Your morning jolt: Mitt Romney’s testy take on ‘the very poor’
Remember the thin-skinned Mitt Romney who objected to his “grilling” from Fox News’ Bret Baier back in November? Florida may have brought him back.
In a morning interview with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, the topic was the economy:
A partial transcript:
Romney: This is a time people are worried. They’re frightened. They want someone who they have confidence in. And I believe I will be able to instill that confidence in the American people. And, by the way, 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 the America, the 90, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling and I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.
O’Brien: All right. So I know I said last question, but I’ve got to ask you. You just said I’m not concerned about the very poor because they have a safety net. And I think there are lots of very poor Americans who are struggling who would say that sounds odd. Can you explain that?
Romney: Well, you had to finish the sentence, Soledad. I said I’m not concerned about the very poor that have the safety net, but if it has holes in it, I will repair them.
O’Brien: Got it. OK.
Romney: The – the challenge right now – we will hear from the Democrat Party [on] the plight of the poor, and – and there’s no question, it’s not good being poor and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor.
But my campaign is focused on middle income Americans. My campaign – you can choose where to focus. You can focus on the rich. That’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor. That’s not my focus.
My focus is on middle income Americans, retirees living on social security, people who cannot find work, folks who have kids that are getting ready to go to college. That – these are the people who’ve been most badly hurt during the Obama years.
***
Doug Richards of 11Alive landed an interview with Attorney General Sam Olens, and asked him about $1,500 plane ride he accepted from a tobacco lobbyist to a Florida convention in December. Here’s a portion of the exchange:
Olens: Well it was an opportunity, frankly, to have that time alone with them to discuss the fact that the state was doing everything possible to enforce the tobacco laws, to follow the master settlement, and it was a great opportunity, frankly, to share that time and to encourage them to not sue the state.
Richards: Could you have had that opportunity without accepting this rather expensive gift from him?
Olens: Well, first of all, I was traveling to the conference. Secondly, yes I could have flown to DC to meet with all the folks. But it seemed timely. That was right when all the tobacco companies were deciding who they were going to sue.
$120 million is a lot at stake for our state. And I was trying to save our state money. This isn’t anything but an opportunity to put the best foot forward for our state. We’re in a war against the tobacco industry. And that’s a lot of money on an annual basis that’s at risk.
***
Possibly you heard that the Republican-led state Senate voted overwhelmingly on Monday for SB 223, which would create a “sunset” for agencies as recommended by a 14-member joint committee of the General Assembly.
Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, feels pretty sure that oversight of executive branch of government is his job – and let GOP senators in on his thoughts before the vote. This didn’t seem to matter. Call it a conflict between good politics and good policy.
Look for the House to change the bill slightly, by adding a small line that would make the legislation effective on the governor’s signature – ironic, since that’s unlikely to happen – rather than July 1. A two-month difference perhaps.
But the addition would allow the bill to be sent back to the Senate, and give members of that chamber a chance to rethink their votes.
***
The AJC’s Politifact Georgia offers up a doubleheader today, examining the claims of U.S. Reps. Hank Johnson, D-Decatur, and Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta, on joblessness under the administration of President Barack Obama.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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257 comments Add your comment
Independent voter
February 1st, 2012
10:41 am
Mitt just be prepare for this to come up in the general election. President have to be for everybody.
Romney you filthy rich and he dont like middle class or poor people.
Centrist
February 1st, 2012
10:42 am
Nice out of context headline. Expect a lot more slams like this from the leftist media.
Glad to see that Romney would fix any holes in our very extensive safety net for the poor. But with so many overlapping programs, agencies, tax credits (checks), free cellphones/internet, etc. – it is hard see what more needs to be done for the poor at working folks expense.
Cutty
February 1st, 2012
10:42 am
What about being concerned for the welfare of ALL citizens? Just a thought.
Born with a tan.
February 1st, 2012
10:46 am
Mitt has lost the election.
News Flash Mitt… POOR PEOPLE VOTE!
tjy
February 1st, 2012
10:46 am
What’s up with the headline? Romney wasn’t testy at all. He simply answered the question in a straight-forward manner.
Born with a tan.
February 1st, 2012
10:46 am
Enter your comments here
BW
February 1st, 2012
10:46 am
Why do people even bother to go to the Gold Dome? I mean we have transportation, education, and water issues and they’re passing legislation on silencers for hunting??
Butch Cassidy
February 1st, 2012
10:47 am
Sounds like the same old GOP mantra to me. Wasn’t it GW who said after the 2004 election ” My base is the haves and the have mores”. Nothing new to see here, move along.
Joe
February 1st, 2012
10:48 am
This is what the liberal media with do to republicans…..because they know most Obama supporters are ignorant and will not read the entire sentence. So, the liberal media will only print half of it. I am not concerned about the poor….they are buying better food than I am at the super market with the food stamps Obama gives them.
Phil Esteen
February 1st, 2012
10:50 am
Since when is it news that a rich, white, conservative doesn’t give a sh.t about the poor? Rich conservatives have always hated the poor and blamed all of the ills of American society on them. The very definition of a conservative.
WOW
February 1st, 2012
10:55 am
Wow get ready for this statement to be taken out of context and twisted around.
Georgia, The " New Mississippi "
February 1st, 2012
10:55 am
Slick Mitt is right on this one. The poor along with the wealthiest 1 % reap the benefits of the best that government policies have to offer…… Working class folks “take up the slack” for both of these groups………The only problem with Mitt is that he is clueless , out of touch, and has nothing in common with working class folks. He is a multi-millionaire that was born the son of a multi-millionaire.
Umaguma
February 1st, 2012
10:55 am
Our economy is in shambles, thanks in no small part to the Bush and Obama administrations, and you’re worried about a possible GOP candidate for President making a comment about the poor? Wow….just…wow….I know the AJC and staff are just getting warmed up to slam the GOP candidate any way they can so they can get their Prez re-elected, but you’ll have to do better than this. GA is a red state anyway, so no matter how hard ya’ll try, Obama isn’t gonna carry this state, so you shouldn’t even waste your time. Maybe try a little objective journalism for once? Oh and tell Luckovich to actually read the news sometime so he’ll see that there’s a heck of a lot wrong with this country than just conservatives.
anarcho bicyclist
February 1st, 2012
10:55 am
Centrist:
You are as out of touch with the lives and struggles of the very poor (or even the working poor like myself) as your man “Muffy” Rominy. My experience with programs in Georgia makes me wonder how poor people find time to do anything after going round and round with the underfunded and inhumane “safety net” system in this state. And, contrary to common decency, poor people end up spending a much higher percentage of their income to cover their living expenses than more wealthy Americans…If the poor are getting such a free ride then why don;t you quit your job and go on welfare, see how the other half lives…
usedtobeVERYpoor
February 1st, 2012
10:55 am
well, at least hes honest…im not concerned about the very poor either..this is coming from a “bootstrapper”….theres nothing a government can do to replace drive and ambition…spare me the bull crap…im also a Democrat but not a social worker democrat
Auntie Christ
February 1st, 2012
10:55 am
He’s not concerned because he knows that those bush tax cuts, implemented 11 years ago, are going to trickle down to the middle class and the very poor any day now, and make us all rich.
Use your power 99%
February 1st, 2012
10:55 am
This guy really will say anything to get elected. First time he’s ever even addressed the middle class and/or poor since he started running.
The Truth
February 1st, 2012
10:57 am
Good for him. The middle class always gets screwed.
Idiots will believe the slant
February 1st, 2012
10:57 am
What a crock. Read what he really said. He said he was focusing his campaign and policies on the middle class because the poor already had a safety net. He didn’t say he didn’t have any compassion for the poor. This is more media bias that only an idiot would believe. Whoever wrote the article and headline should be ashamed of themselves.
Butch Cassidy
February 1st, 2012
11:00 am
Georgia – “The poor along with the wealthiest 1 % reap the benefits of the best that government policies have to offer…… Working class folks “take up the slack” for both of these groups”
Exactly! The middle class makes too much money to qualify for the freebies that the lower class qualifies for, while at the same time, they make to little to take advantages of the many loopholes in the tax code that the upper class use in order to shield there wealth.
don
February 1st, 2012
11:00 am
Phil Esteen sounds like a typical liberal. Always blame the haves for the “woes” of the havenots. Barry’s base is made up of those who live off those of us who pay income taxes. Rather than tightening their belts and actually wotrking, to earn their way, they much prefer to whine about their self-imposed plight. I guess we can asume that Phil is one of them.
Most all consrvatives agree that we have a moral duty to help the “can nots”. However, contrary to the beliefs of Barry, we don’t owe the large group of “will nots” anything
jay
February 1st, 2012
11:00 am
Joe, Are you serious? Who cares about the rest of the sentence? He outright said the poor have a safety so he doesn’t care about them. I’m sure his Mormon religon doesn’t teach anything like that. I’m also sure he’s not seen anyone sleeping under a highway overpass before either if he thinks the poor have a safety net. This guy is so out of touch with reality.
Shine
February 1st, 2012
11:01 am
Mitt Romney is a full of chit kook. Mitt Romney is out to make sure all the pirates from the Bush years get to keep all the booty they plundered as the world economy tanked from GOP policies. Who is crazy enough to vote for more of that?
Jesus Christ
February 1st, 2012
11:01 am
I hope Mitt extends the unemployment benefits an additional 99 weeks along with the food stamps. I am very poor and enjoy the Obama handouts. What a great country.
Junior Samples
February 1st, 2012
11:01 am
Gingrich will pander to the poor in 3…, 2…,
JF McNamara
February 1st, 2012
11:02 am
I’m middle class, and I’m not worried or frightened. I was when Bush left office amidst and stock market crash, massive layoffs, and constant terror warnings. Obama pretty much stabilized America.
I’m not sure who Mitt is messaging to. The 8% of people who are unemployed and Republicans want to cut off employment for? Despite the dire Republican proclamations, everybody else seems to be doing ok. Not great, but also not like it was in 2008 before Obama stabilized things.
Markus Justice
February 1st, 2012
11:02 am
Some people are not stupid just dumb. The man said there are safety nets for the poor such as low or free housing through government programs, the rich have a safety net but does the middle class, heck no. This is why I hate the media, they take sound bites and distort them to sell newspapers. Obama doesn’t care for the poor or middle class since his donors are super rich like George Soros, Steven Spileberg, Ron Howard, the hollywood and political elite that want to keep their connections. Obama will say anything to get elected also, I have created 22 million jobs however a lot of the people I know unemployed quit looking or have been trying to get social security disability. Obama is a disaster and people warned the ignorant public about this clown.
Jesus Christ
February 1st, 2012
11:03 am
The very poor are losers. Let’s find a place to bury them and save money for the hard working.
Richard
February 1st, 2012
11:03 am
Joe,
The “liberal media” reports quotes, they don’t invent them.
McCain actually said he didn’t know about the economy in 2008. Mitt actually said he’s not concerned about the very poor.
If your candidate loses, you need to stop looking for a boogeyman to blame for it. And I have a news flash for you: poor people tend to all vote for democrats anyways. It’s not like Mitt risks much with that statement.
gigi
February 1st, 2012
11:04 am
This out of context sort of game the paper plays is exactly why I will not subscribe!
Junior Samples
February 1st, 2012
11:04 am
Soros, Drink!
double
February 1st, 2012
11:04 am
What more do poor people in this country want?
Jesus Christ
February 1st, 2012
11:04 am
Poor people are lazy and stupid. Screw the bums.
credibility gone
February 1st, 2012
11:04 am
The AJC just lost whatever credibility they have left. Read the whole article – not the sound bite.
PLEASE STOP SERVING RED MEAT!
February 1st, 2012
11:05 am
Mitt…please test out what your going to say before YOU say it! We live in a sound bite world and that’s as tone death as you can get. I understand what your saying BUT think how that sounds!
Butch Cassidy
February 1st, 2012
11:06 am
What do me and the AJC have in common? We both supported GWs election the first time around.
TimothyZ
February 1st, 2012
11:06 am
Why not run and be concerned about “ALL the PEOPLE,” not a selected few????!!!!
Dixie Darling
February 1st, 2012
11:06 am
Enter your comments here
ajc games
February 1st, 2012
11:07 am
This is the worst reporting I’ve ever seen in my 48 years.
JF McNamara
February 1st, 2012
11:07 am
@Markus Justice,
“Some people are not stupid just dumb”
I guess you looked in the mirror before typing up your incoherent statement. That’s all you actually got right.
joeybiten
February 1st, 2012
11:08 am
by the time obuma is finished with his 1st term, there will not be a “middle class”.
and as obuma continually talks about helping the “middle class”, I thought he was the president of the entire country….regardless of class, race, etc. but then again, the AJC would not want to present factual data on their wonderboy prez?
JMar
February 1st, 2012
11:08 am
Poor people vote democrat. People who are concerned about the poor vote democrat. He has nothing to gain by stating that he is concerned about the poor. But he can lose Republican votes from those middle income Americans if he starts talking about helping the poor.
TimothyZ
February 1st, 2012
11:08 am
Remember Willard: “All the people VOTE!!!”
missmollie
February 1st, 2012
11:09 am
My advice to Mr Romney: Congratulations to Mitt and Ann. You fought a hard battle and won. Move ahead and don’t look back. You need to take each state as it comes (MR); and not talk about the Inaugural Ball and all the other stuff (NG) you said last night in defeat A Southern Gentleman would have congratuated the winner (NG). Paul and Santorum did. Quit taking credit for Reagin’s successes in every breath you take (NG). Quit acting like a spoiled child ..you can take your marbles and go home anytime you choose.. You can be bought and sold…you can’t finance a national campaign, IMO…
Richard
February 1st, 2012
11:09 am
Now I’ll be fair and harp on jay for a second:
The poor pay no tax, get food stamps, get free medical care. How much more should the middle class be shelling out their hard earned money for them?
LawDawg
February 1st, 2012
11:09 am
“and there’s no question, it’s not good being poor ”
Thanks, Professor.
Mitt is right
February 1st, 2012
11:09 am
What he meant to say, but poorly said was “I am not focusing my economic plans or campaign on the very poor because they already get everything they need from the government already. They’ve made out like bandits the last 3 years. I want to help the people that are working and supporting this economy, but have been beat down with more taxes, less job opportunities, and a crappy housing market that has put hard working people underwater”.
Show me in this country a skinny poor person without a cell phone, car, housing, and flat screen TV with an Xbox. There will always be the very poor as long as people don’t get an education, have children out of wedlock, do drugs, sell drugs, and don’t want to work.
Ken
February 1st, 2012
11:10 am
Shameless liberal propaganda with the misleading headline literally picking words out of a sentence to advance your liberal views!
Big Hat
February 1st, 2012
11:12 am
The rich and powerful will always take care of themselves, first, foremost and last. The poor, and now the middle class, gets sick and dies. What’s wrong with that?
Sylvester Bill
February 1st, 2012
11:12 am
Another typical headline taken out of context, about what I expect from the AJC.