60/60 #25
Today's statistic comes to us from "the horse's mouth" - 47%. Thanks Mitt.
It's been several days since the now-infamous "secret" fundraiser video was released (even more by the time this scheduled post goes live), but I have to say I honestly felt badly for the guy when it came out. The man was making a sales pitch to rich donors, and without rich donors you literally cannot run a Presidential campaign these days. This is a point on which both candidates agree.
What Mitt was trying to do is explain how he planned to court the "undecided" electorate. This is like that TV show "shark tank"; he was pitching his business plan to investors. What he forgot was a cardinal rule: know when to shut up. His point about how to win this election is spot on. The polls have clearly shown that this is a close race, the country is roughly evenly divided, and both candidates are trying to court the "middle" without losing the "base." Classic US electoral strategy, nothing new here.
But Mitt took a wrong turn when he started talking about the 47% of Americans who pay no income tax. You see, that statistic is accurate (well almost, was 46% last year but has been as high as 50% in the past few years). Mitt then said that all these people are lazy government leeches who take no responsibility for their lives, and that they're all voting for Obama. That's not accurate, and we'll look at why in the coming days.
Many of Mitt's 47% are seniors, many are poor, or "working poor." These people are taking legal deductions to minimize their tax bill. Mitt prides himself on the same behavior. And there are tons of people who pay no income tax yet vote Republican. Newsflash Mitt: your tax bill does not determine your political leanings. Worse yet, he failed to apologize. He said his words were poorly chosen, and that's a lie. He said exactly what he meant to say, that's what "off the cuff" means. When you don't think the cameras are on you, that's when you truly speak your mind.
It's been several days since the now-infamous "secret" fundraiser video was released (even more by the time this scheduled post goes live), but I have to say I honestly felt badly for the guy when it came out. The man was making a sales pitch to rich donors, and without rich donors you literally cannot run a Presidential campaign these days. This is a point on which both candidates agree.
What Mitt was trying to do is explain how he planned to court the "undecided" electorate. This is like that TV show "shark tank"; he was pitching his business plan to investors. What he forgot was a cardinal rule: know when to shut up. His point about how to win this election is spot on. The polls have clearly shown that this is a close race, the country is roughly evenly divided, and both candidates are trying to court the "middle" without losing the "base." Classic US electoral strategy, nothing new here.
But Mitt took a wrong turn when he started talking about the 47% of Americans who pay no income tax. You see, that statistic is accurate (well almost, was 46% last year but has been as high as 50% in the past few years). Mitt then said that all these people are lazy government leeches who take no responsibility for their lives, and that they're all voting for Obama. That's not accurate, and we'll look at why in the coming days.
Many of Mitt's 47% are seniors, many are poor, or "working poor." These people are taking legal deductions to minimize their tax bill. Mitt prides himself on the same behavior. And there are tons of people who pay no income tax yet vote Republican. Newsflash Mitt: your tax bill does not determine your political leanings. Worse yet, he failed to apologize. He said his words were poorly chosen, and that's a lie. He said exactly what he meant to say, that's what "off the cuff" means. When you don't think the cameras are on you, that's when you truly speak your mind.
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