Romney: “I’m Not Concerned About The Very Poor”
“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.”
I guess when you are poor, you cease to be an American.
That’s not fair, you guys. I’m no Romney fangirl but even I can see what he’s saying there: we have a safety net that protects the worst-off and his concern is for those outside that protected group. I don’t particularly agree with this statement—after all, the social safety net only brings up the worst-off to the level of the “not quite so bad off but still struggling”—but I don’t think you have to take the worst bits out of context to attack the spirit of what Romney’s saying.
EDIT: I was thinking to myself that whether Romney likes the poor, cares about the poor, or thinks poor people are Americans, are actually the wrong questions to be asking. The right question is about the facts: is the social safety net working for the worst off, and what does Romney propose to do to “fix” it? This is the right question, and the answer to it reveals more about Romney than any out of context quote ever could.
