Up for Debate: Romney's 47 percent

Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 1:03am


Filed under: City Voices

131 Comments on this post:

By: Mike Burch on 9/18/12 at 1:42

Lines from “Bishop Romney’s 47% Solution,” Stanza 666

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who’s the handsomest sociopath of all?

Magical undies on my tush,
whose ass eclipses the son of Bush?

The Omens agree: I am heaven-sent!
My job? To eradicate the 47%!

By: Loner on 9/18/12 at 1:44

Mike wrote, "This leaves perhaps 10% of the voters to decide the election. " Yeah, and thanks to the Electoral College system, 10% of the voters in about nine swing states will make the call for us all....it's "Democracy Lite", not the full-strength stuff that we tend to export at gunpoint.

By: budlight on 9/18/12 at 2:00

First of all, I'd like to quote one of the greatest men in the history of the U.S. "YOU DIDN'T BUILD THAT".

Secondly, I'd like to say that Mitt said what the other 53% of us are thinking about the "gimme that or I'll get mad and sue you" crowd. Hand outs are for Charity organizations. The government's job is: Infrastructure, national secuirty, and administering the tax laws and disbursement of MONIES THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME HAVE PAID IN TO BENEFIT ME.

If someone didn't pay into Social Security or pay into a fund of any type, why should they get something for free? The government could put all people to work who are able bodied, even if it's picking up the trash on the roads.

Widows, Orphans, and Handicapped people are the only ones who should be getting help. NOT ABLE BODIED MEN AND WOMEN.

Some guy is claiming that he weighs too much at 427 lbs. to be executed for a murder he committed. Hmmmmm. Put him on a diet.

By: MusicCity615 on 9/18/12 at 2:01


What will you think / say if Obama is reelected, and hypothetically by 2016 we are still at 8+ Unemployment, the debt is larger than its current $16 trillion (even after Obama raises taxes), and no progress has been made in Afghanistan.

Basically if our nation's conditions remain EXACTLY how they are now, would you say Obama was a good president?

By: Loner on 9/18/12 at 2:06

Mike, sometimes the masses truly are asses... and this may be one of those times.

Without a doubt, some of Rush Limbaugh's biggest fans are receiving monthly checks from the federal government and many of them...the poorest listeners and the richest listeners.... probably pay nothing in federal taxes...I have no stats on that...just an educated guess based on personal experience and observation.

The poor folks who listen to Rush and the FOX outlets and then vote for Republican candidates are voting against their own best interests...the mass media have created masses of asses.

By: Mike Burch on 9/18/12 at 2:21


I agree with you about handouts. If people are receiving money from the government, they should do work for the government in return, at relatively low wages. They can file, answer phones, pick up trash, etc.

However, the Romney-Ryan "rescue plan" for the economy gives all the free stuff to the super-rich, who don't need to spend the surplus. So the GOP plan is WORSE than the current system.

A much better system would be for the rich to pay somewhat more in taxes, and for people who receive government aid to provide labor to the government, thus helping to defray the expense they represent until they can find better jobs. Paying them relatively low wages will encourage them to seek employment in the private sector.

But again, the Romney-Ryan plan is even worse than the present system. At least poor people will spend the money they get.

By: Mike Burch on 9/18/12 at 2:29


A lot depends on the cooperation President Obama receives from Republicans. The GOP has made its main goal to win elections, and it has been trying to achieve that goal by stonewalling Democratic efforts to address our nation's problems.

For instance, Romney and Ryan were in favor of stimulus spending when Bush was in office, but now they act as if President Obama is the Devil and "against American values" for trying to create jobs.

It's hard enough to repair the damage of the Bush years, and even harder when Republicans will lie and sell Americans down the river, in their desire to win elections.

If President Obama succeeds despite the GOP's efforts to destroy the country, I think he will go down as one of our greatest presidents. If he doesn't succeed, it will probably be because the GOP put its interests above those of the nation and its people.

And regardless of what happens, a Romney-Ryan administration would be far worse.

By: Mike Burch on 9/18/12 at 2:37



I agree. I call it "the curious collusion between the rich and poor." The glue that binds the rich and poor is religion. Rich hucksters pretend to be the guardians of faith and morality, and persuade gullible poor white people to vote them into office, after which they make sure the richest Americans get all the tax breaks and perks. The current Romney-Ryan plan to reduce taxes on the 1% to below 1% is bad for 99% of the citizenry. Only a complete and utter fool would vote for someone who intends to rob him blind. But as long as Bishop Romney can claim to "share the values" of the people he intends to rob, he can persuade them to vote for him. This is why he flip-flopped on climate change, women's reproductive rights, gay rights, etc.

Bishop Romney is clearly pandering to the gullible faithful because they're the only people blind enough to vote for him.

By: MusicCity615 on 9/18/12 at 2:38

Shouldn't the president be the one who can best unite the country, as Reagon did, as Clinton did?

If Obama has 8 years in office yet the country is still as divided as it is now, we still have 8+% unemployment and we are $16 trillion + in debt, shouldn't we have elected a different president in 2008?

Please note I am NOT saying mccain (and especially that pyscho palin) would have done better, but 8 years in office with NO results but only assertions that "it's the republicans' fault" is not what America needs.

As of right now Obama even admits his job is incomplete. Why that is doesn't matter, because a president needs to be bipartisan and past republican AND democratic presidents have accomplished that.

At some point the blame game gets old.... I am a republican in favor of increasing taxes to reduce the deficit as long as there is reduction in spending. For example, the chicago teachers union works the least amount in hours / day, yet have $76k in salary BEFORE benefits and they have rejected a 16% increase in pay and are on strike, putting our children at risk!!! These strikes cannot happen!


By: MusicCity615 on 9/18/12 at 2:45


By: slacker on 9/18/12 at 2:51

Burch is right, we should repeal the 22nd. amendment.
Obama could serve as president until he gets it right, or George Bush dies.
Whatever occurs first.

By: dargent7 on 9/18/12 at 3:07

What's interesting, is on all the cable stations, eg., FOX, MSNBC, CNN, the commentators are defining and telling what really "the 47%" figure used by Republicans to denounce Obama and Democrats, actually, in reality, means.
Over at The Tennessean, 85% say welfare bums and cheats MAKE money off their welfare status.
They say the unemployed, on welfare and on Foodstamps, breaks down to get the $5,800 IEC refunded to them, so they make add'l thousands to NOT work.
As if not working is their part time job.
It's all TAX FREE, too.
And Bishop Tutu Romney opened up 3 off shore bank accounts because he loves America and wants to pay his fair share.
Again, anyone voting for this guy is so naive' they probably think the Titans are Super Bowl bound. Using Romney's logic, why waste your time playing 16 games, just walk into the Stadium and claim victory.

By: yogiman on 9/18/12 at 3:28


It's a wonderful thing to know everyone pays their taxes in the US except Mitt Romney. Maybe everyone can sign a petition there will be no overseas tax breaks in the USA. You earn it here, by dammit you pay them here. And that includes all Democratic members of congress.

By: Mike Burch on 9/18/12 at 3:56


You asked, "Shouldn't the president be the one who can best unite the country, as Reagon did, as Clinton did?"

If you remember, both Reagan and Clinton were castigated by their political enemies. When Reagan was elected, he was called a doddering fool. Clinton was subjected to all sorts of abuse also. Now that we have seen positive things that they managed to accomplish, in hindsight, opinions of them have been raised. The same thing could happen for President Obama, and I'd be surprised if it doesn't.

You asked, "Shouldn't we have elected a different president in 2008?"

What are the alternatives? McCain said we should stay in Iraq for 100 years, if necessary. Palin is a moron. Romney, Santorum, Bachmann, Perry and Cain are morons. Gingrich has the morals of a cobra. If any decent Republican runs for office, he can't get elected because the GOP's voter base WANTS all the wrong things.


I was a Reagan republican, but I can't vote for morons and warmongers. What we need, I think, is a coalition between Democrats and moderate Republicans, who will put the nation and its people first. Bur right now moderate Republicans can't even voice reasonable opinions or the party will lynch them in public. So I think the only thing we can do is vote for Democrats and put pressure on them to live up to their stated ideals of equality and social and economic justice.

By: Mike Burch on 9/18/12 at 4:02


I think the GOP has become dysfunctional because the voters want to believe in lies, so the politicians tell them what they want to hear.

The GOP's voter base wants to believe that a black president who is not a Christian or an American citizen, but a Muslim, hates American values and wants to give his constituents "free stuff."

They do not want to hear that our worst problems are the result of Republican wars and Republican tax cuts that favor the rich over the people who would spend the money if they had it.

When people want to hear lies, and politicians are willing to tell them lies in order to win elections, the problems we see are to be expected. But I think we can start moving in a better direction if we can persuade just a small percentage of voters to see and understand what is really happening to the GOP.

And the GOP is helping, by shooting itself in its feet of clay.

By: pswindle on 9/18/12 at 4:35

The poor republicans should pay attention, Romney is talking about you. He does not give a damn. He is in to the rich like him. If he is elected, you will see how much he is in to money people, you will be fighting just to have food to eat. He and his buddies will live llike kings on the backs of the poor.

By: Rasputin72 on 9/18/12 at 4:50

psswindle......Well, if the poor live off the backs of the productive class and the wealthy then I see no reason that the productive and the wealthy live on the backs of the poor for a trial period.

How do the poor live now? Do they work? Do they get welfare public assistance and food stamps from the taxes collected from the productive class and the wealthy?

I have always wondered what the poor would do if there were no productive people and wealthy people? Would they perish?

By: Captain Nemo on 9/18/12 at 5:12

No Rasputin they would not be handicap by the likes of people like you..

By: yogiman on 9/18/12 at 5:54


Re your 5:35 post... BS. Or was you speaking for yourself? No one has ever gotten rich without the poor. And no one has ever gotten poor because of the rich.

A person gets rich because of their willingness to work and make the effort. The poor get poor because they're too damn lazy to work... unless they are physically handicapped.

By: parnell3rd on 9/18/12 at 7:07

I would like to point out that anyone who is critical of Mitt Romney is a racist. Since it is obvious you do not like him because of his Mexican Heritage.

By: parnell3rd on 9/18/12 at 7:11

I am pleased to see that President Obama did not have time in his busy presidential schedule to make time for Benjamin Netenyaho. (spelling?)
After all he is so busy with his $40,000 a plate dinner at Jay-Z and Beyonce's house. Then onto the David Letterman Show. I wonder if he'll have to re-schedule Wednsday's golf game?

By: parnell3rd on 9/18/12 at 7:15

Kosh III thanks to politicians during Clinton's term with Al Gore being the tiebreaking vote, when we retire and withdraw social security, we will be taxed, again.

By: parnell3rd on 9/18/12 at 7:20

FYI Barack Husseine Obama aka Barry Sorento is a multi millionaire. He will worth hundres of millions of dollars when he leave office, just like his pal Al Gore.

By: bfra on 9/18/12 at 8:36

Gore was a millionaire before he went into politics. Do you ever check data before you comment?

By: pswindle on 9/18/12 at 8:42

It amazes me how the GOP makes up their own facts.

By: yogiman on 9/18/12 at 10:22


Al Gore becoming a millionaire before he went into politics is amazing. I've never heard of a newspaper reporter becoming a multimillionaire. How did he pull it off?

By: Moonglow1 on 9/18/12 at 11:01

Moonglow1: Willard "Mitt" Romney refuses to pay his fair share. He is un-American. He uses off shore accounts to stash his money away. He amassed 100K in his IRA.

Well now-he counts those "other" Americans just like him who may pay little to no taxes because they avail themselves of legal loopholes.

Take that Willard!! The 47 percent you so despise are just like you.

By: bfra on 9/18/12 at 11:19

According to King Troll, it is ok for Romney to not pay his fair share of taxes, because others do it. So, would it be ok for him to commit murder, because others definitely do it.

By: Mike Burch on 9/19/12 at 12:03


From the research I have done, it seems Bishop Romney may have as much as $100 million in his offshore IRAs. It seems that he put his stake in entire companies and most or all of his Bain holdings in those IRAs. If so, that means he may have sheltered most of his earnings for a decade or more from federal income taxes. And that would reduce his federal income tax rate drastically. If he paid 13%, but only on 10% of his income, that would make his effective tax rate 1.3%.

So Bishop Romney is in no position to criticize the 47% who don't pay income taxes because they don't make enough money. It seems he paid little or no income tax himself, and he could have afforded to pay his fair share.

What a hypocrite!

By: FaceBook:Emmett... on 9/19/12 at 7:34

The fools just can't grasp the truth. There is not one single thing which would remotely justify a second term for the Fraud Potentate in office at this point. Failures as far as the eye can see both domestically and internationally. And, of course, complicity in felony gun trafficking which resulted in the deaths of 2 US law enforcement agents and countless innocent Mexican citizens. But. Romney tells the truth about widespread dependency on the federal government and, of course, that's some kind of scandal. Those who would vote for ObaMao are fools of the most pathetic sort.

By: Badbob on 9/25/12 at 10:13

We owe Romney a great thank you for bringing this issue out in the open. Hate-filled jealous Republicans have been circulating emails to this effect for over a year now. This is the equivalent of speeches around a burning cross of some years ago. They did it anonymously and under the cover of the internet.

SNL has the best skit on it, IMHO. Romney just forgot to exclude "seniors, disabled vets and white people in the South. "

Thank you Romney for showing us you are just as shallow, selfish and ignorant as Rasputin, and also bringing to the light of day where people way smarter than I can dispense with the idiocy of your alls attitudes and comments.