A week ago, the hidden-camera video recording of Mitt Romney and his apparent disdain for the average American citizen went viral. Romney made the comments at a closed-door banquet with his donors in Florida earlier this year. However, he clearly did not anticipate that his comments would eventually crawl from the depths of the shadows and into the public view, specifically into the view of the “47 percent.”
During the banquet, which can be seen in full-length on huffingtonpost.com, Romney discusses a variety of topics. Despite what the media tends to imply, not everything he says is bad. Cruise along through the video for about 17 minutes and you might be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” regardless of your own personal political agenda.
Then it happens. Just past the 17-minute marker of the video, Romney launches into controversial statements about the “47 percent” of Americans. It is difficult to understand the question asked by the attendee due to noise made by one of the servers, but it is along the lines of “how will you get more people to vote for you?” At this point, I am on the edge of my seat.
“There are 47 percent who are with him (Obama), who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has responsibility to care for them, believe they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, you name it,” Romney said.
As a liberal and a huge supporter of the American Healthcare Act, this really hit home. Romney is throwing out implications about people that simply are not true. When he says the word “entitled,” he puts a lot of force and emphasis into it, driving home the point that he thinks it is wrong.
Do I think I am entitled to government healthcare? You better believe I do! Many, if not all, of America’s world peers provide government healthcare for their citizens. Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and most European countries have a government healthcare plan in effect. The United States is a step behind.
Romney’s statements imply that if an individual supports Obama, he or she simply desires to freeload off of the government. Obama supporters do not believe they are victims. However, they do believe it is the government’s responsibility to provide for its citizens. Look at Denmark, for example. Denmark, according to the Huffington Post, has been rated the happiest country in the world. (The U.S. is the 10th happiest country in the world.) Denmark is currently under Social Democratic rule and provides universal healthcare for its citizens, amongst many other benefits. They also enjoy a low unemployment rate. Perhaps Danes are so happy because they believe their country cares about them?
Romney is out of touch with the American people. He does not understand what it means to be an “average American.”
At one point during the banquet, he tried to be relatable by throwing out on the table that he is not very well know by the general American public. That was when a vivacious attendee piped in, “You’re known as a rich boy! They say ‘you’re a rich man!’” Being wealthy does not make him a bad person. However, he cannot expect the average American to relate to the mentality and lifestyle that accompany wealth.
I believe that Romney will be the demise of our nation if he takes the office in January. His ideas and policies are for the greater good of big business and the rich, and will only hurt the Average Joe. He has shown time and time again his lack of support for the “47 percent,” and even says in his speech it is not his job to worry about those people. They need to take personal responsibility.
I think he needs to take more personal responsibility as the potential president of the United States and realize he would be the leader for the entire country, not 53 percent of it.
