Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney has written off 47 percent of the American electorate who he believes will not vote for him. Throughout this week, a Mother Jones video circulating on broadcast news and the Internet, shows Romney telling donors earlier this year, "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president [Obama] no matter what. 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'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."
Once again, Romney is wearing his elitism, arrogance and ignorance on his sleeve by sticking to his remarks that dismiss those voters who will vote to re-elect President Obama in November; but the 47 percent he pointed to also includes those who are likely Romney supporters – the elderly and poor whites.
During the Republican primary race, Romney said he was not concerned about the poor. He later argued that his words were taken out of context, but it's becoming more difficult for him to deflect the fact that he's a wealthy businessman who is totally out of touch with the average American.
President Obama has his critics, as well. Throughout the Democratic National Convention held in Charlotte, the target audience for Obama's second term was clearly the American middle class, leaving the nation's poor on the sidelines of the country's recovery.
This election cycle has done more to focus on economic inequality than any other in recent years. The one-year-old Occupy Movement, brought to light the wealth gap between the nation's top 1 percent versus the rest of us called the 99 percent. And now there's the 47 percent "who don't pay taxes" against the 50 percent who do and the 3 percent who don't pay enough.
The economic crisis this country faces impacts everyone. Anyone who suggests they can get us through it with one group and without another is mistaken and a poor choice for the position they seek, especially the presidency. It will be the percentage of Americans who show up at the polls to vote on November 6 that will really count.
