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Romney Takes Aim at the 47%

By: Mildred Robertson

Apparently, if you support Barack Obama, you are dependent upon government and believe you are a victim. You also pay no income tax. And Mitt Romney is not worried about you, because you cannot be convinced that you should take personal responsibility for yourself.

These are not words concocted by PR spin doctors. These sentiments came directly from the candidate’s mouth at a closed-door meeting with wealthy donors. Romney has turned his assault from President Obama, and taken aim at the American public.

He flippantly dismisses the millions of hard-working Americans who work two and three jobs to make ends meet and still must rely on food stamps to feed their children. He does not acknowledge the men and women who rise from bed at an ungodly hour to prepare children for school and catch the bus or the train to work. He ignores the day laborers and service workers who have looked for jobs that pay more than the minimum wage, or offer more than 30 hours a week, but cannot find them. He cannot see the young people working at low paying jobs during the day, and attending college or trade school at night. He overlooks the older workers who have been laid off from a well-paying job only to learn that their skills are outdated and there is no place in the market for them.

Many candidates in the past have lauded this segment of America. Many, on both sides of the political aisle, have understood their plight. But not Mitt Romney. He has changed his focus of attack from President Obama toward you and me. He assumes that “average” income is $200,000 to $250,000, so if you fall below that threshold, you don’t really matter to him.  

He does not understand that the average American has to calculate how many times the family can eat out at a restaurant a month or go to the movies. He has no clue that many of us have to make choices between taking a family vacation and saving for our children’s college education. Some must choose whether to buy a new car or use that money for our retirement, all the while hoping the old clunker keeps going until we can get a little bit ahead of the monthly bills. He doesn’t understand that some of us use lay-away to ensure that we can have that special toy under the tree for our children at Christmas. This is a reality of working-class Americans that Romney cannot envision.

Romney does not understand the embarrassment of standing in a grocery line with a food stamp card, or the uncertainty of receiving an eligibility letter from the unemployment office. He actually thinks that these are conditions that some people desire.

If Romney cannot understand the circumstances under which the average American lives, how can he possibly govern in a way that is beneficial to them? If he cannot respect the circumstances of the full spectrum of American citizenry, how can he possibly represent them? If he cannot understand that every struggle is not self-inflicted and that every search for a way out is not a search for a hand out, how can he possibly be president of these United States?