romney said, “My job is not to worry about those people [47 percent of Americans.] I’ll never convince them.”
Again, Romney’s decision to alienate nearly half the voting public is stunning.
Does he plan to lead only 53 percent of America?
Romney’s comments received criticism from both the Democrats and Republicans.
If Romney is to rebound from this media catastrophe, he must let the public know exactly how he feels.
Romney needs to clarify his comments and actually confront the “47 percent” he was talking so crassly about.
It is true that a large group of Americans will vote Republican and another large group will vote Democrat and that the independent voters are the most sought after.
Romney was saying what he thought to be the truth, but that doesn’t mean he should have made it vocal.
It is unclear as to how badly this will affect Romney in the polls, though one can say for sure it will hurt him.
Another nail in the coffin for Romney.
Shane Newell is a sophomore journalism major and assistant city editor for the Daily 49er.