The Republican candidate believes we're all envious of him.
Romney feels that envy of his financial success, the envy of income inequality, is the driver of the current uprising against wealth -- the driver of 'class warfare.' He also believes that envy is the reason for the anti-Romney movement of those opposing his candidacy. But the class warfare he alludes to is not generated by envy.
It's only a talking point emanating from Romney himself to deflect from his obvious deficiencies and to fire up the Republican base.
True, some individuals are probably envious, but, is it envy that causes so many to dislike him?
Watching Mr. Romney stumble through the primaries is excruciating. It's obvious he's desperate to become president despite a lack of understanding of what the position requires.
The position he's aspiring to requires connecting with 'the people' -- understanding their situations and their needs, feeling their pain, and addressing their issues.
But Romney has difficulty connecting with the average person and even more difficulty convincing middle-class America that he really cares about them.
His recent campaign statement regarding the poor, even taken in context, came off as insincere and out of touch. He has no concept of the plight of the poor. Combined with a cold insensitivity toward working-class people his qualifications diminish.
His discomfort in interviews and on the stump is palpable and is marked by his many gaffes. At various times he appears wooden, shallow, unnatural, abrasive, even phony, but rarely sincere, caring, or humble. He tries hard to appear humane yet still comes off dispassionate.
Everything Romney does and everything he says stirs up controversy.
He, at the same time, brags and apologizes for his wealth to appease whichever group he's addressing
His assertion of being unemployed or fearing getting a pink slip and his insistence that he did not inherit his wealth -- partially true but missing the point -- is disingenuous and phony.
The presumptive GOP nominee had problems releasing his tax returns and when challenged reluctantly released his 2010 return. The 2010 return showed a few disturbing things. Aside from the offshore accounts in Swiss and Cayman banks it was discovered that he paid a smaller percentage of taxes than most middle-class Americans -- 13.9 percent.
He, cavalierly, dismissed income he received from speaking engagements as a small amount. It was $374,000, which is more than 10 years of income to the average American family.
Full release of multiple years would likely jeopardize his attempt at being Everyman. The potential exists that earlier returns will show even lower tax rates. This is not a good thing for someone trying to convince the struggling, hard-working American voter, that he's just like them and feels their pain.
His inability to properly address these financial ambiguities is amplified by a hidden feeling of guilt -- guilt about how he's earned his money and the unpatriotic appearance of the low tax rates he's paid.
Though many would like to live in the confines of wealth he's enjoyed, I do not envy him. With all he's been given and all the doors that have been opened for him with his family name, he struggles with being 'real.'
Despite his tithing to the Mormon Church he appears selfish. Despite his repeated insistence that he wants to help the poor he appears pious. Despite his promise of change he has no 'real' solutions. And, with his unfactual attacks on Obama's presidency and policies, the improving employment and economy, he appears to be a liar.
The inability to connect with 'the people' becomes more evident with each primary or caucus. Even within his own party Romney is receiving fewer votes than he received in 2008 -- proof that the party is not overly enchanted with him as their nominee, or, quite frankly, with any of the others.
The 'class warfare' Romney refers to is not the product of envy, but a product of what the wealthy in this country have done to the economy and because of what they've taken from hard-working Americans to line their own selfish pockets. Romney is the epitome of the inequality they've created and one of the reasons his numbers have declined.
No, it's not envy, my friend, it's pity: pity of your desperation, of your personal purgatory over the issues, your lack of true understanding, of your feckless attempts at convincing the American people you're the answer to their struggles. But it's also pity that he must invoke 'class warfare' to avoid his complicity in the disparity in the classes.
Most of all, I pity that the Republican party is left with you as their choice for the presidency.
Believe me when I say, without liberal platitude -- you're not the answer.
Maybe for the Republican Party, but, not for America.
Follow Jim Worth on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorofmystery
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"I'm not concerned about the very poor. There's a safety net there." That statement, my friend, told me all I need to know about you and your outlook: Let the poor continue to wallow.
The things I indicated will be Willard's downfall, especially if he makes it through the primaries and becomes the GOP nominee.
There is much more, including wanting to return to the Bush GOP policies that got middle American into the mess which systematically eroded the middle-class. We cannot affor Mitt as president.
Jim
- corporations are people my friend (it was not appropriate at the time, and he could not explain it like a lawyer; & corporations are not exactly like people)
- he's not worried about the poor, they have their safety nets (translation the poor just want a hand out). They also need education, healthcare, jobs, fairness, and representation (unions, collective bargaining). In the land of opportunity, those things are important.
Therefore, there is no moral, legal, constitutional, or religious obstacle to us taxing the oligarchs into the upper middle class, where they won't have the ablity to threaten our democracy. We simply can;t afford to keep filty rich people around.
Romney sees struggling Americans as just being "envious" of "his wealth"
so they are guilty of waging "class warfare" on him and the wealthiest Americans.
A perfect example of how removed Mitt is from the real hardships so many of HIS everyday fellow Americans are struggling to survive. Actual "SURVIVAL"
People all across America are not spoiled children, complaining because Mitt gets cookies for desert and they don't.
These people not only do not get any cookies, many of them do not get any dinner either, while they are listening to Conservatives preach the Government subsidized free school lunches for their "children" and FOOD STAMPS for "their" families, should be stopped, because:
Government must stop "spending" tax $ on "social programs" so the Mitt Romneys, who HIDE MILLIONS of $ off shore to AVOID PAYING their fair share of taxes, can get MORE tax cuts.
In Mitts mind, families are complaining because they are just "envious" of HIS wealth.
Their "complaints are JUST political "class warfare" being waged on "wealthy people like him"
The poor dears. VICTIMS of "envious" people who want to "steal" THEIR cookie stashes.
Maybe Mitt, they are just complaining because their families are HUNGRY, maybe HOMELESS, in AMERICA, the country that "crowns thy good with BROTHERHOOD, MITT!
Hello? MITT?
It's NOT about YOU or YOUR stash of cookies you are hiding and hoarding off shore Mitt, it's It's about THEM and THEIR actually "hungry" families.
Hey Mitt, how about you explaining to the middle class how Bain Capital used their lobbying efforts to reduce the capital gains tax that you currently enjoy to make you even more wealthy?
The #1 key element of the plan, the "silver bullet", is an ingenious "One - Year Mortgage Holiday" for every home owner & business in America, so that for 12 months, you do not have to make a monthly mortgage payment. All Renters of apartments, retail & office space will also get a 38% rebate on their rent. Consequently Main Street, that has already spent & wasted Trillions bailing out Wall Street and received nothing in return, since credit markets are still frozen, foreclosures, unemployment and bankruptcies are still rising, would then be able to have a well deserved one year "Time Out", from having to make a mortgage payment. So a 25 year mortgage simply becomes a 26 year mortgage. All mortgage bank lenders, would still be paid a monthly average interest rate of 6% on all mortgage debt in the country. This would allow consumers, all home owners, renters and businesses to decide for themselves how best to spend, save & invest their own money each month, that would inject approximately $80 billion monthly back into the economy.
What amazes me is the complete disconnect from reality these "conservatives" have. They always have an excuse for why someone is "hating" them. "Its because we are rich." "They want to attack our (religion, freedom, guns, unborn children, etc...)"
Its never their fault...ever.
They play that victim card so often, its hard not to feel sorry for them. It makes perfect sense, as long as you don't think about it. Fortunately for them, their voter base is not big on thinking...about anything. Reality, logic, and reason are poisons to these people.
Remember the old movie about orphans (my mind is blanking on the name of the movie) with the hungry little boy holding his empty bowl up to the "fat" heartless mean person who runs the orphanage, and he says "Please Sir, may I have some more?"
I guess that little boy was just "envious" I guess his request was because he wanted to STEAL the food from the orphanage administrator who had "earned" his food and was not obligated to share it with anyone.
That little boys brazen request in front of the other hungry children was nothing more then instigating a "class warfare" attack on THE administrator authority figure "who feeds him" How ungrateful.
The nerve of that little boy.