Issue? 47%

The Obama campaign claims Romney said 47% of the population will not vote for him because they don't pay taxes and they expect the government to pay their food, shelter, and health care. And are dependent on the government so he doesn't care about them.

I feel this is an issue because some people in the 47% can't pay taxes because: some are too poor, some have disabilities, or are social security recipients. I think Romney shouldn't say he doesn't care about a group of people just because they don't vote for him.

- Savannah

     Unfortunately Romney set himself up for an attack on himself. While being secretly video taped at a private fundraising event he stated that 47% of the people in the United States wont vote for him because they rely on the government and pay no fedral income tax. When this video went viral Romney's poll numbers dropped due to his statement. Many have considered this an issue due to the fact that Romney showed his true thoughts on the issue in private and not to the public, but in his deffense, it was supposed to be a private event. Some have said that they didn't understand his statement, and that he probably didn't understand it himself.
    In my opinion the statement isn't the issue, the fact that someone had the nerve to record a private conversation is. So what, republicans believe in less government, that's their view in the U.S. This would be an issue to many librals because they are the ones who want more government because most of them do rely on it and they feel like a victim to Romeny's comment. That 47%  probably wont vote for Romeny, but that's their own issue to deal with because they don't put in the hours to be apart of that income tax.
- Tori

            A few weeks ago a video was released on the internet of republican candidate Mitt Romney speaking at a fundraiser. Mitt Romney did not know the camera was on because the waiter had it secretly taping Romney speech. The speech included Romney Talking about how 47% percent of the country was reviving government handouts and had a sense of entailment to housing food and healthcare. He went on to say that he is not worried about the 47% because he doesn’t believe that they will ever vote for him, due to them relying on the government. This is a MAJOR issue and could possibly be the one thing that destroys the GOP’s hope for presidency. This shows how out of touch, ignorant, cruel, callus and indifferent Mitt Romney is to the hard working men and woman of this country that fall into the 47% that Romney speaks of. Romney, in one two minute video has isolated himself off of the huge amount of people. This will prove to be detrimental to his campaign. Showing how the only people who will vote for him, either are the rich 1% or just hate Obama that much, to vote for someone that would so willingly write off half of the country.

- Stephan, Lindsay, Logan

47%: Critics of Romney have been using this against him. In an amateur video taken of Romney at a private event he is seen talking to people about the U.S. He said in the video about 47% of the U.S. uses some form of government help and that they were basically freeloaders. Democrats quickly jumped on this by saying Romney really doesn’t care about the people. They used the video in ads to show people just what he said about citizens. In my opinion Romney should have watched what he was saying no matter what, even if he was at a private event. He’s running to become our next president and anything he says between now and election time will come down to if he’s elected or not. 

- Erin, James

This is a MAJOR current issue in the 2012 presidential election. Recently, a video came out that was a taping of Romney discussing the 47%. There was a hidden camera at the Republican convention and it had recordings of Mitt Romney commenting about he wasn't worried about the 47 percent of Americans that were guaranteed to vote for Obama. He said that they were mostly African Americans that were dependent on the government’s income and pay no federal tax. I am appalled that a man with these types of opinions is running to be the chief of state. Most working Americans that work part time jobs need some sort of government help.

 I think he is ignorant and arrogant for the comments that he made, and he should think twice before stating those types of personal thoughts in front of anyone. Even though I am a democrat I think the best thing that Romney could do in this election would be to try and persuade that 47% of Americans to vote for him. Of course that would be impossible to do, but giving up and telling people that it would be a waste of time is a complete insult. Many people were insulted by his comments, and this made him loose many of the undecided voters. If i could vote, i know that i would never vote for him.

- Katie, Troy

Forty-seven percent is what Romney said is 47% of the population are dependent on the government and take no responsibility for their own lives. Obama and others feel this is an issue because Romney is degrading lower class citizens. They also feel it's an issue because he is being stereotypical and saying that the people on welfare are not helping themselves so why should the government help them. Think about all the people living off of welfare or have some assistance from the government, and think about how they feel towards Romney after he said this.

I feel that this is an issue because some people are on welfare for a short period of time and are using it to get back on their feet. That's absolutely wonderful that our government allows that. I also think it is an issue because some people use it to get by while they are still in school or until they can get a better education and make more money so they don't have to be on it one day. However, I know of people that have link cards or that live on welfare that have nicer homes, cars, and flat screen T.V.'s, but someone with a low paying job who doesn't qualify for these aids, is living a less luxurious life. How does that work? Nobody can win in this situation.
- Allison, Kelsie