My problem with Romney's "47%" Video

Much is being made of Mitt Romney's speech at a private fundraiser during which he said that he will never convince the 47% of people who pay no federal income tax to vote for him because they are going to vote for Obama. You can argue all you want about whether that figure is accurate or whether there are segments of it that pay no income tax because they're living on social security.

Fine. That's not my problem with it. My problem is what Romney says at the end of this clip and what he necessarily implies without saying.

Here's the quote that gets my dander up:

"I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the five to ten percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not."

Implicit in that statement is that Romney believes the 43% - 48% of voters to the right of those independents don't have to be sold; they're already all-in; they've drunk the kool-aid. In my mind, it's this mentality on Romney's part that is preventing him from pulling away. By not fighting for that 43% - 48%, he's losing more than he thinks he's gaining by going after those fickle independents who might just jump on board if Romney exhibited some passion and showed a little fight. That kind of thing is contagious anyway.

Maybe if conservatives stopped drinking the Romney-aid, he'd actually have to fight for their votes by moving to the right. The independents can come along if they want to and they just might if they see a candidate with conviction instead of one beset on all sides by the political contrivances of campaign strategists.

Let's face it, Mitt Romney does not inspire people and he does not energize them. That is obviously the result of both his personality and his campaign strategy.

In any case, both are flaws at a time like this.



To illustrate my point, here is a Jerry Maguire metaphor. Cuba Gooding, Jr. represents the conservative base that Tom Cruise wants to just get off the phone because he thinks Gooding's character is a player he has in the bag and can get to later. All of those incoming calls represent the independents that ultimately didn't make Maguire successful.

Do you remember who did? Yes, the guy he had on the phone.



h/t Hot Air