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 have to laugh when I read about so-called "values voters" who, apparently, don't have even enough old-fashioned American values to believe in either personal or intellectual integrity. This certainly goes for anyone who could say they're voting for Romney-Ryan, as this pair of Republican candidates are fundamentally dishonest and obviously devoid of even a drop of human kindness... except for their fellow parasites, whom they seem to think deserve more tax breaks at the expense of the middle and working classes.
Take from the video:
“if the Hispanic voting block becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African American vote has in the past we’re in trouble as a party and I think as a nation”
Whoa. And still, you're going to find people supporting this POS? SERIOUSLY?
What is wrong with this? If 95% of hispanic votes for DEMO, that means extreme bias. That is a disaster, like OJ Simpson case.
Wall St seems to be doing just as good or even better under ofailure than his predcessor......
Yes it is only possible in this country to go after silly myths and not after real issue. It questions our intelligence and why we lag behind so many other countries. It also shows how prejudice we still are as this is happening only because our President's color is not so pale. As real issues, I wonder what would Romeny's remark would have been if he was laid off from job due to company closing and not being able to get one even when he tried with all his efforts. There are thousands of intelligent, highly qualified hard working laid off workers who hate to go on government's food stamp, but at the end had to swallow pride and get that. Thousands of people gave up all hopes to find an appropriate job and tried to get one with minimum wage paying and found rejection because of high qualifications. I am speaking from experience and it is Romeny like people who happily sent our jobs abroad for persoanl gain and at the same time does not forget to criticize us. Does he like to see us living in streets?
ROmney is an embarassment to the republican party....why on earth did we get stuck with such a fake.......As a senior I will not vote for a man who thinks I am worth less for being on a fixed income from serving my country as a soldier......Romney has lost many repub votes and rightfully so...
Thank you for your service...you're making the right choice. If you still can't stand to vote for Obama, try Gary Johnson. He's a good guy, and he has double the experience in public service Romney does.
At the risk of offending, I believe that this Romney's comments and the surprised reactions by many GOP voters illustrates something important: The Republic Party, once the bastion of libertarianism and limited government, has recently morphed into the party of the rich and the stupid. That is, the GOP's platform is designed to support the wealthy and sucker those voters who are too foolish to know the difference. American's have long forgotten the degree to which big business during the 19th and early 20th century exploited working class in the U.S. It was thanks to all of the "liberal" policies in mid century that the middle class in the U.S. flourished and the rich actually had to work to maintain their fortunes. Thanks to the gradual erosion of those reforms by the GOP, especially during the 1980s and early 2000s, the middle class has been crashing and the wealth of the super rich has blossomed.
Yes folks We all know, Payroll Tax collection are wrong and illegal, for state taxing corporate profits are legal and taking wage earners wages is illegal..
taxes are supposed to be voluantry ..
Here's a New Poll
Mitts dyin a slow Death
That might not be all that bad
its so funny to see how republicans think...LMAO... i hope you were not conceived by romney...lol...
seriously, you think if Romney comes to power he will change your nation to a better place? you should start thinking (oh wait- most of you dont have any brains to think-aka republicans). there are lots of american are jobless, trying to make it though, and you want to tax them and leave those making millions of $$ pay less tax? how interesting? Romney and Ryan want to get into power so that they can proof how Republicans work – CREATE More Deficits and make you people poorer.. Look.. other countries have moved on from America- the more we see you guys struggle with Republicans the better it is for us. our currency and trade will soar.. and all you guys know what to do is Whine.. Go Republican.. go and cherish Romney.. who know whats next.. his going to help other nations to come after America.. go and watch the clip that was released monday.. you morons.. and learn what Romney will do to America.
Yes folks We all know, Payroll Tax collection are wrong and illegal, for a state, taxing corporate profits are legal and taxing wage earners wages is illegal..
taxes are supposed to be voluantry ..
Wow keep drumming this up cnn. ofailure definately cant run on the strength of his failed economy so these hit pieces by cnn are very important.
America is declining faster than ever since Obama. One of the reason is that its much easier to find government assistance than to get a job.
Romney is the first politician who pointed this out. This deserves credit.
You know what, if he did not say it, someday when this country cannot pay its debt interest, there will be someone stand out to say this.
Here's a thought for you. Cut the military debt monster in half, we only attack in self defense, and cut all foreign aid to any country in the middle east, to include Israel, and cut all corporate welfare. We will be swimming in dollars. Time they stood on their own.
The largest number of people on the public dole are those on Corporate welfare. And Mitt has told us, Corporations are people my friend/ Check the figures and see how much subsidy is received by oil companies, corp. agriculture. The people who need it the least receive the most. Even precious, anti govt, Michele Bachman and her family have received tens of thousands. All these people who say Mitt is not wrong---yeah, he's way wrong. And by the way when was the last time anyone ran for President and said he does not represent almost half the country? Mitt? Pre civil war thinking, and a mind is a terrible thing to waste......wasted. OBAMA 2012!
Romney's comments need to be put into the context of shaking down big money contributors. Those that were in attendance are shareholders or own big businesses. One needs to take a broad view of Romney the candidate and how he performed as governor. Not a very flattering picture. He is the republican version of Al Gore, who will say anything to get elected and will flip his position to achieve the presidency.
and that's different than obama (and any politician) how ???
I think it's absolutely right of Romney to tell it like it is...soft peddling the problem is what most legislators do and so far it ain't working...the problem grows daily. Under Obama's watch, the economy tells it all: 16 trillion debt, 8.2 unemployment, 1 in 6 living in poverty, 1 in 7 on food stamps, dollar down, wages declining...he needs to go.
I love Rommey! He is a American hero!
He's a chickenhawk, militaristic plutocrat.
Condemning his fellow Americans for wanting to exercise their Simple Basic Rights...
Oh! Yes A Real Hero... Uh Huh
What "Simple Basic Rights"??? You have the right to breath air and not be persecuted unjustly. After that you are on your own. No one owes you a life of comfort or leisure. That is not a right. You have to earn it.
The Latinos will vote "en mass" for Obama since he has guaranteed their free health care, food stamps, education, housing, etc, because they are 90% of the 47% that Romney talks about. They fornicate and mass-produce babies, .which is a FACT (look at Mexico)..guess who will pay for those babies?
This kind of thinking (and saying it out loud) is exactly why the Republicans are going to lose this election.
1) where do you get this statistic?
2) who are you referring to when you say "Latinos?" Illegal immigrants? Or anyone of Hispanic heritage?
I'm Hispanic, and a citizen, who pays taxes, and has 2 children, which is about average.
And I'm voting for Obama, mostly because of people like you.
This is true except for the 90% part. Its much lower than that! Obama most certainly does cater to those that are in part dependent on Gov. Most of his base is in the 47% who don't pay taxes. Nowhere did Romney imply that all 47% were somehow leaches. Just the fact that Obama supporters are far more likely to be dependent on taxpayers.
@Dem Jerry
So you're saying republicans will lose for telling the truth? Seems like honesty is what we need =/
Bitnar, I too have Hispanic roots. But I agree with San01 except for the 90% part which is a gross exaggeration. But the issue is real. Latinos both legal and illegal hold a disproportional share of welfare recipients and as a mass they are fighting for even more welfare. I to work, collect no welfare but see the light and am voting Romney.
When you're talking about "Latinos", last I checked they are Americans right? The Marco Rubios of this nation. So what's that got to do with Mexico? I now now the Right Wngers only would like to consider a person as an American if they lean RIGHT.