David A. Rice feels like Mitt Romney wrote him off.
The 61-year-old has always been a values-based voter, generally votes Republican and could be a key vote in the swing state of Florida. But he's also among the 47% of Americans that Mitt Romney said don't pay income tax and rely on government support.
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney says in a clip from a secretly filmed private donor meeting in May, which was first posted on Monday afternoon. "There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."
Romney's '47%' – Washington's tax-break obsession to blame
Rice says he is working part-time and doesn't pay taxes because he can't find a good job. And the fact that Romney wrote him off in those comments is frustrating.
"I am insulted. I support you and you just wrote me off with the 47% who pay no taxes. In that group are those who cry every time they use food stamps; people who would trade them in a minute for a real job. In that group are Christians who shudder at the thought of voting for abortion and gay rights," he wrote in an iReport. "You have strengths that appeal to the demographic you just wrote off ... use it! In the middle of rich supporters you cannot afford to write off a huge group with a careless word."
The 61-year-old said that he has been forced once or twice to take food stamps - and unlike what Romney contends in his comments - he maintains it was not something he was proud of or hopes to ever have to do again.
"It really hurt me," the iReporter told CNN. "It was not something that I wanted to do, I did it because I didn't have a job."
Rice says he didn't think it was right for Romney to lump every low-income person into the same group.
"Not everyone who takes food stamps is a food stamps junkie," Rice told CNN. "There are people who think the government owes them a living and that the government ought to take care of them and be their momma and daddy all their life. That doesn't apply to everyone."
It all left Rice a bit uneasy.
Which leads to the big questions swirling around the Romney campaign: How much damage will Romney's comments do to his chances for winning the election? Were his comments a big enough gaffe, combined with previous missteps, to really dent his campaign? Were his comments just the brutal truth others don't want to hear? Will it sway the votes of Republicans, independents or the undecided?
Rice says he'll still be voting for Romney because of the candidate's social views. But he knows it may not be the same for others.
"I think it was a mistake on his part because he insulted a lot of people who he needs to vote for him," he said.
CNN asked our readers on Facebook what they thought about the remarks and more than 71% said Romney was wrong and should apologize. Twenty-four percent of readers who answered our unscientific poll said he was right, and it was something someone needed to say. Just about 4.5% felt that Romney was right but shouldn't have phrased the remarks the way he did.
Nevin Sanli, from Los Angeles, California, said he is in the 47% and Romney's recent remarks, as well as other gaffes, have sealed his decision to vote for Obama.
"I never took a penny in help or government assistance money or otherwise. I own two businesses, and all I have been doing, along with my business partners, is creating jobs. I am not a victim," Sanli said in response to the CNN poll on Facebook. "I worked hard and built it all from scratch and I pay a lot of taxes. I am not as rich as Romney, but I sure pay a much bigger percentage of my income in taxes than he does. I find his remarks to be un-American, shocking and insulting."
And definitely unbecoming a president, he added.
"Elitism, silver-spoon arrogance and outright divisive statements, with undertones of racism, cannot be attributes of an American president," Sanli wrote.
For his part, Romney has stood behind the comments from the secretly recorded video. They were an honest reflection of his campaign's message, he said.
"This is a message I'm carrying day in and day out and will carry over the coming months," Romney said on Fox News. "This is a decision about the course of America, where we're going to head. We've seen the president's policies play out over the last four years."
Kristopher Daughtrey agreed with those tough words and took them to show that Romney won't shy away from the truth and will stick to his convictions.
"I applaud Romney for his remarks. He's the only one willing to not sugarcoat it. I'm not a huge supporter of either party, but at least Romney has the guts to speak out frankly about it, instead of Obama, Congress, and other politicians trying to justify their actions constantly or running away with their tail between their legs," Daughtrey said. "If you're going to be president then you need to have the backbone to walk the walk and not just talk about it."
Jason Asselin, an iReporter from Iron Mountain, Michigan, is an independent who says that he generally votes for the best candidate, despite their affiliation, though he likes the ideas and stances of the tea party.
While Asselin is normally a critic of Obama, he said Romney's comments really angered him because he doesn't pay taxes, but it isn't because he doesn't want to.
"I try paying taxes each year and every year they say we don't make enough, it isn't that I don't want to pay my taxes - they won't take them," he says. "Our government put rules and regulations in place for the lower class of people. It isn't our fault for falling under that. I don't like being called the 47%, I'd like to be called American."
Asselin said he is frustrated that Romney makes assumptions about how he will vote. And he is not alone.
Jeff Zicker, 21, might have been a candidate for the 47% category. He's college-aged, but left college because he landed a job performing with a national Broadway tour. He worked two jobs all through college, and these days he pays all his taxes, which puts him in the 53% category.
“For (Romney) to say his plan only appeals to those who don’t victimize themselves just further proves how out of touch he is with the rest of the American public,” he said.
Zicker is a moderate Democrat who will be voting for Obama this fall.
“I honestly believe that somebody that would say that a large of a portion of Americans, that this group victimizes themselves and tries to appeal to voters in that way, I don’t think that shows that they would be fit in any way to be president," he said.
But others say that Romney is merely beginning a dialogue that many Americans refuse to have. Steven Evans said that he thinks the discussion is an important one as the country moves forward.
"It is time to start a national dialogue on whether we are creating a major dependency class," he said on Facebook. "I am glad to see him tell the truth. Let's decide whether we are going the way of Greece or the traditional USA."
But some believe that having that conversation with only half of the country is problematic.
“It’s not in touch with what America’s values are and what we should be in a country," Zicker said of Romney's comments. "At the end of the day, we’re all connected. What I do affects you economically and socially. We shouldn’t see it as an one-for-all system.”
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I'm sorry, but I truly think values-based voters (and politicians for that matter) are the worst. I know it's off-topic, but when somebody describes themself that way, I lose respect for their decision. There are far more important things to be worried about than who can marry whom, or if a woman decides she cannot care for a child.
More importantly... Where did Mitt Romney get those figures? I know a lot of people that are not proud to be accepting help from the government. They are hard workers, but are making less today than ever (thanks to the business practices of big corporations that give to both candidates).
I don't know where this negative view of those that accept government assistance Comes from. They are not low life, lazy people that don't want to work. They are your grandparents, Or neighbors and in these tough times many of them are scraping by because they have assistance.
I so agree. Why no anger toward the rich who take advantage of the Country in so many ways, but always anger for the poor, elderly and minorities? Most of these people work long hours and do everything good Americans are supposed to do but live paycheck to paycheck. They are not the enemy they are protrayed to be. I'll never get it. As far as Romney is concerned, he and his friend Trump are just two fat cats who have too much of everything, are bored and just want power. Their wanting to be President has nothing to do with making this Country better for all Americans, it's just about their egos and their needs.
Psst, psst, hey Steve......I don't think he was meaning those people. Whether you choose to believe it or not, ther ARE people like that that are just plain lazy and living off the government. I really don't think he was talking about the people that actually need the help, normally just for a short period until they get back on their feet.
This is the way conservative republicans think. They do not see passed the end of the block they live on. They think it should be 1950-1960 again. This is not the world we live in or ever will again. Romey and his ilk care only for themselves and like-minded friends. If you look at India and China, you see two distinct classes. There is the modern and glitzy or the slums. We had similar surrounding in the early 1900`s, with the posh and the slum areas of major cities. This is what the republicans in Romney`s world think and the hell with the rest of us. The rest of the republican followers don't understand that these people do not care about religion or aborton. They use this to play on your emotions and distract from the real agenda.
Psst, psst, hey zodiac, he lumped those people together anyway. He said 47% of Americans are hooked on assistance, don't want to support themselves, and won't vote for him. Not part of that group. All of them.
Romney has it all figured out, 32 million people are searching for jobs, A portion of the 47% that just sit around and collect SSA maybe 60 million people? He is going to get them out from living off the government and get them out in the workforce. To do this Romney said he can create 12 million jobs over the next 4 years. OOP'S Romney forgot how to do math. 32 million + 60 million= 92 million that need jobs – 12 million jobs he said he can create over 4 years (if he can even do that) Well, most of you will need to wait 1 2 3 or 4 years for work and the rest can be transferred to China to make some crap for USA for cheap. Gotcha !!! Vote Romney because I want to see our country implode.
OF COURSE IT'S TRUE! Anybody that receives a government check that he didn't earn by paying Social Security/Medicare taxes, legitimate retirement, or by service in the militaary is a parasite that needs the likes of an Obama to keep him/her on easy street. The worst part is those parasites blame their sorry lives on us that worked and made our way in the world. WE BUILT IT. All I need government for is to protect the border, fill pot holes in the street, and lock away felons.
So basically that's about 7% of that 47%. Your ignorance, as low information voter, shows that you don't get that you are most likely one of these people.
These are republican ideas, the irony is palpable.
Mitt's own father was a 47%er.
Since you're so very much against federal aid to people who need it, I'd like to thank you for helping to feed my family and for me to attend college full time while holding down a full time job that barely pays enough to cover my extremely minimal expenses. (no cable tv, no car payments, no cell phone bill, liability only auto insurance, bare minimum home owners insurance, flood insurance that I was required to purchase due to FEMA rezoning the flood maps, etc).
I'm not looking for your pity, but you need to realize that not everyone on government aid is a parasite who only wants a handout. You'd do well to remember that when either you or your children fall on hard times.
Again, thank you to all of you who make federal aid to people like me possible.
Well congratulations!!!
The fact that you can't even understand that Mitt wasn't taking about people receiving a check, but those giving money to the government in the form of taxes, It's incomprehensible, I can't believe that you don't see the distinction.
47% don't pay Income Tax (that's not payroll tax, which is also a federal income tax). Here's a thought if it's taken from my paycheck, it's a tax of MY Income, bugger this income / payroll differentiation.
– 10.3 % are elderly: meaning that they live off of Social Security which for the most part is not taxed. These Americans have spend their entire lives working, paying into the system.
– 28.3 % Pay no federal income tax BUT pay FICA, State, local, Payroll tax, etc. because they qualify for enough deductions that their income tax liability has shrunk. The take advantage of the earned income tax credit for people with Children. THIS WAS A REPUBLICAN TAX LAW CHANGE.
These people have jobs, and pay for their lives, they do exactly what Mitt does, use the system that exist to deduct expenses.
- 6.9% percent of households which are non-elderly and have incomes less than $20,000 per year and aren’t paying the payroll tax. These poorer households pay neither income taxes nor payroll taxes. Perhaps Romney thinks that they should all pay more in federal taxes
SO, WHO IS THE PARASITE?
More Gop bs
It is truly UNBELIEVABLE to me that this man has just offended and dismissed almost half of the US citizens, and is being defended by many of those whom he includes in the "47%". People do you not understand? Are you that blinded by hate? The "47%" includes people with good or soso jobs or businesses who may use deductions when filing their tax returns, or who may have had too many taxes taken out during the year so you get a refund, including the Seniors who worked all their lives and have retired, Veterans, College students, disabled children and individuals. When people show you who they are Believe Them. Then in the video go on to tell how he would terrorize the US. Unconceivable!! I have come to realize that so many do not have common sense. We are voting for a President people. Wake Up!!
I am one of the "47%" he referred to, and yes, I will still be voting for Mr. Romney. I am not stupid, far from it, I do not take things that candidates say in "secretly recorded" videos literally. I know exactly what Mr. Romney was referring to, and I agree. He may have mispoke when he said 47%, but I knew the people he was talking about, and I didn't include myself. If we took all the "secretly recorded" videos from BOTH parties, I'm sure Obama wouldn't be president now. This is just another tactic for the liberal idiots and media to divert minds like yours away from the facts, and obviously, it is easily done.
What are you people trying to do to this man? Haven't you looked at your staggering debt lately? People are losing their homes and jobs and you are considering re-electing Obama?.It is time for a reality check people. Finally someone has the guts to tell the truth, which most of you don't like. By the way I'm from Canada, that little country above you. Wake up and smell the coffee people before it is too late. PS... I guess Romney is a monster but Clinton is a Saint....how soon we forget. Mitt and Ann would be great people to represent your worlwide but watch and see if you don't drop the ball...again
Paula, it's probably none of my business, but what draws you to the group of people who think they deserve a say in how you manage your reproductive organs?
I find your crude insults quite distasteful when you're comrades in politics claim to be the moral, upstanding folk. How very classy of you to hurl insults at people you so lovingly refer to as "idiots".
So answer this simple question; is there room for compromise, or are the only ideas that are correct managed by the Republicans and other like minded people?
I'm honestly disappointed in the way many of my fellow countryman can dismiss blatant lies and deceit when it's their preferred party who is guilty of said act. I'm disappointed by the constant blame game that happens by all parties involved. Mr. Romney wants Americans to take responsibility, but he himself, and many of the people he claims to represent absolutely refuse to accept any responsibility for the predicament this country as a whole is in. No one wants to take the blame. Why is that?
Keeping my dignity and respect for myself in response to Paula. You just proved my point. Unbelievable!!!
Reading Comprehension, when referring to the 47% Romney was talking about the latest approval poll for Obama, please make a informed comment other than just you are just an informed voter who think being a democrat makes you a better person
The way I read and heard it was that of the 100% likely of Obama voters, 47% like free stuff from the government and will not vote against the hand that feeds them.
Wow Lili you are very wrong I watched the video and Mittens clearly states that 47% don't pay federal income tax and take money from the government and that he does not care about them because they won't vote for him anyway, he was not talking about poll numbers so watch the video before making false claims.
Romney is absolutely correct......hand-outs are out of control in the country....people getting them when there is fraud, lies, cover-ups, Why should I have to pay for other people's mistakes, (child out of wedlock, food stamps, and on and on...I resent that.
Handouts and cheating to get gov. aid was way out of hand in the Bush Era and every other presidential era before that! Why do people always think Rep. is going to do a better job than the Dems. They are all liars and only tell you what you want to hear so you will vote for them. I'm a Christ follower with all my heart, but one party isn't any better than the other. You can say I'm uninformed but you would be very wrong. I just state the truth and if you all were honest with yourselves you would too. God said we are to pray for our leaders whether they are Dem. or Rep., so that's what we should be doing do. God Speed!!!
The rich won't be happy, until we are all the equivalent of Russian serfs under the czars. Romney is one of those that that have the misguided idea that because they are wealthy, they have a divine right to rule. It is an arrogance & conceit they must be denied. It is just sickening to watch the Republican house refuse to help their countrymen in favor of corporations, oil barons, and the uber rich, all the while blaming the other side for their mistakes. The fact checkers point this out, time after time, giving specific examples of their comments & actions, and they don't even blink, having long ago sold their souls for the lure of filthy lucre.
Romney spoke the inconvenient truth! What he needs to follow up is can he help those to gain independency and helps to contribute to the nation building. Every US citizen whether rich or poor has a fiscal responsibility to the nation.
Calling 85 year old mother a deadbeat because she doesn't pay income taxes is beyond the pale. Romney, and you, need a reality check.
The GOP Conservatives thought "Citizens United" would allow them to "buy" the Presidency and most other key elected posts. What they didn't realize was that it also allowed even richer dummies to buy their Primaries.
As you sow, so shall ye Reap.
He spoke just the same as Obama speaks about his opposition behind closed doors. He bluntly laid out the facts. 47% of the people will not vote for him, some because they are staunch Dems and some because lowering taxes they don't pay won't give them incentive to vote for him. Iran has no desire to be at peace with Isreal, and it would be easier for him to get the Latino vote if his fater was Latino. Welcome to the realities of the world. Now, is there any chance we could get back to important topics like unemployment, foreign policy, plans to build jobs in the US??? The real question I see is do I want my pay coming from the government or do I want it coming from the private sector?
Neither candidate can fix the problems that Bush,congress or Obama created. It is to big and our children's children will
pay for this during their lifetime. The GOP is a bunch of losers with their screw the people lets get rid of Obama mindset.
Romney, well I guess he cooked his own goose. He will never get elected President so for the next 4 years we got
more of the same BS. Our Prez will continue to apologize for the USA and give the middle east corrupt countries
whatever they want. The Muslims hate us and trying to buy their friendship ain't gonna work but the buttheads in
Washington are totally clueless and will continue to sink us deeper in debt. Why should they care as they are all
rich and will not suffer one bit.
It's a huge mistake because it's NOT the plain truth.
The 47% who don't pay FEDERAL taxes still pay taxes. Many of them are even part of Romney's base – and though he may not lose their vote, he can't win the middle or anyone else with this kind of viewpoint.
This is a lie to make folks think that the nation is filled with welfare cheats.
EVERYONE who earns a salary pays payroll taxes. Payroll taxes are 2/5 of all the Federal revenue.
Many people don't pay income tax on top of that simply because they don't have enough income.
It seems that Romney thinks we should raise taxes.
It is the truth and refreshing to hear some facts rather than the usual pandering to voters.