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Mitt Romney references the great American unwashed..

9/17/2012

2 Comments

 
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Mitt Romney has made plain what we've always presumed his dark fantasy to be: he believes nearly half of this country comprises a maladjusted, useless, huddled mass. 

Mitt, you have so much to learn about the country you love and want to lead.  Let me see if I can help you down your path of discovery.


  • Actually, each and every person on this earth is "... entitled to health care, food, and housing." Applying that to everyone on earth, that's my opinion. But at least for those who live in the US, it's settled law. It's the "life" part of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  • Even if this imaginary group - this mass of whining, irresponsible parasites - existed, rest assured, you and your fellows at that fundraiser would be the last folks on earth we would turn to for help.  You aren't at any risk of misleading "dependent" people into thinking you would throw us a crumb.
  • It doesn't exist, this scary group you describe.  Mitt, you patriot, you celebrator of the American people, you don't know your own country.  And you're missing out.

Your vision of the poor people in this country embarrasses you.  Shouldn't you know, at your age, and with your breadth of life experience, that there are whiny, irresponsible parasites at every income level.  Yes, sir, there are individuals who walk around feeling entitled to be handed something they haven't earned.  One can find them living as inner-city thugs, middle-management loafers, and, well, high-level corporate predators. 

But the underclass you envision as dependent is made up of the hardest working people you'll ever find.  You are actually talking about the backbone of the country, Mitt. 

I would have thought a finance guy would take a look at the numbers before making such proclaimations: If you had stopped to compare the number of people on some kind of assistance with the number of people hunting for work, holding down part time jobs, holding down several jobs, working jobs and going to school, working jobs and raising kids, you'd have realized the only way it adds up is when working people still aren't making enough to eat.  They don't stop working when they get food stamps, Mitt. 

You're talking about the people that wait for the bus and catch rides and go to their service industry jobs and hospital jobs and day care jobs and maintenance jobs and food service jobs.  

Think about what you're saying, Mitt - that half the country is sucking off the other half.  You don't know what you're talking about.  But you're talking about us, and we're offended.

2 Comments
J. Harris (The Lofty Left)
9/17/2012 09:05:45 pm

I am still in a bit of shock that Romney, finally, gave us a window into his heart. If you listen to him, as he speaks, there is a sense of conviction in his words. As Andrew Sullivan put it, this bit of video puts into clearer perspective his choice of Objectivist (though not the atheist parts) lover Paul Ryan. Romney, like Ryan, sees certain beneficiaries of government programs as moochers, takers. But it's always good to remember that among some of those moochers and takers are some of the wealthiest people in the nation, people who see our tax dollars as being available to them for their use, and not the whole of the nation.

And look for the right to re-visit Obama's comment about people clinging to their guns and their religion. The typical media types will argue that this comment was as damaging as Romney's. However, if one bothers to listen to the whole of Obama's comments, he makes it clear that he still wants to talk with them, and he still wants to help them out. That is a clear distinction, a clear difference. One doesn't care about those who disagree with him, and the other does.

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Julie link
9/19/2012 01:47:29 am

Your point about moochers and takers being among some of the wealthiest in the nation is an idea that I have thought about so much in the last year. It is amazing to me how many people seem to think one can only find selfishness, greed, and laziness among the poor. I wish there was a way to quantify character flaws. I won't say they are more rampant among other classes - my theory is that they are equally distributed among people regardless of income level - it's pretty easy to observe.

Obama has been explicit for four years about his belief in governing the whole country, regardless of political persuasion or station in life. At last Romney is being explicit about his.

Thank you for commenting as always, J.

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