Is Mitt Romney Calling You a Freeloader?

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, by Flickr user Tobyotter.

Well, maybe and maybe not.

Watch this video – which was taped in secret – of the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, speaking at a fundraising event:

The clip is part of longer video of the same event, in which Romney talks about other issues. (For one thing, he says Obama bases his diplomacy on trying to use his “charm” to sway leaders of other countries.)

Watch the whole video >>

Was he talking about you? Let’s take a look.

Who are the 47%?

Simply put, they are:

“[T]he portion of American households that owe no income tax for 2009.”

If you don’t pay income tax, it’s very likely because you are low income or unemployed.

(Which raises the question: Is Romney saying that low-income Americans and the unemployed are “entitled” people who not only see themselves as “victims” and sponge off the government, but also are in the tank for Obama? More on this later.)

By the way, some people other than the poor don’t pay income tax, either. A lot of those people are young, perhaps partly because many young people are employed on a very part-time basis.

And military veterans don’t pay income taxes on their combat pay.

And that’s just income tax. It doesn’t mean they pay no taxes. (Most people pay payroll tax, which goes to Medicare and Social Security, as well as sales tax and other taxes.)

And if you pay no income tax or payroll tax, that’s usually because you’re either elderly and living on Social Security, or because you’re low-income.

Here’s where “non-payers” of income tax live:

If that section at the bottom reminds you a little bit of those red state / blue state maps, you’re not wrong.

Red state, blue state

So it looks like Romney might have been referring to a lot of people who tend to vote Republican, not Democratic. Whoops.

What’s Romney saying about it?

He admitted his comments weren’t “elegantly stated.”

Responding to the part in the video where he says “my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives,” he said this:

“Of course, I want to help all Americans, all Americans, have a bright and prosperous future.”

He also said this to a Fox News reporter, according to Politico:

“And the problem right now is you see in this country so many people have fallen into poverty that they’re not paying taxes – they have to rely on government. And the right course to help them is not just to have government handing out but instead government helping people to get back to good jobs.”

Let me guess. People are getting hysterical about this, right?

Right.

https://twitter.com/chrisrockoz/status/247883135797325824

https://twitter.com/Mattison/status/248063871099736065

It’s way beyond gaffe level. It’s a full-blown firestorm.

Of course, it also became an instant joke, partly because Romney is very rich and has refused to make public how much he himself pays in taxes.

And some are saying that the Romney campaign’s handling of the whole situation raises larger questions.

On the other hand, are some people supporting what Romney said? Absolutely.

Has Obama ever had a moment like this?

Well, when he said “you didn’t build that” to small business owners a few weeks ago, that ticked off a lot of people too.

And some are saying the Romney video reminds them of when Obama was running for president in the first place and said some people who are frustrated with government “get bitter and they cling to guns or religion or antipathy towards people who aren’t like them”:

Still, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are saying the Romney video shows that their rival is “out of touch” and “doesn’t get it.”

By the way, Obama said the same thing four years ago about his opponent then, John McCain:

What really matters here?

Here are some of the big questions:

Holly Epstein Ojalvo

Holly's dream is to empower young people to change the world by helping them become more informed and engaged. She is the founder and editor in chief of Kicker. Her past lives have included editing for The New York Times Learning Network, teaching high school, advising student newspapers, and freelance reporting. Follow: @heoj.

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