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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Economics 101: Large cov't debt = higher Taxes+higher Inflation+higher Interest. EVERYBODY penalized! Low income non-taxpayers thru infaltion & higher interest rates. Tapayers, rich or otherwise thru higher taxes, interest & inflation. See Greece, Spain, etc.
Mitt spoke the truth. Times are still tough for many so you vote based on what's in your pocket. But if you can afford it, vote for who is best for the country.
Good advice. Think I will vote for Obama.
"If you have a business, you didnt build that. Someone else..made that happen"
-Barrack HUSSEIN Owebama
Under Obama it's always someone else. If it's bad it was Bush. If it's good it was the democrats. Simple.
I never saw a business that was built by 1 person. The slow of mind seem to forget you need customers to build your business.
love your post...he he he he he is right on the money
i call him Obama the vampire, because he is sucking america dry, he makes Dracula looks like a ass.
Mitt Romney said the EXACT same things in a speech, that the Government built roads, funded public schools, built bridges, and railroad tracks and all the INFRASTRUCTURE that allowed you to build your business. That others helped you along on your path in life. That somewhere, you were helped by the government in the many facets in which it functions. Obama's comment was edited and taken out of context. I'm not denying the dems have taken some of what Romney and his "we won't be run by fact checker's' campaign comments out of context, because they have, but ObamaCare is Romney care, and Romney said the government has been helping you for years first. But, if you are the type of person who doesn't need facts, than continue blindly following a man who doesn't care about the majority of the people in this country– the 47%, plus the other 52%. You don't have to educate yourself or check facts–the man you want to win is hoping you don't.
"Shovel ready was not as shovel ready as expected"
-Barrack HUSSEIN Owebama
Funny how you case aspersions on his middle name to link it with Islam, yet voting for a Mormon is ok? Good thinking there, chief. Might want to get some money back from that two semesters of community college....apparently the learning didnt stick
Care to post your email so that we can rub your nose in it in a couple of months? Put your money where your mouth is....nah, your type just keeps bleating desperately.
I think Romney just won the election with this issue. Majority of the country is tired of Owebama the redistributor.
Keep telling yourself that so you can sleep better at night.
Dream on Righty ......... wishful thinking while you are watching the END of Romney's Campaign ,
Obama will win and in 2016 there will be a whole new bunch of great new Democrats waiting to kick butt on whoever the righties put up as a candidate ............ It will probably another Bush with the same old Failed Ideology that Romney is going down the tubes with ..... Same platform that Reagan / Bush had in 1980 .
it's always good to let the sunshine in on these politicians. Obama 2012
Romney was telling a group of rich people what he really thinks and its probably what they think too .....they are paying $ 50,000 to support his campaign , He cant say this on the campaign trail with the cameras rolling on CNN or any other NEW'S station ..............No doubt he really thinks this is true , This is what Republicans think .
The comments are patently false and he is a coward for not saying it to the world if that is how he felt. He only stood up for them after he got busted. To imply someone that paid into the system in one form or another is a moocher is not only stupid its condescending.
We need to put and end to calling welfare for the ultra-rich polite terms like "15% income tax for Mitt Romney", "low or no capital gains tax", "subsidies", "tax loopholes", "bailouts", "mortgage fraud". We call poor people's welfare "welfare". The middle-class gets no welfare. Welfare is welfare no matter what you call it. The gop is the devil for all but the top 1% and corporations. The gop is owned by the elite-rich and corporations. Corporations are sitting on tons of money right now and the so-called "job creators" have lower taxes than anytime in history but there are no jobs. How do tweedledee and tweedledumb think that more money for the ultra-rich and corporations will create jobs when it hasn't worked so far? The republicans keep the absurd thinking going that staying on the path of crony capitalism and more rich and corporate welfare will somehow benefit this country as a whole? The gop does not care about the country as a whole. What the republicans care about is the top 1% elite-rich and corporations that buy all of the republican politicians. And they are trying to buy up all of the democratic politicians and have succeeded a lot, but not as much as with the republican party. We the people, the 99%, will eventually have to revolt. The tunnel vision greed of the elite-rich that is destroying this country will have to be revolted against sooner or later. How much longer do we want the rich to get so much welfare? We need to stop being so polite with the ultra-rich and the corporations. The middle-class gets no welfare.
Hey, it worked for the French! You say you want a revolution? Off with their heads! You're absolutely right. The elite rich have billions of dollars sitting in the bank, and they're holding it hostage because they so hate Obama and want him to fail. The republicans filibuster everything, even their own bills, so nothing will get done, and Obama looks like a failure. But, if they can remember back to this time, in 2008, when Bush was bailing out Fannie Mae/Freddie Mack, and Lehman brothers was announcing their failure, and we were losing 800,000 jobs A Month, maybe they'll understand that we're recovering, we're just not there yet. It takes work and time to get out of that kind of a mess. If the republicans would cooperate, even if they don't like the man, it would be even better, but they won't. Even the dems who hated Bush put aside their differences to enact some laws and keep things moving. I'm not saying the dems aren't at fault, too, because they're rich and refuse to include everyone's valid opinions, but they've been the more reasonable of the two parties when it comes to getting some work done.
Democrats want to invest in education to give people a chance to get decent jobs and earn a respectable wage.
Democrats want to teach people about family planning and give them to tools necessary to prevent unwanted pregnancies so people can keep their families at a manageable size.
Democrats attempted to pass a jobs bill that would allow people looking for jobs to work.
How is that making people dependent on the government? It's not, that's just a GOP talking point. It's something that those who cannot think for themselves believe. The truth is that Obama would like for those who are looking for help to succeed to get a little boost. Not everyone is born on third base.
30 million Americans jobless
831 Billion "Stimulous" wasted, where is it? in Swizerland?
house values 50% down
college tuition more Expnesive than ever before
The u.s has more enemies than ever before
three times more people on Welfare,Welfare is becoming the best job for American now days.
Obama the Vampire also Triple the country's National Debt and now is at over 16 trillion
what else sir....do you remenber anything else
you Obama lovers love him because you all were mistaken back in 2008 and now your Selfisness doesn't let you Act Clearly...Selfish Selfish Selsfish that 's what Obama preaches everyday.
30 million Americans jobless
831 Billion "Stimulous" wasted, where is it? in Swizerland?
house values 50% down
college tuition more Expnesive than ever before
The u.s has more enemies than ever before
three times more people on Welfare,Welfare is becoming the best job for American now days.
Obama the Vampire also Triple the country's National Debt and now is at over 16 trillion
what else sir....do you remenber anything else
you Obama lovers love him because you all were mistaken back in 2008 and now your Selfisness doesn't let you Act Clearly...Selfishness , that 's what Obama preaches everyday.
30 million Americans jobless
false – more like 18 mllion – and 10 million have gone bacl to work
831 Billion "Stimulous" wasted, where is it? in Swizerland?
false – some of the money went to energy saving projects, roads and bridges and other infrastructure projects – hardly wasted. much of the money went to the auto industry – mostly paid back, the banking industry – actually turned aprofit and to citizens – cash for clunkers, mortgage adjustments, etc. i would say again – not wasted.
house values 50% down
false – the average house went down by 20% some 50% some nothin
college tuition more Expnesive than ever before
The u.s has more enemies than ever before
three times more people on Welfare,Welfare is becoming the best job for American now days.
Obama the Vampire also Triple the country's National Debt and now is at over 16 trillion
what else sir....do you remenber anything else
you Obama lovers love him because you all were mistaken back in 2008 and now your Selfisness doesn't let you Act Clearly...Selfishness , that 's what Obama preaches everyday.
September 19, 2012 at 7:20 pm | Report abuse |
Mr. Romney's remarks were a mistake and simply because he told the truth! Politicians on the other side of the fence will immediately make fodder of it as it suits their purposes.
If Romney told the truth, then Obama is going to win by a landslide. Why? Because there are a bunch of Obama supporters who pay income taxes! With those supporters and the ones who don't pay income taxes Romney stands no chance.
Romney's remarks werent elegant , but they were obviouly taped on purpose to bring them out 6 months later to try to hurt his campaing....listen sir, Romney already Turned Around NC...Florida will go Romney, so will virginia, Wisconsin , HH ,Iowa and even Colorado is getting there too...those are all States that Obama won by a mile back in 2008 and now they are all toss ups...even if Obama wins Ohio, and that's not even sure yet...Romney still can win the Elections by winning all these estates that are obviouly turning around little by little.....the question Everybody should be asking is...why dont they play the entire video!!
What a load of baloney again on this site. Romney specifically talked about those folks who have no desire to do anything other than survive off the feds. This guys states that he is not one of those people, so then what is the problem? Romney has also stated that the believes in a fed that does help as needed , but that promotes true independence thru employment, not government handouts. Always gotta love the liberalized angles promoted here as mainstream.
Did you listen to the tape or are you basing your opinion off of conservative spin. There are lot's of 47%ers since 2000. And with companies laying off more workers, i.e., AMR, many more will join the group. The sad thing about it is those who are on the brink of landing inside the 47% category who will vote against the personal financial interest simply out of blind allegiance or stupidity.
exactly...this is nothing but a bunch of Hate bunch of Democrats inspired by Obama to discredit Romney's reputation..and the funny thing is that many people talk about Romney beeb the one who shoots first....well, why dont ypeople wait until the entire video is play to shoot first ?
doubled standard, Biased and Reversed Discrimination is killing this country, not to mention reason # 1
Obama's Selfishness Govt now for 4 years...
Victims? Don't be melodramatic. Tell me. Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really tell me to keep my money, or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare?
Obama, is leading the sheep to slaughter. People I don't like CNN or Fox news. You have to listen to both to decipher what is what. I don't Think Romeny is the best speaker, but this country needs someone with business experience. Obama was elected because he's a phenomenal speaker. He did nothing before become the President..... NOTHING
The last two business Presidents that we had were, Herbert Hoover and George W. Bush. I seem to remember certain economic turmoil after each of those presidency's . Bottom line is goverment is not a business and vise versa.
Romney is not that hard to understand. He is just operating out of his comfort zone, which in his case is the business world and corporations. He obviously thinks the best way to manage our country is like a large corporation. He looks at data, analyses, and the bottom line. If he determines that you're productivity is not up to his standards, then he'll give you the boot to improve that bottom line. Someone needs to get through to him that "people are not corporations, too".