Okay Romney is really grasping at straws here

[soontobeka]

Mitt Romney, facing fallout from leaked videos showing him at a May fundraiser saying that 47 percent of Americans are "dependent on government" and view themselves as "victims," attacked President Barack Obama over a 1998 video pushed by the Drudge Report and purportedly showing him favoring "redistribution."

"He [Obama] really believes in what I’ll call a government-centered society. I know there are some who believe that if you simply take from some and give to others then we’ll all be better off. It’s known as redistribution. It’s never been a characteristic of America," Romney said Wednesday at an Atlanta fundraiser. "There’s a tape that came out just a couple of days ago where the president said yes he believes in redistribution. I don’t. I believe the way to lift people and help people have higher incomes is not to take from some and give to others but to create wealth for all."

Obama, in the 1998 clip, said "I think the trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution -- because I actually believe in some redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot." In the clip, he also concedes that neither the Chicago Housing Authority or the Chicago public schools had been good models of policymaking, agreeing in part with a conservative critique of the efficacy of government action which he opposed.

Romney linked the video to an earlier Obama quote on the importance of infrastructure investment, taken out of context by Republicans to paint the president as unfriendly to small business. “This idea of redistribution follows from the idea that if you have a business, you didn’t build it, someone else did that. It’s the same concept. That, see, government is responsible for everything that’s gone on here. And therefore government can take and give as it chooses. It’s an entirely foreign concept that will not work, that has not worked. That has never worked anywhere in the world. And what we have to do in America is not to make us more like Europe, but to make America more like America," he said to applause.

Obama, in fact, has praised the idea of redistribution in public, most infamously during the 2008 campaign when he told Samuel Wurzelbacher, otherwise known as "Joe The Plumber," that to "spread the wealth around" is good for everybody, arguing that an economy benefitting all is important to growth.

Most of American government, in fact, depends on "redistribution." Wealthy people are taxed generally at a higher rate than the poor, and programs like Medicare, Social Security and unemployment insurance redistribute earnings from those with jobs to guarantee a basic level of income and medical care for the aged.

Romney then proceeded to defend the essence of the remark in the leaked video that, for some, has called into question the viability of his candidacy. "This is how America works. It does not work by a government saying, become dependent on government. Become dependent upon redistribution. That will kill the American entrepreneurship that’s lifted our economy over the years," he said. "The question of this campaign is not who cares about the poor and the middle class? I do. He does. The question is who can help the poor and the middle class? I can! He can’t!"

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/mitt-romney-redistribution_n_1897446.html

[soontobeka]

This shit is beyond silly. "A tape was released a few days ago" that is from 1998. Now the election is going to be boiled down to You Tube videos. We are officially SCREWED!

[smock]

Well, I'd love to hear Romney's plan for a government that does not "take from some and give to others," as he puts it. Isn't that sort of the entire basis of modern government?

And how does that square with Romney's statement that he doesn't worry about the poor since they have a safety net? Isn't a government safety net the very definition of redistribution?

[JLN]

Sept 19, 2012 13:48:36 GMT -5 soontobeka said:

This shit is beyond silly. "A tape was released a few days ago" that is from 1998. Now the election is going to be boiled down to You Tube videos. We are officially SCREWED!

the election is now exactly like what's happened to the "other board". YouTube videos and paranoia.

[lys]

Obama basically said the same thing to Joe the plumber . He believes in redistribution and his policies show just that.

[lys]

Obama basically said the same thing to Joe the plumber . He believes in redistribution and his policies show just that.

[karinothing]

Lys - Do you think the people that really support Obama care that he believes in redistrubution? Or do you think they believe in it too. I know that I am voting for Obama and I believe in taxes and welfare and other social programs all of which are redistribution.

I am really having a hard time understanding why this is news for any other reason that it fans the flames of the republican base?

[livinitup]

redistribution is code for communism

[jillboston]

I know this is totally pointless lys because you never engage anyone in a discussion - but here goes.
Do you know what the tax rate on the highest earners was under Eisenhower? (here's a clue- he was a Republican) - 92%.
Can you tell me how Obama's "policies" are any different than any Republican president in the last 60 years?

[Deleted]

Sept 20, 2012 8:53:41 GMT -5 jillboston said:

I know this is totally pointless lys because you never engage anyone in a discussion - but here goes.
Do you know what the tax rate on the highest earners was under Eisenhower? (here's a clue- he was a Republican) - 92%.
Can you tell me how Obama's "policies" are any different than any Republican president in the last 60 years?

Good luck getting a response from her. But I will buy you an internet drink if you do.

[jillboston]

Sept 20, 2012 9:19:07 GMT -5 @lauriergirl28 said:

Sept 20, 2012 8:53:41 GMT -5 jillboston said:

I know this is totally pointless lys because you never engage anyone in a discussion - but here goes.
Do you know what the tax rate on the highest earners was under Eisenhower? (here's a clue- he was a Republican) - 92%.
Can you tell me how Obama's "policies" are any different than any Republican president in the last 60 years?

Good luck getting a response from her. But I will buy you an internet drink if you do.

Thanks Laurie! Dirty Ketel One Martini here - 3 olives.

[teflep]

Sept 19, 2012 13:48:36 GMT -5 soontobeka said:

This shit is beyond silly. "A tape was released a few days ago" that is from 1998. Now the election is going to be boiled down to You Tube videos. We are officially SCREWED!

To be fair, the Romney tape got no notice until carter pushed it up with MJ. It also isn't new (though obviously newer than this). We are screwed, though.

[ESF]

Sept 20, 2012 10:14:44 GMT -5 teflep said:

Sept 19, 2012 13:48:36 GMT -5 soontobeka said:

This shit is beyond silly. "A tape was released a few days ago" that is from 1998. Now the election is going to be boiled down to You Tube videos. We are officially SCREWED!

To be fair, the Romney tape got no notice until carter pushed it up with MJ. It also isn't new (though obviously newer than this). We are screwed, though.

Look I know Romney changes his mind on issues every hour, so time for him is like counting in dog years, but it's a little absurd to say that this video isn't "new" or somehow compare it to the 1998 tapes on the basis that they aren't recent. It's from THIS CAMPAIGN CYCLE.

[teflep]

Sept 20, 2012 10:37:09 GMT -5 ESF said:

Sept 20, 2012 10:14:44 GMT -5 teflep said:

To be fair, the Romney tape got no notice until carter pushed it up with MJ. It also isn't new (though obviously newer than this). We are screwed, though.

Look I know Romney changes his mind on issues every hour, so time for him is like counting in dog years, but it's a little absurd to say that this video isn't "new" or somehow compare it to the 1998 tapes on the basis that they aren't recent. It's from THIS CAMPAIGN CYCLE.

No kidding. I get you are angry with this election, but I was just pointing out an agreement with soon in how this election is so ridiculous to be derailed by youtubes...especially not ones from this week, or even this month,

[lobstertail]

From a strategic point of view, it does look like Romney is flailing about by this resurrection of a four-year old Obama quote like so many zombies.

Non-scientific observation: I noticed that my Republican-leaning facebook friends had nothing to say about the "47%" video, but were all over this redistribution quote.

[feedthecrocs]

Sept 20, 2012 14:27:43 GMT -5 lobstertail said:

From a strategic point of view, it does look like Romney is flailing about by this resurrection of a four-year old Obama quote like so many zombies.

Fourteen years, even worse.

[basilosaurus]

Hmmm, something about this map reminds me of redistribution. States that take in more than they pay. Also, kinda looks like Romney's base.

[basilosaurus]

Oh, and then there are the states with the most non-payers of federal income tax.

[ESF]

Sept 20, 2012 17:15:43 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

Lys, we await your soundbytes... I mean, your astute analysis of this info.

Here, let me try.

Since this video was released, Romney has moved ahead in the polls and has raised $80 million dollars.

Obama had gay sex with Eric Holder, and it's being covered up by the Black Panthers.

The video was edited by Acorn and is a hoax.