After the Mitt Romney secret video emerged tonight, creating additional hassle for the beleaguered GOP candidate , reaction was quick across the blogosphere and on social media.
But Romney has not backed away from the controversial remarks, instead standing behind them as he appeared at a “hastily called” news conference to mitigate damage from the leaked video of his remarks a few weeks back.
Romney, who received a $70,000+ tax deduction for his dancing horse Rafalca, originally said in the clip:
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what … There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that 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 … Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax.”
Romney, who has in the past said that he is not worried about the gravely poor due to the very social nets he wished to eradicate, went on to say that he will “never convince [those voters] they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
At the press conference, Mitt doubled down on his remarks and said that while his comments at the $50,000-a-plate fundraiser were “off the cuff” and “not elegantly stated,” he meant them. The man who pays a lower effective tax rate than you said:
“I am sure I can state it more clearly and effectively than I did in a setting like that… I am talking about a political process of drawing people in my campaign … My campaign is about helping people take more responsibility.”
Romney adds:
“This is ultimately a question about the direction of the country. Do you believe in a government-centered society that provides more and more benefits? Or do you believe instead in a free-enterprise society where people are able to pursue their dreams?”
In response, the Obama campaign decried a candidate that has “disdainfully written off half of the nation.”