Reaction to Romney and the 47%

Mother Jones recently released a video of Mitt Romney speaking before a group of the wealthy elite at a $50k a plate fundraiser. The video has opened up a Pandora's box of criticism directed at the Republican candidate, and rightfully so, as it seems to confirm the narrative of Romney being a detached millionaire unable to understand and, therefore, alleviate the suffering of the poor in America. The idea of a group of millionaires sitting behind closed doors using the language of denigration to describe the struggles of 47% of Americans is antithetical to the egalitarian nature of the majority of Americans. If Romney wanted to lose 47% of the vote, and then add another hefty 10% of undecideds, he could not have been more successful. The video is below:

When first viewing the video, I gave Romney the benefit of the doubt that he was not denigrating a large sector of the American voting population. I thought he, perhaps, was adopting a politically weary tone in that no matter what he did he would never be able to win the vote of these 47%, mostly due to the sharp political stratification in contemporary American politics. Then, I kept watching and this comment caused me some alarm:

I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.

 Jon Stewart on the Daily Show had a humorous segment where he compared Mitt Romney to C. Montgomery Burns of the The Simpsons. The analogy, especially in the light of these comments, is apropos. This is the type of language expected from cartoon villains in describing the poor and unfortunate. It is not based upon reality, but upon caricature and stereotypes.

Mitt Romney cannot understand the struggle of the poor in America because from his lofty perch he cannot fathom the reason why such people even exist. I would not be surprised if he followed these comments with a contemporary Modest Proposal of his own and advocated the consumption of the poor. He is that detached from reality.

Reaction to his comments have been swift and furious. They have been running on every major network, and the Romney-Ryan campaign, and associated surrogates, have scrambled to explain his comments and defend his character. For a campaign that sought to humanize their candidate, the Romney camp seems to be offering a blueprint for how to lose a presidential race in humiliating fashion.

The Obama campaign has issued the following, highly effective, campaign ad:

h/t Daily Kos

This is the type of story that ends presidential campaigns.

There are other reactions to the 47% gaffe (though, I shouldn't say gaffe because since this was done behind closed doors this is simply an example of his true philosophy).

Peta Lindsay, presidential candidate of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, reacted by saying this is what the ruling elite think, but aren't supposed to say.

There is also criticism from the political right. Peggy Noonan, conservative columnist, stated that the Romney campaign was incompetent, and in need of an intervention.

Mitt Romney is having a no-good, very bad month of September.