Willard Shows His True Colors

You probably already know about Willard Mitt Romney (aka Wall Street Willie) letting his guard down and telling his rich friends and supporters what he really thinks about ordinary Americans. But in case you missed it, here's what he told them (as revealed by a hidden camera):

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president 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 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.

 "[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Romney's distaste for or disgust with nearly half of all Americans should not surprise anyone who's been paying attention to this campaign. Romney has always had a problem connecting with people who aren't rich throughout the campaign (unless they are teabaggers, who now seem ready to accept any lie he tells -- and he tells a lot of them).

In Florida, he told a group of unemployed people that he understood their plight, because he is also unemployed -- conveniently leaving out the fact that he makes over $20 million a year for doing absolutely nothing, while those people struggle to live on an unemployment compensation that is running out. The truth is that he doesn't understand their plight at all. He was born rich and became even richer. He has never had to worry about where his next meal was coming from, or how he could stretch a small bit of money to cover a growing personal debt while looking for any kind of job.

In fact, Romney has always been protected from the harsh realities of life. He went to expensive private schools and colleges -- and even there he showed his disdain for those less fortunate by bullying them. And he didn't change as he grew older. He still looks down on those less fortunate than himself (i.e., those who weren't born rich and have had to work for everything they got). He's tried to hide that during this campaign (because he knows he can't get elected if he doesn't hide it), but it just makes him look stiff an wooden when he tries to interact with ordinary people. He's never had to be around plain old hard-working Americans and simply doesn't know how to act around them.

And his policies show that too. The only true beliefs he has -- that he has never flip-flopped on -- are to give his rich peers (and himself) massive tax cuts, and then deregulate Wall Street so he and his rich buddies can make even more money off ordinary Americans. Willard admits (to his rich friends) that he despises 47% of all Americans. I suspect the real percentage is much higher than that.

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UPDATE -- Willard is now busy trying to mitigate the damage caused his campaign by his remarks. At a press conference he said:

Well, um, it’s not elegantly stated — let me put it that way I’m speaking off the cuff in response to a question and I’m sure I can state it more clearly in a more effective way than I did in a setting like that and so I’m sure I’ll point that out as time goes on. 

I would have to be disagree. I think he stated his views on ordinary Americans very clearly. Instead of making things clearer, he is now trying to obfuscate and cover up his disdain for half of America.

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Here is the rather pithy response from the Obama campaign site.

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UPDATED AGAIN -- A growing number of Republicans are trying to distance themselves from Romney's mean-spirited comments showing disdain for half of America. Among the Republicans now trying to separate themselves from Romney are New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, and Connecticut senate-candidate Linda McMahon. It looks like Willard has really stepped in it this time.