There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. -- Mitt Romney, 2012
With Mitt Romney dropping his presidential bid, Republican campaign financiers are searching for a candidate to lead the crusade against the 47 percent.
Charles G. Koch is troubled.
"Mitt's out and Herman Cain and Michele Bachman may not run, so who will confront the 47 percent? Rand Paul? He says he want to raise middle class wages. Does the bottom end of the middle class include people in the 47 percent? Are some of those people who drive their Cadillacs to pick up their welfare checks part of the middle class? Republican candidates need to be very careful when pandering to the middle class."
"I'm worried," echoes Charles' brother, David H. Koch. "A lot of the Republican candidates seem soft on the 47 percent. Last week Jeb Bush said, 'We need to create economic opportunity for every American, especially middle class families.' But some of the families he wants to help could be in the 47th or even the 46th percent. It's a slippery slope. First you accept the 47th percent. Next you condone he 46th percent, pretty soon you're tolerating the rabble in the 45th and 44th. Either you challenge the 47 percent, all of them, or, God forbid, you countenance them."
A Bush spokesman quickly clarified the candidate's position stating, "To an Andover grad like Jeb, middle class is not a matter of income. It's about where you prepped. The middle class consists of graduates of lesser prep schools such as Salisbury, Peddie and Governor Dummer. But none of them are in the 47 percent. Mind you, Jeb is no snob. Some of his best friends went to lesser prep schools."
"'I'm still searching for a candidate who will stick by their principles," said Sheldon Adelson, who spent $100 million in a futile attempt to elect a Republican president in 2012. "I had hopes for Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, but now they are talking about helping the middle class. I believe we all have a moral obligation to help the less fortunate. Some of my best friends are below the 95th or even the 90th percent. But Republicans need a candidate who will draw a line in the sand at 47th percent."
It is rumored that Cruz, Rubio, Bush and Paul are headed toward beaches with shovels.