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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Thanx, Pat !! Hopefully, more people like us will help get the vote out and we can ALL have a better future.....
HISPANIC GUY HERE....THE 47 % ?? WHAT EVER THE PERCENTAGE IS IS TRUE, BUT WHAT THEY DON'T TELL IS THAT 50 % OF THE PEOPLE ON WELFARE LOST THEIR JOBS DURING THE DOWN ECONOMY AND TO JOB OUTSOURCING..
Romeny you are a kkk with a blacksuit. i KNOW PEOPLE LIKE YOU ALL MY LIFE. You have let the people know how you feel about the poor and the middle class. GOD ALWAYS LET THE TRUTH COME OUT. OBAMA WILL WIN PUT IT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT
NEW POLL! Obama has slight lead over Romney. Romney says this and that, Romney does this and that. CNN has all details.
*Fine Print* CNN polls are given to CNN employees and are edited by CNN and all info will only be posted if it reflects anything negative against Romney. To sum it up... anything CNN says is complete JUNK and biased. Obama FAILED!! Kiss my @SS CNN and quit posting GARBAGE!
ROMNEY 2012! A REAL American (with valid birth certificate) for a better, secure America!
Are you blind? CNN has been pushing for the right since late Spring, do you not notice how they cut off democrats and let republicans answer with no answer twice? Two words Ari Fleischer.
The part of the speech that the commentators seemed to gloss over is the good old "personal responsibility" mantra. It is clear to me that the Ayn Rand clique has really captured his campaign. The idea that if you are not rich its somehow your fault. The funniest thing about it is that I am sure that among that 47 percent, there are probably some people there who are going to be the next group of rich people...the new immigrant, the inventors, the guy that works three jobs to get ahead. Why doesn't he just say sorry and move on? This man has just convinced me he is inarticulate and cannot speak. He makes the second Bush look like Winston Churchill.
I for one have decided to vote for Mr Obama. I am in that quote 47% . I am 73 and work for 2 different companies and I pay taxes every year through the year even on half my SS. Also payroll taxes, sales taxes property taxes, so where does he get the idea we are government dependent? I have been working and payning since I was 14 years old-GIVR ME A BREAK. Stuff it MR> ROMNEY
Honestly, did Romney say anything that any of you didn't already think he and all the rest of the wealthy and uneducated Republicans already thought and said in private ? I could care less what he says, because I simply wouldn't vote for him because he's a Republican and the policies of that party do not help me; a single, 40 year old childless black woman still struggling to pay off law school debt, with no health insurance off of a market rate wage that contracting attorneys made over 12 years ago in expensive to live in white male dominated Washington D.C. ($30/hour). Yeah, I guess I'm in the boat of folks he could care less about and after the comments Romney made, I'm convinced Obama will be re-elected despite what a growing number of African-Americans such as myself are even beginning to view as shortcomings of his administration. All politicians make "promises" during the campaign and when they arrive in Washington and assemble their cabinets and make appointments to posts they soon realize, now having become an insider, that the President of the Untied States does not run the United States government and financial markets; there's a "courting" game to learn and master here in DC and frankly, Obama did not have the economic ties or necessary "pedigree" when elected to make a dent in the developing financial crisis. Obama will get my vote, but largely because he's the better or the two evils from where I stand. No one had a viable solution to this thing, but after hearing former president Bill Clinton speak at the DNC the other week, I surely wish there was no two term limit on presidential candidates. Clearly, EVERYONE is in need of a real leader.
When one is relaxed and comfortable, their guard comes down. Mitt allowed this to happen, forgetting that he is ALWAYS under a microscope when running for the highest political office in the country. Relax Mitt, everyone is now fully aware of what you stand for. It's been a mystery up until now.
Editoralise much Anderson? So much for journalistic integrity.
How many times are we going to witness Romney's arrogant rhetoric and question if it's his truth or was it a mistake. He's done it so many times now that he even forgets that he can't be his old arrogant self again but he can't help it in spite of himself. It's no longer a matter or a question of if it's a mistake. Here we have a candidate that talks about the taxes not payed by the 47% of the American public but he does not want to show the American public his tax return. He wants my vote but he does not want to be candid with me about his taxes. REALLY? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING THAT YOU DON"T WANT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TO SEE MR. ROMNEY?
What is so arrogant about the truth? We are on an unstainable path. Our current President refuses to address, by evidence of nothing in writting or budget for the last 4 yrs. If we continue on this path there will be nothing for everyone.
Some people abuse the system and ride the gravy train, these people will vote for Obama.
The answer: mostly cold, hard, honest, inconvenient truth. With a little bit of overgeneralization.
My youngest graduated from college, last year and made a total of $3,000 the entire year after graduation. He made that money as a contractor. He paid taxes on the entire $3,000. Income and Social Security for himself and the employer's side as well. He is part of the 47% and took no money from the government. We, his parents supported him. He is now fully employed. Not sure who he will vote for; but, I sure as heck am in the 53% and will not be voting for Mr Romney. If he doesn't care about the people in the 47% that are working and paying taxes, he doesn't deserve to be President of all of the people.
just another example of how ignorant and arrogant this man can be, at least we know who he is.
How?? It is true 47% of working aged Americans dont pay income tax... So does the truth hurt that much? Before you go and raise the taxes on the "1%" think about requiring at least some taxes be paid by those 47%ers
Of course call him ignorant when he is 100% accurate with his "facts"! Truth hurts ! Let me guess you are a contributing member of society, right?
And your too ignorant to notice that about 20% of those moochers are Republicans, like the old vote, and people like himself. He pays less in tax than 60% of those 47% that are parasitic moochers
It takes balls to criticize someone on government assistence, when you yourself goes as far as to park your money on foreign soil to avoid paying taxes. True patriot right there.
why is it ok for Mr. Romney to do everything he can to pay less or no taxes yet those who legally aren't required to are called moochers, lazy or unAmerican?
Even Clinton had the common sense to put time limits and restrictions on Welfare. Living off the government is something that children are taught by their parents. If my kids saw me do that – wouldn't you expect them to follow suit? That is the risk you run by extending unemployment and removing (or weakening) welfare rules. It's a way to keep people dependant on handouts. That is the real decision. Four more years of government dependancy will negatively impact alot of kids. Umpemployment numbers include only those who are still looking for work I know tons of people who stopped looking long ago. There a alot of employers who are currently competing with the government for workers. It's sad.
You are an idiot. The rich always steal more. I know, I hang out in Palm Beach. I'm the 1% and I know you're not because you believe the right-wing propaganda.
The part here that is really bothersome is that it implies that people only vote for someone if that persons policies benefit them. Well, that for sure is not true. Many people consider what is best for the most people, even the best for the whole world. We are talking about the leader of a very powerful nation it really does not matter if I have to pay a little more in taxes. I am not going to help put someone get into office who because of his thoughtlessness would start more wars. The only part of Rommy's words that ring true is if he is elected we would need an even bigger war machine. I guess that is were all the jobs will come from. I have worked in social services and private small business and the justice system. I have seen much. Sure, a few folks at the bottom only know how to take... however having worked in justice I know there are a few at the top the know better but do that same. Only working people can receive foodstamps and if they had a inflation corrected minimum wage (10.50) I would think that more then 1/2 would not. That is guess but I think a pretty good one.
I paid taxes for 45 years. Most years at a higher rate then Rommy. However, the past 3 I have not paid any because I have been investing in upgrading and repairing rental property so in the future I will have more income. I have never seen myself as a victim nor do I expect the government to care for me... unless I really can't take care of myself anymore. Then, yes I want them to be there.