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David Brooks (hardly a Lib) summed it up succinctly....

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/opinion/brooks-thurston-howell-romney.html


In 1980, about 30 percent of Americans received some form of government benefits. Today, as Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute has pointed out, about 49 percent do.

In 1960, government transfers to individuals totaled $24 billion. By 2010, that total was 100 times as large. Even after adjusting for inflation, entitlement transfers to individuals have grown by more than 700 percent over the last 50 years. This spending surge, Eberstadt notes, has increased faster under Republican administrations than Democratic ones.

There are sensible conclusions to be drawn from these facts. You could say that the entitlement state is growing at an unsustainable rate and will bankrupt the country. You could also say that America is spending way too much on health care for the elderly and way too little on young families and investments in the future.

But these are not the sensible arguments that Mitt Romney made at a fund-raiser earlier this year. Romney, who criticizes President Obama for dividing the nation, divided the nation into two groups: the makers and the moochers. Forty-seven percent of the country, he said, are people �who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to take care of them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.�

This comment suggests a few things. First, it suggests that he really doesn�t know much about the country he inhabits. Who are these freeloaders? Is it the Iraq war veteran who goes to the V.A.? Is it the student getting a loan to go to college? Is it the retiree on Social Security or Medicare?

It suggests that Romney doesn�t know much about the culture of America. Yes, the entitlement state has expanded, but America remains one of the hardest-working nations on earth. Americans work longer hours than just about anyone else. Americans believe in work more than almost any other people. Ninety-two percent say that hard work is the key to success, according to a 2009 Pew Research Survey.

It says that Romney doesn�t know much about the political culture. Americans haven�t become childlike worshipers of big government. On the contrary, trust in government has declined. The number of people who think government spending promotes social mobility has fallen.

The people who receive the disproportionate share of government spending are not big-government lovers. They are Republicans. They are senior citizens. They are white men with high school degrees. As Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution has noted, the people who have benefited from the entitlements explosion are middle-class workers, more so than the dependent poor.

Romney�s comments also reveal that he has lost any sense of the social compact. In 1987, during Ronald Reagan�s second term, 62 percent of Republicans believed that the government has a responsibility to help those who can�t help themselves. Now, according to the Pew Research Center, only 40 percent of Republicans believe that.

The Republican Party, and apparently Mitt Romney, too, has shifted over toward a much more hyperindividualistic and atomistic social view � from the Reaganesque language of common citizenship to the libertarian language of makers and takers. There�s no way the country will trust the Republican Party to reform the welfare state if that party doesn�t have a basic commitment to provide a safety net for those who suffer for no fault of their own.

The final thing the comment suggests is that Romney knows nothing about ambition and motivation. The formula he sketches is this: People who are forced to make it on their own have drive. People who receive benefits have dependency.

But, of course, no middle-class parent acts as if this is true. Middle-class parents don�t deprive their children of benefits so they can learn to struggle on their own. They shower benefits on their children to give them more opportunities � so they can play travel sports, go on foreign trips and develop more skills.

People are motivated when they feel competent. They are motivated when they have more opportunities. Ambition is fired by possibility, not by deprivation, as a tour through the world�s poorest regions makes clear.

Sure, there are some government programs that cultivate patterns of dependency in some people. I�d put federal disability payments and unemployment insurance in this category. But, as a description of America today, Romney�s comment is a country-club fantasy. It�s what self-satisfied millionaires say to each other. It reinforces every negative view people have about Romney.

Personally, I think he�s a kind, decent man who says stupid things because he is pretending to be something he is not � some sort of cartoonish government-hater. But it scarcely matters. He�s running a depressingly inept presidential campaign. Mr. Romney, your entitlement reform ideas are essential, but when will the incompetence stop?


Romney shoulda known what any schoolteacher knows, nowadays ANYTHING you say or do can end up on Youtube...

...even at a $50,000 at plate fundraiser it turns out.

No secret that this is one of the most critical elections ever, our guy continues to fugg up, big time.

Birdwatcher

It was and IS a matter of time before everyone knows those numbers. My guess is the dems already knew it but were of course, keeping it to themselves. He didn't screw up becuase it's NOT a secret. It's that many refuse to acknowledge it. We talk about it every day right here. It's nothing new. The main stream media wants you to think that, but it's not. kwg

Excerpted from a "Hot Air" article.


There is no sin greater in a presidential race than telling the truth. Romney is being excoriated for accurately describing the situation in America today. Here are the stats:

*49% of all Americans pay no fed income tax

*47% receive a check from the government of which more than half are means tested welfare checks (Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, etc.)

*36% of all Americans of working age are either not working or looking for work.

We must remember, however, that a great many of those who receive checks from the government have earned them. Some by their taxes over the years to Social Security and Medicare and others by paying a deeper price by service to their country.

The benefits Romney was talking about are means tested benefits, distributed based on income. All together 100 million Americans receive such benefits (out of a total population of 308 million), these benefits include welfare, food stamps, Section 8 housing, Medicaid and other such programs.

Generalities are always unjust. And painting with broad strokes will do many individuals an injustice. But the fact remains that our electorate is basically bifurcated into those who pay taxes and those who receive benefits.

I've said for a long time now, we are outnumbered. The only issue is the free loaders haven't all figured out how to vote or why, and mostly too lazy to boot.

Now its finally shown.

Toss that in with a handful of ignorant non free loaders that are feel good folks that like to share what they have with the lazy masses and we are doomed.

only thing left now is float along until it has to be done and then stand up. One thing you can count on is the lazy masses won't get blood on them.

The question is will all our freedoms/rights have been eroded just a bit at a time before we get to that last straw?

No mention of 30-50 million illegal mexicans again. How can you have a discussion on using up all govt. resources without mentioning that?

The reason this has so much traction is merely that it was "secretly" recorded. It would not get nearly the traction if he was bold enough to carry that message every day. In fact, he'd begin making progress.

Steve.

Actually,this so called gaffe could turn into a election changer for the GOP. The ME fiasco and attendant lies that will come up over the next week in regards this administrations failure to act on Intel and the "Redistribution" vid coupled by Romney sticking to his welfare truther theme could change this race from a dead heat to a sizable polling lead for Romney.

I hope Romney continues to be aggressive on the topic.

The long term effect of this recording to the election, a big fat 0.
In legitimate polls, both Romney and Obama are at about 46%.
The debates are critically important. Also, historically an incumbent
under 50% this close to the election, because most people have made
up their mind on them, lose the election. Undecideds tend to move
heavily for the challenger. Obama is not over 50% in any of the
swing states polls of likely voters . No opinion here just the facts.

==========

Someone gets it!

None of his base disputes the theme of his remarks.

And even if any those 47% were offended, they've still gotta look inside themselves & see if they really want to sign up for another 4 years of this [festering, overhyped, oversold excrement].

Nothing Romney said, changes anything about O's broken promises, staggering ineptitude, and nauseating hubris.

FC

add to this that the DOJ just got busted cold for USING Media Matters to attack dissenting News organizations and reporters. Actual collaboration has been shown. There may just be a violation in there.

Distraction du jour?