Four years ago I relied much on the RealClearPolitics website to find a broad mix of stories related to the political noise of the day. Who knew that four years later the site would still be my most valued source on national issues at a time when hot sites become relics within weeks?
I found two pieces today that offer reasoned (a rare adjective these days) discussion on what Romney said. And to be clear, I believe what Romney described as “not elegantly stated” should more accurately be described as “as wrong calling a cat a fascist.” That is, the 47 percent he named, those who don’t pay income tax, are not all the “dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”
That said, it has opened a conversation about the fact that 47 percent don’t pay federal income taxes. And that’s where Debra Saunders is taking us when she says,
“…the result is an America in which close to half of voters can support any scheme designed to expand the scope of federal government, secure in the knowledge that they likely will not have to pay for it.”
On the flip side, it is worth discovering why there is 47 percent not paying federal income taxes. It’s not just because of the snoozy economy. Steve Chapman, in an editorial that is (I’m warning you now.) highly critical of Romney and his statement, (The title, “Romney’s Dependancy Delusion” is a clue.) explains it this way, among others:
“Since 1990, the number of people getting Social Security benefits has risen by more than a third. That’s not because the government has suddenly enlarged the program in an effort to undermine self-reliance. It’s because there are more old people.”
RCP also links a Washington Post blog post by Aaron Blake, who says the gaffe probably won’t matter in November.
Which reminds me, the Atlantic Monthly has a graph showing historical evidence that Romney’s comment will have little impact on the election’s ultimate outcome.
“showing historical evidence that Romney’s comment will have little impact on the election’s ultimate outcome”. OK, we’ll see.
Cute kitty. You know why Hitler wore such a funny mustache? When he entered the Army, he and most men wore huge handlebar mustaches. He was ordered to shave the mustache off when they had to train with gas masks, but he refused to shave it all off. He only shaved the parts that stuck out of the mask.
Part of what Romney says is right on. I believe the reason we allowed Iraq to go on so long was this basic premise . President Bush put the war on an American Express credit card . We did not pay for it , our kids will. The 100 percent no one hardly ever talks about .
But if we had our taxes raised , and all Americans had a bigger stake in the war besides the volunteers who fought it and the families who suffered along , I don’t think the war would have gone on as long .
The same with the 47 percent , tax cuts , tak hikes tax anything is not as much of an issue to them as having a safety net because they are just getting by. Romney’s mistake was not talking about it , it was saying he did not “care” about the 47 percent . Who the heck wants to be dependent on any one in order to survive ? I am sure some , but not the majority of the 47 percent in my opinion.
A president best care about all of us , the poor , the rich , the middle . Just the outrage seems somewhat feigned and media driven . President Obama has been dividing us ever since he said there was no Blue States , No Red States just the United States .I was hoping he would unite us , I was rooting for him and did not even vote for him . He has pitted religion against Health care , rich against poor, promoted a view if your against him you support hurting the poor,put private sector employees on the other side of private sector employees, if you don’t support Him he says you support dirty water and dirty air and believe in corporate warfare . I don’t feel like he has my back either .
We still have not seen the entire video. So far only enough to get a negative aspect. How about President Obama admitting he is for redistribution of wealth. He wants to take my income and give it to someone else.