His infamous 47 percent remarks were taken out of context, Mitt Romney told The Washington Post's Dan Balz in an interview published Sunday.
Asked about the oft-cited quote that 47 percent of Americans can't be persuaded to take personal responsibility, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said, "Actually, I didn't say that ...That's how it began to be perceived, and so I had to ultimately respond to the perception, because perception is reality."
At a May 2012 closed-to-the-press fundraiser in Florida, Romney said, "And so my job is not to worry about those people -- I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not, what it looks like."
But Romney told Balz that the focus of his remarks was on swing voters, not on those who were already in President Barack Obama's camp. "t was saying, 'Look, the Democrats have 47 percent, we've got 45 percent, my job is to get the people in the middle, and I've got to get the people in the middle,'" he said. "They’ve got a bloc of voters, we've got a bloc of voters, I've got to get the ones in the middle. And I thought that that would be how it would be perceived -- as a candidate talking about the process of focusing on the people in the middle who can either vote Republican or Democrat."
Romney's argument that the remarks were taken out of context is a new defense for him. During the campaign, he said at first that they were "not elegantly stated" and then that they were "completely wrong."
Also in the interview with Balz, Romney claimed that Obama had made a similar comment: "And I think the president said he's writing off 47 percent of Americans and so forth. And that wasn't at all what was intended. That wasn't what was meant by it. That is the way it was perceived."
Romney nonetheless acknowledged that the quote was "very damaging" to his campaign. Indeed, the Obama campaign seized on the remark, creating an ad based on it, and the former Massachusetts governor took a hit in the polls.
Mitt Romney the Regular guy
Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
He seems to forget that we can watch that clip anytime we want. He can explain it any way he wants, but he got busted.
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
You didn't watch the clip right.
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
Romney can't take responsibility for himself and his mouth. Always playing the victim. No wonder he was the GOP nominee. The punch line is that he was by far the strongest candidate. 2016 will be even worse for the GOP.
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
Sounds like he's trying to erase the blackboard, for some reason.
Could that reason be that he's hoping to get drafted for V.P. on the GOP ticket?
He's already got the marquee value and he might help sell a few tick.....uh, I mean votes.
Could that reason be that he's hoping to get drafted for V.P. on the GOP ticket?
He's already got the marquee value and he might help sell a few tick.....uh, I mean votes.
I reckon all songs are folk songs. I ain't never heard no horses singing any.
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
Romney is done in national politics, forever. Even he must know that.Wheresthestagemanager? wrote:Sounds like he's trying to erase the blackboard, for some reason.
Could that reason be that he's hoping to get drafted for V.P. on the GOP ticket?
He's already got the marquee value and he might help sell a few tick.....uh, I mean votes.
If anything he's just trying to convince his butler that he's a nice guy.
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
DEATH ROW JOE wrote: 2016 will be even worse for the GOP.
For the entire country....
Goldman/Sachs 2016
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
Says the clown who mentions Bush as the excuse for every failure of Obama's. You have demonstrated a complete lack of being able to get off your knees and hold the current administration accountable for anything so spare us your ignorant responsibility and victim talk.DEATH ROW JOE wrote:Romney can't take responsibility for himself and his mouth. Always playing the victim. No wonder he was the GOP nominee. The punch line is that he was by far the strongest candidate. 2016 will be even worse for the GOP.
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
Why do you continue to repeat this lie? I said a few dozen times that Obama is to blame for massive deficit reduction that has taken place. With unemployment stuck at mid-7%, it is not the time for deficit reduction.Sheep_Mafia wrote: Says the clown who mentions Bush as the excuse for every failure of Obama's. You have demonstrated a complete lack of being able to get off your knees and hold the current administration accountable for anything so spare us your ignorant responsibility and victim talk.
National Debt:
07/01/2013 16,738,309,305,648.26
08/01/2013 16,738,600,261,139.01 = 291 million increase in July 2013
01/02/2008 9,210,587,444,062.47
12/31/2008 10,699,804,864,612.13 = 1.4 trillion increase during Bush's last year.
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Re: Mitt changes story on 47% remark for 3rd time
Mitt is clueless, how are you going to obtain the hiljack/trailer trash/walmart/community college republician vote when they are part of the 47%. But then again they are not bright they think they are in the same socioeconomic class ass Mitt and Paul Ryan just because they can check the following boxes white and christian.