Romney and the 47%

Posted by in Blog, Politics on September 17, 2012 10:58 pm / 3 comments

I’ll leave the subject of whether Governor Romney’s “47%”-comments from the fundraiser will hurt or aid him in his quest to replace President Obama in the White House for others to discuss. Here I want to highlight the underlying implication and stakes in what Governor Romney was saying.

Most of you know the numbers by now. The bottom 50% of earners end up paying less than 3% of the total income tax in the United States while receiving generous support from the government in various forms. Republicans would be well served by focusing on the second half of that equation instead of the first, because the second half of the equation is where the real ideological battle for the soul of the country will take place. Losing that battle is likely to leave the Republican Party and those who believe in individual and economic freedoms irrelevant in the future.

The Democrats and President Obama believe that the government is a force for good and that it can make decisions on behalf of citizens that will have great benefits for the nation. Because of their faith in government, Democrats in general have no problem with an ever growing federal government involved in almost everything from taxing donuts and placing fines on lemonade stands to education and “sustainable” energy. Think about Obama’s fictional Julia and how the government aids her in every stage of her life.

A mere bonus for the Democrats is the fact that this builds a strong electoral coalition of those who share their ideological goals. This includes left-leaning individuals, public sector employees, those on the receiving end of government’s redistribution of resources, and private companies receiving preferential treatment by the government.

Scaling back the ever growing federal government is not simply an ideological position anymore but has started to become a necessity for Republicans if they want to stand a chance to prevail in future presidential elections.

I know that scaling back government isn’t to be found on President Obama’s “to do”-list, but I hope it’s on Governor Romney’s. His comments today about the “47%” seem to signal that he does in fact realize that action is needed unless America intends to go the way of Greece.

 
 

3 Comments

  1. chas holman says:
    September 17, 2012 at 11:37 pm

    “There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”

    This, from a man who got $70,000 Government tax break last year for his pet horse.

  2. Kathy says:
    September 18, 2012 at 4:45 am

    Of course, Mitt Romney intends to and sees the need for scaling back government programs. He has been preaching since he started running. I am not sure why there was any doubt. I think he can use this intended distraction by the media and the Democrats to his advantage. He needs to play it up and address those how are tired of carrying the ‘freeloaders’. I think it will help him, because anyone bothered by his remarks wasn’t voting for him to begin with.

  3. vanguarg says:
    September 18, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Ironic how the truth can “hurt” a candidate…especially one who’s running against an incumbent who can never tell the truth. I see this as a one-day event to be forgotten completely by next week. However, Romney must understand, anything, anything he says can and will be used against him by the Media if they think it can benefit Obama. The referees in this game have been bought and paid for, and will cheat.

Post a Comment