The Republican nominee for President is a very wealthy man. He is obviously adroit at counting, especially when it comes to money. His various bank accounts, whether domiciled in
Recent developments leave some question as to just how rigorously Mr.Romney applies this erstwhile exceptionally refined skill set when counting people in general, voters more precisely, and people likely to vote for him in particular. Over the course of the campaign, questions and concerns have arisen regarding whether Candidate Romney has effectively managed to stay on message, maintain previously stated positions, and project a consistent message to different audiences.
These concerns have emerged and coalesced, in large measure, because the GOP has become a house-divided. This division played an integral role during the Republican primaries, and was instrumental in the popularity of various candidates rising and falling during the primary season.
Willard brought a checkered past to the table. He was generally regarded as a Moderate Governor when he led the State of
All this and more made him the anti-candidate for the newly transcendent, ultraconservative strain of the GOP known as the Tea Party, as well as for several of his more conservative leaning primary rivals, including Michele Bachmann, the Rick Brothers (Perry & Santorum), Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain. Despite the head winds resulting from this opposition, Romney prevailed. In some cases his opponents self-destructed. Rick Perry, for example, could not avoid stepping on his own message. Meanwhile Herman Cain was done in by revelations of indiscretions from his past.
Mr. Romney’s efforts also benefited from both his own personal fortune, and from the tail winds generated by Super Pac money, made possible by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling. In effect, he was able to spend his remaining rivals into oblivion. At different times, he aimed his financial Tsunami at Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich. They had no answer.
A couple of days ago, Mother Jones Magazine released a video showing Willard Romney making comments about Obama supporters that he later described as off-the-cuff and inelegant. However, he neither rescinded them, nor offered an apology. Those comments were recorded, surreptitiously, in May at a $50,000 per plate fundraiser in
The gist of the Governor’s comments can be distilled into these essential points:
1.
There are 47%
of the people who will vote for the President,
no matter what
2.
There are 47%
who are with him
a.
Who are dependent upon government
b.
Who believe that they are victims
c.
Who believe that government has a responsibility to care
for them
d.
Who believe they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to
housing, to you-name-it
3.
That that’s an entitlement…And
the government should give it to them
4.
The President
starts off with 48, 49…he starts off
with a huge number
5.
These are people who pay no income tax
6.
Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no
income tax, so our message of low taxes doesn’t connect
7.
He’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich; that’s’
what they sell every four years
8.
My job is not to worry about those people; I’ll never
convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives
9.
What I have to do is convince the five to ten percent in the center that are
independents
a.
That are thoughtful
b.
That look at voting one way or the other depending upon
in some cases emotion
10. Whether they like the
guy or not
There has been a lot of analysis about this unedited stream of consciousness straight from the candidate’s mind. Republican
strategists, who generally are tasked with defending the nominee, have
emphasized the truth-telling aspect of the message. Many have applauded his resolve and
commitment to double-down. They giddily underscore the fact that 47% of Americans do not pay taxes. This, by the way, is not only true, but may
even be a conservative estimate. One
recent data source says that number has crept up to 51%.
However, if you don’t have the responsibility of carrying that water, you may be open to a few of the other implications
of Governor Romney’s remarks. Namely, that
the off-the-cuff and inelegantly framed comments appear to assert that all Obama supporters:
·
Are dependent upon government
·
Pay no taxes
·
See themselves as victims
·
Believe government is responsible for them
·
Think they are entitled to healthcare, food, housing,
you-name-it, and that government should give it to them
·
Are not thoughtful
·
Are incapable or unwilling to employ the power of
discernment in determining for whom they will vote
·
Are not concerned about lower taxes (except for those of the rich)
·
Do not take personal responsibility and/or care for their
own lives
·
Are not thoughtful voters
Is it conceivable that each of those ten points is an irrefutable and universal fact? That is likely inconceivable. However, just to be clear, if one believed
that sentiment in its entirety, it would mean that person believed, among other
things, that 95% of African American voters, 66% of Latino voters, and 56% of
college educated white women voters don’t
pay taxes, see themselves as victims, do not take personal responsibility
and/or care for their own lives, and are not thoughtful voters. Taken in part or as a whole, that is more
than a stretch.
Moreover, one extrapolation of
this narrative holds that retirees,
veterans, recently laid-off workers on food stamps, many of whom support the Governor, are being written off. As you might imagine, the fallout from this
recent revelation has spurred the Romney
Campaign into damage control mode. Call it, a double reset, or Reset.2.
In an effort to get ahead of the story, Team
Romney orchestrated a hastily
called press conference after 10:00 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Savings Time Monday night. In it, the Governor doubled-down on
his comments, focusing on why non-taxpayers will not find his message
appealing. Interestingly, he did not
mention the millions of Obama
supporters who do pay taxes, who do take personal responsibility, and who
do not see themselves as victims.
In his Monday night news
conference, Candidate Romney
contended he was taken out of context, and rued the fact the entire video sequence
was not presented. In fact, he asked for
its full disclosure.
So Tuesday, Mother Jones released the entire video. In a companion piece, David Corn, head of the Washington
Bureau of Mother Jones noted:
“Romney was not the only
one who has called for the release of the full 49-minute video. And we're more
than happy to oblige. The complete video demonstrates that Romney was not
snippetized and that he was captured raw and uncut.”
When taking into account comments from around the political spectrum, Democrats have understandably been
somewhat understated. Oh sure, some have
made the obligatory comment here and there, but most have been comfortably
ensconced on the sidelines while watching Republicans
of all stripes labor to make sense of this latest Romney Camp PR dust-up.
The most “dug-in” GOP pols,
aside from those who actually work for the campaign, appear to be the Tea Party types, Neocons, and the abashedly ultraconservatives. In statements such as those made by Romney, they actually see some evidence
that the Governor really is capable
of earning not just their vote, but their trust.
Contrast that with David Brooks,
a conservative commentator who writes for the New York Times. He wrote a
scathing op-ed entitled Thurston Howell Romney. Thurston Howell, III, in the event you don’t recall, was the mega-bucks character on the TV Show,
Gilligan’s Island, who took tens of
thousands of dollars and several changes of clothes on what was intended to be
a 1-day cruise.
In the piece, Brooks makes
several assertions, and poses a series of companion queries. First, he suggests that at the Florida fundraiser, Romney, who criticizes President
Obama for dividing the nation, proceeds, himself, to “divide the nation
into two groups: the makers and the
moochers.”
Brooks argues that Romney really doesn’t know much about
the country he inhabits.
“Who are
these freeloaders? Is it the Iraq
He suggests the Governor does not
know much about the culture of America
“Americans believe in
work more than almost any other people. Ninety-two
percent say that hard work is the key to success, according to a 2009 Pew Research Survey.”
He suggests Romney does not know
much about the political culture.
“The number of people who think government spending
promotes social mobility has fallen.
“The people who receive the disproportionate
share of government spending are not big-government lovers. They are Republicans. They are senior citizens. They are white men with high school degrees. As Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution has noted, the people who have benefited from
the entitlements explosion are middle-class workers, more so than the dependent poor.”
“Romney
has lost track of the social compact. In 1987,
during Reagan’s second term, 62% of Republicans believed that government has a responsibility to help
those who cannot help themselves.
According to a recent Pew study,
only 40% of Republicans believe that today.”
Finally, Brooks notes:
“Romney
knows nothing about ambition and motivation. The formula he sketches is this: People who are forced to make it on their
own have drive. People who receive
benefits have dependency.”
In closing, Brooks said this:
“Personally, I think he’s a kind, decent
man who says stupid things because he is pretending to be something he is not —
some sort of cartoonish government-hater. But it scarcely matters. He’s running
a depressingly inept presidential campaign. Mr. Romney, your entitlement reform
ideas are essential, but when will the incompetence stop?”
While comparing Governor Romney’s
comments to then Senator Obama’s 2008 comments
about clinging to guns and God, (Here's Barack Obama), Bill Kristol
, a neocon political analyst,
commentator, and editor of the Weekly
Standard wrote in a column yesterday, “Romney’s
comments are stupid and arrogant.”
Even some GOP Senate
candidates, (Scott Brown, Massachusetts , Linda McMahon of wrestling notoriety, Connecticut
For some, it had appeared
the GOP was flagging in interest, and
down on it’s Presidential
nominee. In seeking a reset, then being
forced to chart Reset.2, the Campaign has found a burst of
enthusiasm. It is unclear whether it can
be used to propel the overarching political debate in directions Republicans desire.
In summary, the 2012 race to the Presidency is as close as it's ever been, with no compelling signs that attendant dynamics have shifted fundamentally. Two important aspects of note to keep in mind are: 1) Yesterday's Gallup Poll indicates, in the wake of the Libyan fallout, any Post Convention Bounce President Obama experienced last week has dissapated; 2) Perhaps even more important, courtesy of the Super Pacs, the Romney Camp maintains a humongous money advantage. This could be critical over the course of the final seven weeks of the campaign.
The combined observation/question of the moment can be stated simply..."Willard Romney Unplugged, Unrepentant; but is He Undone?" We'll see.
I’m done; holla back!
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