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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Everybody thinks they're different. "Sure I get federal assistance, tax breaks, whatever. But I feel bad about it, so I'm not one of the losers Romney was talking about. It's those OTHER people". How pathetic. Everybody's got a story. You think Romney and his pals care about your story? Not even a little bit.
I want to start as saying, and perhpas hopefully start a trend in the process, that is appears that FOX News does not, and/or has dropped the option of providing individual comments to their online articles. This, as opposed to CNN, seems to have many opportunities for the reading publis to weigh in with their thoughts. Thank you CNN!
For this article...if Romney had focused on the issue of those who exist on the Government's dole, then he gets a pass. But Romney really shoed his stripes when lumping 47% of "non-paying" Americans into the 47%. Intunitively, there are those who have enjoyed "0" taxes based on their contributions during the year (yes, paid taxes durign the year), but can take of IRS laws for deductions that adjust their gross income. Add to that retirees, people who deduct large medical expenses, other millionaires, personnel of our Armed Services, those who are down and out on their luck due to the economy. All these people are living off the Government? Does that mean Romney will work to get rid of the mortgage interest deductions; toget rid of the deductions based on overwhelming medical expenses? These things, and more, certainly don't pertain to Roney and his ilk as they have enough capital and liquidity to overcome any emergencies; large homes to liveine, etc... So out of touch, how can we believe anything he now promises?
Both sides are at fualt – "War of the parties" and the middle class is the Collateral Damage.
Romney brings up a good point about people always voting one way. Some people will always vote for one particular party. I think there is some truth to what he said. A majority of Americans will vote for Obama because his policies will make it okay for people to turn to their government for help. I feel it is okay to ask for help, but I think the people Romney is referring to are those who have habitually been on welfare or government assistance and have no plans to get a real job or contribute to society...
Someone just makes sense on this blog. Unlike the stubborn liberals and conservatives alike who wear blinders, majority of the bloggers on this site just post hate statements and create a fairy tale scenarios for their own preferred party or candidate. Just deal with facts. Wake up. It's a pity CNN is very subjective in it's approach and promotes divisiveness. That's disservice to the American as a whole. No wonder CNN dropped off as the leading news networks.
CNN, you have officially gone completely over to the Pro-Obama support team. Just change your name to MSCNN and at lease then you'll be an honest broker. You have not shut up about Romney's remarks (which were true), and have mentioned nothing (other than in fourth paragraphs of articles about Romney's "gaffe") about Barack Obama being caught on tape saying he is in favor of redistribution! The only way that marxist statement doesn't get more play is if you are completely in the tank for Obama.
Lets see if your reporting gets more accurate. I have held out some hope that you were a neutral party, but the last month's salivating over Obama and Clinton and doing everything you can to destroy the Romney campaign has proved me wrong.
What you said was spot on.
If 47% of Americans are truly on government assistance then I really have no hope for the future of this country. That's a disgusting shameful number and we should really take a good look at our society. If 47% of the people aren't paying any taxes then how is this great wonderful affordable health care act going to hold up when you don't have the funds to even pay for it? How can you even run your own government? Taxing the "1%" to make up for the 47% that don't pay taxes sounds like paying a fair share. It's sad to read the comments on here that people just blow it off like ti doesn't matter. I don't know about anyone else, but I have a sense of pride where I don't want to have to depend on someone else to hold my hand through life. Sorry but 47% of the nation isn't disabled. Just lazy and stupid.
Did you check the facts before blindly accepting the number (47%) Romney stated? I doubt it. Unlike Romney I have paid taxes, social security, etc all my life. I am now entering retirement and will "depend" on what I earned. Also, do you realize that Romney's father depended on government aid for years and I have seen the video in which Romney's mother thanks the government for allowing him the chance to build his life during the difficult time. That is, a governor, Mitt's father was "lazy".
Just learn the facts before you agree with the parasits like Romney.
It is The Economy, Mr. President. The Economy that you built, Mr. President.
I believe everyone should have the right to have as many kids as they want. I also believe that they should pay for their kids instead of the taxpayers. Everyone deserves a break. If you have a kid with a deadbeat dad, allow this unfortunate woman to get Federal assistance once. After that, have as many kids as you want but I do not believe they deserve any more taxpayers help. This might slow down the cycle where a 15 year old has a child which is usually raised by it's grandmother (who usually had her own child at 15). My great grandmother died when she was 107. I was 12. It's unreal to think about all of these 45 year old great grandmothers out their with all of these kids (8), grand kids (32) and great grandkids (128) receiving Federal assistance. It has to stop. We're not rats, we're human. Thank you, jseale
What do you call the 4,000 millionaires who didn't pay any federal income taxes?
answer: Romney contributors!
These comments at a fundraiser tell who Mitt Romney really is. His comments were the truth to him, it is what he believes. No surprise to me that he's a 1%er.
Well, that's your view of it. I wonder if your view would be different if you could have read the posts by a guy named LaQuan two days ago here. LaQuan was boasting about how he gets his government check and doesn't need to worry about a finding a job. He said that since his ancestors were slaves, the government owes him. I told him that he'd never worked in a field and that my ancestors were not slave-owners. I told him about two successful handymen I know (one of whom is a hard-working black man) who said they'd be happy to hire some help if they could find anybody who was willing to show up and work hard. LaQuan didn't respond to that. So my view is that it is the LaQuan's of America that Romney was talking about. And I think that Romney is correct. How much longer are you going to be willing to borrow money from China to pay expenses for healthy, young, able-bodied people like LaQuain who just don't happen to like work?
Every one of the 47% better be paying attention to these words since they represent the true candidate who was speaking to his peers in what he thought was a safe, private environment. This is a rare glimpse into the non etch-a-sketch Romney. He did tell the truth as he sees it. The truth is he does not care about you.
O, bull crap – just means that he cares about the REST of us 53%'s who are working their TAILS off to support the ones who aren't even TRYING to work, pay taxes, or contribute in any way to society. The ones who won't work 'cause the government pays them not to!
I think the 53% needs to go on strike – stop working... NOW who'll support US? You?
Speaketh the welfare recipient
We see right through you CNN.....and we've had enough.
Right, because reality and truth have a well known left-wing bias.
Would someone riding welfare, section 8 and WIC vote Republican?
strangely? you'd be surprised at how many will all because the brother is in the white house!!!
If you think those are the only people who don't pay taxes, who are part of that 47%, you are wrong. There are many working Americans who don't pay taxes because they don't earn enough. This is also true of our active duty military serving in Afghanistan. Do they all consider themselves "victims"? I don't think so.
Yes,look at abamama,Mississippi,Georgia, these people vote republican,because they are more concerned about gay marriage,and unborn children ,don't know why they don't care about the living though.
Tax Avoider, Romneys day job.