"Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax."
—
Mitt Romney on Thursday, May 17th, 2012 in remarks at a campaign fundraiser
Mitt Romney says 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax
By
Molly Moorhead on Tuesday, September 18th, 2012 at 6:06 p.m.
This is an excerpt from a video leaked to the liberal magazine Mother Jones in which Mitt Romney explains his views on who in the United States pays taxes and who they may vote for this fall.
Mitt Romney told wealthy donors gathered at a high-dollar campaign fundraiser that there’s a group of voters he believes he can never win over: people who pay no taxes.
Video of Romney speaking at the event, held in Boca Raton, Fla., was leaked to the liberal magazine Mother Jones on Sept. 17, 2012, stirring up controversy in the heated presidential race.
In his remarks, Romney used broad strokes to characterize millions of people who he said solidly support President Barack Obama.
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney said
in the video. "All right, 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. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.
"And I mean the president starts out with 48, 49 percent … he starts off with a huge number," Romney continued. "These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect. So he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean, that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
The arrogance of a virtue cult member, Mormon to Republican, we're better than the rest, the good people. You won't see him scattering the money changer's tables. Maybe some charity for show.