Extremely bad day for Romney...the end is near for him

davesdatahut: Did you all see this?
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/romney-faults-those-dependent-on-government/?hp
If the Dems exploit this, he is pretty much finished. It will be a death knell. Only an October surprise or some kind of Obama disaster will same him at this point.

davesdatahut: I mean only a disaster will SAVE him.

OCD_OCD: Why? Saying that 47% of the US doesn't pay taxes is true. Saying that people who take government handouts would likely vote for Obama is also factual. I'm not sure why being honest is a bad thing.

OCD_OCD: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105131/HALF-Americans-dont-pay-income-tax-despite-crippling-government-debt.html

Only half of U.S. citizens pay federal income tax, according to the latest available figures.
In 2009, just 50.5 per cent of Americans paid any income tax to the federal government - the lowest proportion in at least half a century.

...

The decreasing number of taxpayers threatens government revenues, and could also cause resentment from those who believe that welfare recipients are taking money out of the economy.

151.7million U.S. citizens paid no federal income tax in 2009, according to figures compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank.
In 1984, the middle of the Reagan era, 85 per cent of Americans paid federal income tax, meaning just 34.8million people did not.

....

Another finding by the Heritage Foundation shows that 21.8 per cent of U.S. citizens receive financial assistance from the federal government.

This means that 67.3million people - a record high - are 'dependent on the federal government', excluding government employees who rely on the public sector for their salaries.

The conjunction of fewer taxpayers with higher welfare payments has led to intense pressure on the public purse, with the national deficit running at $1.3trillion per year.

The Heritage Foundation argues that the reduction in the number of taxpayers will create an electorate dominated by non-taxpayers, who will always support higher taxes and spending because their own money is not at stake.

davesdatahut: It's what he said and they way he said it that will finish him. It was a fantastically stupid way of putting it. The Dems will run this through the political-ad wringer and make toast out of him. It's pretty much over for Romney now, barring some October surprise.

davesdatahut: And 47 percent don't pay federal income taxes. It is complete bullshit to say they don't pay taxes. They pay sales tax, property tax, all sorts of state taxes, and so on. It's a crap number.

OCD_OCD: And were these well though out quotes?

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." --Clinton fundraiser and former Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, who resigned from Clinton's campaign after making the remark

"She is a monster, too -- that is off the record -- she is stooping to anything." --Obama aide Samantha Powers, on Hillary Clinton. Powers resigned after making the remark

"For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change." --Michelle Obama

"Mr. Richardson's endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic." --Clinton supporter James Carville, calling New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama "an act of betrayal"

"This is a stain on his legacy, much worse, much deeper, than the one on Monica's blue dress." --Obama adviser Gordon Fischer, on Bill Clinton's attacks on Obama

OCD_OCD: These quotes by Barak Obama are not necessarily the hallmark of competence and knowledge.

"We're the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad." —Cincinnati, OH, Sept. 22, 2011

"We're not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that's fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money. But, you know, part of the American way is, you know, you can just keep on making it if you're providing a good product or providing good service. We don’t want people to stop, ah, fulfilling the core responsibilities of the financial system to help grow our economy." —on Wall Street reform, Quincy, Ill., April 29, 2010

"One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, representative of the extraordinary work that our men and women in uniform do all around the world -- Navy Corpse-Man Christian Brossard." –mispronouncing "Corpsman" (the "ps" is silent) during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C., Feb. 5, 2010 (The Corpsman's name is also Christopher, not Christian)

"The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries." --Tampa, Fla., Jan. 28, 2010

"UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems." –attempting to make the case for government-run healthcare, while simultaneously undercutting his own argument, Portsmouth, N.H., Aug. 11, 2009

"The Cambridge police acted stupidly." —commenting on a white police officer's arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home in Cambridge, Mass., at a news conference, July 22, 2009

"The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings and inefficiencies to our health care system." --in remarks after a health care roundtable with physicians, nurses and health care providers, Washington, D.C., July 20, 2009

OCD_OCD: "It was also interesting to see that political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate. There's a lot of -- I don't know what the term is in Austrian, wheeling and dealing." --confusing German for "Austrian," a language which does not exist, Strasbourg, France, April 6, 2009

"No, no. I have been practicing...I bowled a 129. It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something." --making an off-hand joke during an appearance on "The Tonight Show", March 19, 2009 (Obama later called the head of the Special Olympics to apologize)

"I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances." --after saying he had spoken with all the living presidents as he prepared to take office, Washington, D.C., Nov. 7, 2008 (Obama later called Nancy Reagan to apologize)

"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." -- defending his tax plan to Joe the Plumber, who argued that Obama's policy hurts small-business owners like himself, Toledo, Ohio, Oct. 12, 2008

"What I was suggesting -- you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith..." --in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, who jumped in to correct Obama by saying "your Christian faith," which Obama quickly clarified (Watch video clip)

OCD_OCD: "I'm here with the Girardo family here in St. Louis." --speaking via satellite to the Democratic National Convention, while in Kansas City, Missouri, Aug. 25, 2008

"Let me introduce to you the next President -- the next Vice President of the United States of America, Joe Biden." --slipping up while introducing Joe Biden at their first joint campaign rally, Springfield, Illinois, Aug. 23, 2008

"Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee -- which is my committee -- a bill to call for divestment from Iran as way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon." --referring to a committee he is not on, Sderot, Israel, July 23, 2008

"Let me be absolutely clear. Israel is a strong friend of Israel's. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under a McCain...administration. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under an Obama administration. So that policy is not going to change." --Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008

"How's it going, Sunshine?" --campaigning in Sunrise, Florida

"On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong."

"Hold on one second, sweetie, we're going to do -- we'll do a press avail." --to a female reporter for ABC's Detroit affiliate who asked about his plan to help American autoworkers (Watch video clip)

OCD_OCD: And my all-time favorite:


"I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go." --at a campaign event in Beaverton, Oregon (Watch video clip)

LMAO at 57 states.

davesdatahut: None of any of that matters. It's all past tense, mostly from years ago and none of it as incendiary and toxic as what Romney said. This is the present tense. Again, it is not so much the ideas expressed, it was the way they were expressed. He will be put through the wringer on this and it ain't gonna be pretty for him. I can see the GOP honchos tearing up the score sheets now and taking names for the 2016 ticket.

OCD_OCD: LOL. Of course it doesn't matter. It was said by Obama, right?

What Romney said was the truth. Ugly as it is, it's still the truth.

Sarcastic Dots: "Why? Saying that 47% of the US doesn't pay taxes is true. Saying that people who take government handouts would likely vote for Obama is also factual. I'm not sure why being honest is a bad thing."

Because it's an incorrect statement. States that pay the most in taxes vs states that pay the least. Save for Florida, which often trades hands, what do you notice here?

http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50586e3cecad04c72c000010-616-429/mitt-romney-tax.png

Here

Out of the 10 states with the highest percentage of filers with no liability, all but one — Florida — are reliable Republican stalwarts.

This map, however, only measures Americans who file tax returns without liability. Millions of others have some income, but not enough to file a return. Those people, combined with the 52 million who make up this map, comprise the 47 percent.

Of course, just because people don't pay income taxes doesn't mean they don't pay any taxes at all. Here's another breakdown of the 47 percent, which shows how nearly two-thirds of that 47 percent pay payroll taxes. Most of the last third are comprised of the elderly (who also tend to vote reliably Republican) and people who make less than $20,000 (big Obama supporters).

http://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-47-percent-no-income-tax-map-red-republican-states-2012-9#ixzz26peEY1cF

davesdatahut: OCD, you're missing my point. It is not the idea expressed, so much as the bumbling, spectacularly dumb way it was expressed. Romney is going to get smooshed in the ads, and all the Democratic operatives have to do is quote verbatim what he said, with the video, and some minimal context. Devastating stuff in today's economic climate. Devastating.

OCD_OCD: Payroll taxes are not income tax.

i think the current economic climate is devastating.

davesdatahut: It sure ain't great. But it sure is better than it was four years back. Not the sunniest commentary ever as we are still deep in the shitter, and completely vulnerable to world forces beyond our control as well as the utterly dysfunctional Congress. But it could be a whole lot worse.

OCD_OCD: If we keep spending, it will be a whole lot worse. We will make Greece look like a pimple on an elephant's ass.

davesdatahut: Congress and the president certainly must deal with the government debt and the fiscal cliff we are headed toward. Clearly they have been manifestly unable to do so. There are many reasons for this, and plenty of blame on the part of Dems and Repubs. After the president is re-elected (and today's events have pretty much sealed that deal) he needs to take to the bully pulpit and exert some of the power of his office to force all sides together and strike a reasonable deal to let us climb out of the debt problem. He needs to exercise better leadership and the blockheads in the GOP leadership will need to drop their selfish position that they will do absolutely nothing to help the president solve problems.

davesdatahut: And....let us not get sidetracked from the point of this thread - that Romney has blathered himself into a corner, from which he is unlikely to emerge. From here to election day, his comment will be used against him and I suspect he will be a sitting duck and a daily punching bag. Some Repubs are already distancing themselves from him, to save their own asses. When that happens to a presidential candidate, it's goodnight Irene. Turn out the lights. The party's over.

OCD_OCD: Dave, Obama has been President for nearly 4 years and has not passed a budget. His budget did not get a single vote from the Democrats either.

OCD_OCD: We will see. Had what he said been untrue, you might be right. But it wasn't. The US is on the cusp of becoming a country where everyone is dependent on the government for everything. Once that happens, we will be no better off than China or Russia or Venezuela because the government will nationalize everything and we will simply be slaves that are required to stoke the furnace that empowers the government to control our every breath.

jink88: I agree with Dave, amongst other blunders Romney has made; this one will hang him out to dry

OCD_OCD: Never can tell.

StuckInTheSixties:

Lately I've been trying to stay out of forums like this one, but I just HAD to share this:

davesdatahut: OCD, when you say we are becoming a country where everyone is dependent on the government, I'm not sure who you mean by everyone. I'm not. Perhaps you're not. My workmates are not. My friends are not. So who is? A lot of people are, yes, particular people with crappy jobs and not much future. As well as farmers who depend on subsidies. And corporations and really rich people like Mitt, who depend on the Byzantine tax code to reduce their tax obligation. But a lot of people are not. Of course, everyone depends on the government for SOME things - like cops and roads and schools and water. But I assume you are not talking about that kind of dependency. Or maybe you are? Either way, within this context, who are these everyone's who you see as becoming tethered to the government?