Did Romney shoot himself in the foot with secret tapes?
By Roger Caldwell
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the President no matter what. My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives,” said Romney at a private fundraiser.
This was a cold callous opinion of the American citizen, but in this environment with fellow millionaires and a $50,000 plate fundraiser, Romney felt comfortable. He felt he was able to drop his defenses and tell his friends what he truly felt. He knew that he would never say out in the open what he said to his friends, but at a closed fundraiser, it was a good time to get raw.
Republicans think a certain way about America, and the majority of the members in the Party will continue to support Romney’s perspective of America. In this election, Romney has written off the African American vote, 50 percent of the Hispanic vote, and 50 percent of the poor vote. He is upset that he got caught on his negative talking points, but he will not apologize and refuses to make excuses for his statements.
This election is extremely close, and there are fundamental different ideologies between the two candidates and the debates will be a determining factor in which candidate wins the election. Many Americans were insulted by Romney’s statements, but on the other hand, there were many Americans who agreed with Romney, and they will support his philosophy.
Many Republicans thought the remarks were clumsy, and some have stated that they do not agree with Romney, and they are focused on campaigning for all Americans. But I wonder when they campaign do they focus on the African American vote, or the Hispanic vote, or do they spend the majority of their time campaigning in a Republican community or demographic?
“Women are open to supporting me, but we are having a much harder time with Hispanic voters, and if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African American voting bloc has in the past, we’re in trouble as a Party and, I think as a nation. The fact that I’m either tied or close to the President, that’s very interesting,” says Romney to his wealthy donors.
Romney is a pragmatist, who can change his story to fit the crowd. President Obama has a small lead in certain polls, but he is in the fight of his life, and many voters who voted for the President in 2008 are disappointed with Obama’s Administration policies. Romney believes that he can bring this disenchanted group of Obama supporters over to his side.
Romney said at the fundraiser, “They like him, and they voted for him. They don’t want to be told that they were wrong, that he’s a bad guy, that he did bad things, that he’s corrupt. We have to get them to believe they did the right thing, but he just wasn’t up to the task.”
Last week was not a good week for either candidate, because Romney misspoke and the secret tapes exposed how he truly believes in private about 50 percent of Americans. But with the killing of the ambassador and three other Americans, there are many questions being asked about President Obama’s foreign policy. The Administration has been forced to change the story on what happened at the consulate in Benghazi, and many Republicans are saying the President lied.
The hidden tapes will not be a major turning point in the election, because 47 percent of the people in the country support President Obama, and 47 percent of the electorate supports Romney. Depending on which candidate wins the highest percentage of independent voters, and wins the swing states, he also will win the election.
