So it appears the Governor doesn’t want the Frank’s Place vote. We here at Frank’s Place are ready to pull the lever for him, but he just called us losers. Odd strategery Governor, very odd strategery.
Here’s the low down. Governor Romney was at a private fundraiser last night. Well, private except for an iPhone video that was reportedly made or discovered by the grandson of President Jimmy Carter. More on that in a sec. In the video Romney can be heard saying that roughly 47% of the country will most likely vote for Obama. He expounded to say that those 47% are the people who take no responsibility for their lives, expect government to provide them food, shelter, clothing, etc… Here is the exact quote from the Wall Street Journal:
“There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president, no matter what,” Mr. Romney said in the video. “All right, there are 47% 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.…These are people who pay no income tax.”
Quick tough guy side note: Bro, I’m not a victim, I’m a retired vet with 22 years of service. I worked for 15 years in the warehouse at Sears & Roebuck in Mays Landing NJ. Smarten up Governor.
Ok, my wounded pride not withstanding, the 47% not paying taxes Romney thinks he’s talking about is actually made up of the working poor, seniors, the filthy rich (aka Romney), and wounded veterans returning from the war. And those people, the 47%ers, turns out they live in predominately red states – meaning the governor and the state legislature is made up of republicans.
Intriguing side note: A popular dig at Obama made by Romney, Ryan, and most republicans is that he’s the worst president since Jimmy Carter. They have been saying that since the primary started in August 2011. Let that sink in – August of 2011. How awesome would it be if Jimmy Carter’s grandson dropped the 50,000 a plate fee to go to the fundraiser just to video Romney. Talk about a dish served cold. Revenge with an iPhone.
Enough of the intrigue. Lets make a quick stop at hypocritical-ville while were here. The party of no government, the party that thinks what Romney said last night, is also the party that wants government to intervene in marriage, pregnancy, rape, religion, what language we should speak, and union strike busting. So I think we can all agree the “less government party” mantra is the biggest load of bullshit ever sold to, and then bought by, a group of people. More accurately, it’s less government for the things I don’t like and more government for the things I do want. That won’t fit on a bumper sticker but it’s at least more honest. And you know what, saying that out loud would not deter me from voting for a republican candidate if I thought they were able to fix things.
But let’s get to the real issue – the media and the orgasms they were having after watching that tape. This story will go on for three days at least. You’ll see headlines about a gaffe, about the race being over, about Romney making a huge mistake. None of those will be true by the way. The liberal media will ring this out like a soaked dish rag for as long as possible. The conservative media will trumpet it for a news cycle, maybe 12hrs, then bring up the bibles and guns “gaffe” the president made when he was running in 08, and then they’ll drop it.
The only comparison between the two episodes that’s apt is the fact neither statement was a gaffe. It wasn’t a mistake by either man. The President said the “clinging to guns and bibles” line at a private fundraiser as well. So there is one other comparable fact. But it wasn’t a gaffe. The President actually believed that at the time and probably still does. I guarantee the Governor believes what he said last night. So what separates the two issues.
The first is the coverage. The bibles and guns comment was really the only thing Obama said that ever got any analysis from the press. And that analysis didn’t last long. Romney will get his chops busted over this for weeks and as I said it will dominate every minute of every news show not on FOX for at least three days.
The second but more obscure issue is the following comments each man-made. Obama was saying how he would need to go out there and change the minds of the people who cling to their guns and bibles. He was detailing how he would try to turn diehards because he would have to be president to everybody. Romney was explaining why he was giving up on those people because they would never be convinced to vote for him. The funny thing is Romney is right for the most part. The diehard Obama supporters will never be convinced to vote for Romney and won’t support him in anything he does as president even if it would help the country. It’s the same treatment Obama is getting from the conservative diehards now. Saying it out loud is just seems like bad form because it sounds like, and it will be spun like, Romney doesn’t care about half of the country, while Obama was painted as trying to convert the country to his way of thinking. One statement is a positive thought, the other, negative.
The third issue – Obama made his comments with almost 6 months to go until the election, prior to his convention. Time does heal all wounds, as it did in his case. Obama did win the election convincingly. Romney has less than 60 days to put out this fire and refocus on why people aren’t back to work even though wall street has clearly rebounded. It’s a message that should stop Obama’s second term bid in its tracks. But for some reason Romney can’t seem to stay on that message.
The issue now facing Romney – can he withstand the amount of media whoring coming his way and get back to talking about things that matter. At the end of the day the fact that he called me a victim and a loser makes no difference in the real hierarchy of what’s important. I can take it. He’s just a soft handed, rich boy, jerk off anyway. But he may be the next great president. Don’t think so? Go read The Election of 1800. Thats’ the battle between Jefferson and John Adams. They said the most hurtful and heinous things about each other and their families, wives, kids, pets, the poor, uneducated, people who do manual labor, etc.. and both of those men are considered founding fathers and great presidents. Either one of those guys would have made these two current cream puffs pee their pants during a campaign or debate.
Romney’s only issue now – can he get the all important Frank’s Place endorsement bump.
The fact that Romney couldn’t be more wrong is really beside the point.
Frank's Place 
He really stepped in it good there, but I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was paraphrasing or thinking alongsides the old quote “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” – (Tocqueville) which implies that once you get to 50% getting benefits with no taxes it’s over. Of course like you said the working poor is 8% and seniors are 10% ( not to mention hard working retirees ;). Plus honestly that hardly compares to quotes from Obama over the years. The media didn’t get their pants in a wad over these so they need to get back to issues which is what theyre afraid of “…I’ve got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.” — Barack Obama
“No, no. I have been practicing…I bowled a 129. It’s like — it was like Special Olympics, or something.” — Barack Obama. Let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill. Keep um honest Fran!
Thanks for reading Ryan. Which liars should I be keeping honest, the conservatives or the liberals? I think that’s the funniest part of this whole charade; either side thinking they are the only truth tellers.
The one point Romney left out was the working poor, who do pay a small tax, pay at a much higher rate than he does. Plus we all pay tax whenever we buy something, live anywhere, or drive a vehicle. So the whole line really has no value at all.
If Romney fails to become President and does not take a job his tax burden for 2013 will be effectively 0%. He needs to stay away from statements about people relying on the government. Cause he’s both hands deep in the same cookie jar. It’s already a mountain, and for good reason. The question is can Romney make it into a mole hill. I believe he will and in the end it won’t hurt him very much. The people angered by the statement, a quote by the way not a paraphrase, weren’t going to vote for him anyway.
The bowling comment was wasted news space. He was making a joke and choose his words poorly. Plain and simple. No time should have been spent on that. The “punished with a baby” line should be reported because it gives insight to the thoughts that shape Obama’s policies on that issue. But because dopes were spending time trying to hit him over the bowling line, stuff like his beliefs about abortion slide quietly on by. Even that great bastion of fake morals and conservatism, FOX News, spent more time on the bowling comment then the abortion comment.
Enjoyable as always Fran. Have you read We Can All Do Better by Bill Bradley? If not, I recommend it. I’m halfway through and although some of his ideas would never make it before committee, there are a few that would. The global and historical perspective he provides is intriguing. And he gets the fact that “in a system that requires compromise to advance the public interest, it’s difficult to move the country forward if compromise is ruled out.” With two parties unwillingly to compromise – on anything it seems, we all lose no matter who wins in November.
Current projections by the congressional budget office reveal that in 2015, defense, entitlements (medicare/medicaid, social security) and interest on federal debt will consume 76% of the total budget. That’s staggering. No matter who says what – whether it’s over a $1 cup of coffee at WaWa or a $50,000 plate at a fundraiser, the hole is just going to keep getting bigger unless our dear friends in Washington put aside their party politics, make the hard decisions and start focusing on real solutions that will define the future of our beloved country for generations to come.
Thanks Stephanie. No doubt we are all in trouble if congress can’t get it together, literally and figuratively.
In a political world full of one eyed referees thank goodness we have Francis calling both sides on the carpet.
Thanks Kevin. Starting to get good, ain’t it?
Fran, you’re watching the wrong FOX channels…you gotta turn Sean Hannity off. Try some from this list: The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Sunday, Special Report with Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly’s show, The Five…
No Laurie I’m not. I have never watched Hannity. I knew he was a moron from his radio show on XM. I watch Brett Baier, Shep Smith, and O’Reilly. All are good and as fair as could be expected. Baier may be the last true newsman left on TV.
The Five is a joke and put in that slot to take up where Glenn Beck left off. You will rot your brain on that garbage. Eric Bolling is a liar, plain and simple. How he is on national TV is beyond me.
Kelly is ok but sometimes she picks the wrong battles. She can be a bit of a hypocrite at times. However she is a lot of fun to watch when she engages in legal battles. She was a talented lawyer and doesn’t get out matched on her show very often.
Regardless, Fox did spend way to much time chasing the poor comment from Obama’s bowling escapade, his birth certificate, and a lot of other dumb stuff during his primary in 08 and not enough time on his positions.
I feel like if I watch Bob Beckel now and again, I get to check the fair and balanced box – and Dana Perino and sometimes Kimberly Guilfoyle keep him in check. The others, not so much…
Not a big fan of Beckel, I think he may be drunk most of the time. I like when they have the judge on. Although I think it was only once or twice. But Judge Napolitano says what he thinks, not what he’s told to think. He’s a nut job libertarian, but he’s funny and he won’t BS when it comes to actual constitutional law issues, regardless of party affiliation. He doesn’t buy into all the hyperbole, even the crap put out by the powers that be at FOX. He just interprets the law.
I like Cavuto most of the time. Pretty much from Kelly’s show at 1pm to the end of O’Reilly at 9pm, I’m watching FOX. Those lame brains in the morning and then Hannity at night is just hideous.
John Stossel is good too. Way too smart for The Five though. Another nut job libertarian, he has no equal when it comes to political smarts, except for maybe Chuck Todd over at MSNBC.
Not sure if you’ve watched MSNBC lately. Everyone, (again except for Chuck Todd who’s on from 9am to 10am), has gone absolutely crazy. That channel is completely unwatchable now. When Al Sharpton is your voice of reason for the majority of the programming, you know your station is swirling the bowl.
Totally forgot my favorite Five personality, Andrea Tantaros. Very bright and well spoken…and I usually agree with her. Haven’t watched much Cavuto…just haven’t been able to get into his show. I like Stossel, too. Used to watch him on 20/20 when my parents watched that forever ago. Can’t bear to watch MSNBC, but I understand from O’Reilly and Bernie Goldberg that they’re in pretty bad shape. Love watching Dennis Miller on O’Reilly. “Not only am I not undecided, but I’m overdecided…” Couldn’t have said it better myself! Let’s vote already!!!
Meant wrong FOX shows, not channels…