Republican nominee Mitt Romney, speaking to donors at a closed-door fundraiser this year, said that supporters of President Obama failed to take personal responsibility for their lives, relied on government for their needs and paid no income tax.
“There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. 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 of them, who believe that they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you name it,” Romney said in a videotaped speech to donors that was given to the news organization Mother Jones, which posted it online Monday.
“That's an entitlement," Romney said. "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.”
In the remarks, Romney said he had no hope of swaying those people to his side and would instead focus on unaligned voters.
"[M]y job is not to worry about those people,” Romney said, referring to Obama supporters. “I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Seema Mehta concludes: "[Romney's] argument that nearly half of the American population pays no income taxes is accurate, at least in recent years. But it fails to note that even those Americans pay other taxes, including the federal payroll tax, state taxes and local taxes. Most of those who pay no taxes at all are either destitute, disabled or elderly."
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