Romney’s Gaffe About the ‘Very Poor’ -- OOPS!

If Romney thinks he is going to pander to the middle class of America, think again.  I am sick and tired of pandering politicians especially wealthy ones who cannot relate to the middle class and what they face.  Romney is the most out of touch yet we have seen.  Donald Trump can make a visit to Oklahoma and relate to people here but Romney has a hard time when he gets around anyone but the elite class.  You can watch it as he  interacts with people attending his events.  As someone said on Twitter, he should be changing his wardrobe if he really wants to relate because even with the open collared look, you can tell the shirts and pants are very expensive.  Romney should send out his wife, Ann, to interact with supporters as she does much better.  He could take a few lessons from her because when she meets people, they enjoy talking with her.

Romney’s Gaffe About the ‘Very Poor’ Shows Him Courting the Middle Class
by John Avlon Feb 1, 2012 12:57 PM EST 

The candidate’s quote about ‘the very poor’ is an instantly classic campaign fumble, but what’s most interesting about it is what it tells us about his desperate attempt to appeal to the middle class. 

The occasion was a post-Florida victory lap interview with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien. Romney was trying to relay a general-election message about how his campaign would be focused on the economic frustrations of the middle class. It didn’t quite come out that way. 

Here’s what he said: 

“I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich; they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

When O’Brien gave him a chance to clarify, Romney got testy and dug himself in a bit deeper: 

“We will hear from the Democrat party [about] the plight of the poor … And there’s no question it’s not good being poor, and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor … My focus is on middle-income Americans.”

This set off a predictable firestorm within minutes. It resonated because it seemed to perfectly capture the unfair caricature of Romney as a distant, out-of-touch plutocrat—not just Mr. 1 percent, but Mr. 0.1 percent. And whenever a quote riffs off established narratives, it quickly takes on a life of its own. 

But what’s more deeply interesting might be the intended message he mangled. It offered a glimpse into Romney’s presumably poll-tested general-election strategy—he has essentially accepted President Obama’s terms of debate. This election will be about which candidate can better protect the great American middle class. 

Excerpt:  Read more at The Daily Beast 

This primary is turning into a disaster more and more.  Newt Gingrich gave one of the strangest speeches last night that you could not even count a concession speech.  Newt keeps arguing that he would do better against Romney without Santorum in the race but

Au Contraire.Newt Gingrich continues to argue that he would have a better chance of beating Mitt Romney if Rick Santorum were to exit the Republican presidential race, but Florida polling shows that the exact opposite would be true.  Romney actually expands his lead over Gingrich if Santorum quits the GOP race.

Bottom line is that a lot of Santorum supporters will not go to Newt under any circumstance especially after he chose to ignore the illness of Santorum's daughter.  Newt once again has proved this is all about him and he has no empathy for others.

Last night it was revealed it was the nastiest campaign ever in Florida and don't expect that to change.  That is not a shocker.  If I had my way Romney and Newt would both be gone from the race as two arrogant, nasty people after what we have been observing.  Their Super PACs are not helping that perception either.

Romney was given Secret Service protection last night after the large crowds he has been drawing:

According to a federal law enforcement officials Romney’s campaign, which has long traveled with private security of its own, did request Secret Service protection. However sources tell ABC that the campaign did not make the request, but was approached about the additional security steps in the weeks following the New Hampshire primary.

There seems to be two versions of the Secret Service protection request -- even that is not a simple yes or no if the Romney campaign requested protection.


Now it is on to the primary states for February:

February 4, 2012	Nevada (caucus)
February 4–11, 2012	Maine (caucus)
February 7, 2012	Colorado (caucus)Minnesota (caucus)Missouri (primary) – *See note below on Missouri
February 28, 2012	Arizona (primary)Michigan (primary)

*Missouri: Missouri will hold a primary on February 7th, 2012, which will not count for delegates toward the 2012 GOP convention. The Missouri Republican Party will hold a caucus on March 17th, 2012, which will determine the delegates sent to the 2012 GOP convention – 

Best news is that there are 21 days until the next debate!  Finally a break in debates.  Have to admit we don't understand why a state would pay for a primary like Missouri that means absolutely nothing as they have a caucus that counts on March 17th.  Just adds to this screwy primary schedule.

Is Romney going to be the eventual winner?  Who knows the way this whole primary has gone.  The real winner in all of this so far is Obama unfortunately.  When you start supporting a candidate because the media polling tells you he is the best candidate to beat Obama, then you have a problem with support which will not be near as deep as when supporters choose a candidate because they believe in what that candidate has to say.  More and more Republicans are mad at the candidates we have to choose from thanks the powers at be who think they know more then the voters.  Horrible decision on the part of RNC and the people who pull their strings.

The one thing we would bet on is that this nasty primary continues to be nasty.  That seems a foregone conclusion from the comments last night and today.   At least Florida residents can go back to their regular programming until after Labor Day when they will be clobbered with campaign ads again.  They can enjoy the quiet while it lasts!