The title of this post is from Bloomberg View, the editorial arm of Bloomberg.com…
Bloomberg View - By Josh Barro
You can mark my prediction now: A secret recording from a closed-door Mitt Romney fundraiser, released today by David Corn at Mother Jones, has killed Mitt Romney’s campaign for president.
On the tape, Romney explains that his electoral strategy involves writing off nearly half the country as unmovable Obama voters. As Romney explains, 47 percent of Americans “believe that they are victims.” He laments: “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
So what’s the upshot? “My job is not to worry about those people,” he says. He also notes, describing President Obama’s base, “These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax.”
This is an utter disaster for Romney.
Romney already has trouble relating to the public and convincing people he cares about them. Now, he’s been caught on video saying that nearly half the country consists of hopeless losers.
Romney has been vigorously denying President Obama’s claims that his tax plan would raise taxes on the middle class. Now, he’s been caught on video suggesting that low- and middle-income Americans are undertaxed.
(That one is especially problematic given the speculation about what’s on Mitt’s unreleased pre-2010 tax returns.)
Corn tells us there are more embarrassing moments on segments of the video he hasn’t released yet. Romney jokes that he’d be more likely to win the election if he were Hispanic. He makes some awkward comments about whether he was born with a “silver spoon” in his mouth.
But those are survivable. The really disastrous thing is the clip about “victims,” and the combination of contempt and pity that Romney shows for anyone who isn’t going to vote for him.
Romney is the most opaque presidential nominee since Nixon, and people have been reduced to guessing what his true feelings are. This video provides an answer: He feels that you’re a loser. It’s not an answer that wins elections.
(Josh Barro is lead writer for the Ticker. E-mail him and follow him on Twitter.)
Read more breaking commentary from Bloomberg View at the Ticker.
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It’s difficult to corner a snake, but the Mittster just may hae slithered iinto the chicken house one time too many.
Maybe he thinks he can shame Americans into voting for him.
This apple fell a very long way
That silver spoon (or was it a foot?) caused a ricochet.
I’m not as sanguine as Barro. Unforturnately votes have a long history of voter against self interest. But I hope he is right.
There’s a problem w the assumption that Mitt Romney will lose. Fact: The people who vote have money; the people that are poor, or who lose hope (who are most likely to be among the 47%) … many of them don’t vote. This is why Republicans had to get rid of ACORN. Why Democrats let this happen, I’ll never understand.