Mitt Romney's comment about not being "concerned about the very poor" is lighting up almost every major media outlet today, but at least one seems to have scaled back the alarm.
On CNN this morning, Romney told Soledad O'Brien that he was focused on helping the middle class, adding that there are already programs in place to help the poor. "I'm not concerned about the very poor," he said. "There's a safety net there, and 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 heart of America, the 95% of Americans who are right now struggling."
Just before 9:30 this morning, the Associated Press published its story about Romney's comments with the headline, "Romney: 'I'm not concerned about the very poor." That is the same headline that appears at the top of articles by at least a dozen outlets, ranging from POLITICO to ABC News to the Huffington Post.
But now, the headline for the AP story is "Romney: Not focused on poor, they have safety net."
Why the switch? A spokesperson at the AP is looking into it.
Meanwhile, some perspective: Despite his critics' eagerness to believe as much, Romney is not saying that he doesn't care about poor people. And any critic worth their salt knows that this comment -- like the comment about 'firing people' -- should be taken in its larger context.
"No, no, no," Romney told the press on his plane today (there were actually many more "no's"). "You’ve got to take the whole sentence... because then it sounds very different. I’ve said throughout the campaign my focus, my concern, my energy is gonna be devoted to helping middle income people. We have a safety net for the poor, and if there are holes in it, I will work to repair that. And if there are people that are falling through the cracks, I want to fix that."
Mitt Romney's comment about not being "concerned about the very poor" is lighting up almost every major media outlet today, but at least one seems to have scaled back the alarm.
On CNN this morning, Romney told Soledad O'Brien that he was focused on helping the middle class, adding that there are already programs in place to help the poor. "I'm not concerned about the very poor," he said. "There's a safety net there, and 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 heart of America, the 95% of Americans who are right now struggling."
Just before 9:30 this morning, the Associated Press published its story about Romney's comments with the headline, "Romney: 'I'm not concerned about the very poor." That is the same headline that appears at the top of articles by at least a dozen outlets, ranging from POLITICO to ABC News to the Huffington Post.
But now, the headline for the AP story is "Romney: Not focused on poor, they have safety net."
Why the switch? A spokesperson at the AP is looking into it.
Meanwhile, some perspective: Despite his critics' eagerness to believe as much, Romney is not saying that he doesn't care about poor people. And any critic worth their salt knows that this comment -- like the comment about 'firing people' -- should be taken in its larger context.
"No, no, no," Romney told the press on his plane today (there were actually many more "no's"). "You’ve got to take the whole sentence... because then it sounds very different. I’ve said throughout the campaign my focus, my concern, my energy is gonna be devoted to helping middle income people. We have a safety net for the poor, and if there are holes in it, I will work to repair that. And if there are people that are falling through the cracks, I want to fix that."
Sorry guys, especially Soledad, Mitt, Charlie and CNN. There are a lot more of the "very poor" out there than five percent...Just put your thinking caps on as your teachers once said.
Shame on all of you!
quote:
Well, hate to break it to you, Mitt, but there’s a whole lot more poor people in America to be “not concerned about” than that—a lot more. Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau back in September showed that just over 46 million Americans—or 15.1 percent of the population—lived below the official poverty line ($11,100 for an individual, $22,300 for a family of four).
Nothing to worry about—not, at least, if you’re running for the GOP nomination—but 46 million people living in poverty is the highest figure reached in the 52 years the Census Bureau has been publishing such data. And those figures are sure to go up, economists say, now that the federal stimulus has pretty much run its course and with states and municipalities enacting deep cuts to social programs that were helping to prop up those at the bottom.
More facts here... And yes indeed I blame President Bush for squandering our national wealth and the Republican do-nothing congress! To vote for more of the same is committing national suicide.
Originally posted by Florida Righty: Bill O'Reilly listed 4 reasons why people are poor in America:
Poor education
Family breakdown
Irresponsible decisions
Laziness
Which of the four applies to: - a vet wounded in battle too much to work or support his family? - a watchmaker who develops a detached retina and can't work again? - a senior citizen with Alzheimer's? - someone who is mentally ill? - an orphaned child?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What's a purple pentode? Why, it's one that's gassy!
Posts: 11278 | Location: USA | Mbr Since: 10-07-2005
Mitt Romney said in an interview set to air Thursday evening that he “misspoke” when he said that he was “not concerned about the very poor.” ... In his interview ..., Romney said he messed up ... .
“When you do — I don’t know — how many thousands of interviews, now and then, you may get it wrong,” Romney said. “And I misspoke — plain and simple.”
Charlie, we're waiting for your apology.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What's a purple pentode? Why, it's one that's gassy!
Posts: 11278 | Location: USA | Mbr Since: 10-07-2005
Originally posted by Florida Righty: Bill O'Reilly listed 4 reasons why people are poor in America:
Poor education
Family breakdown
Irresponsible decisions
Laziness
Don't forget job loss and medical costs.
My newly poor doctor.
She had a family practice in Frogville. She's suffered from Crohns disease for many years. Bad time of it about fifteen years ago landed her in Boston for a few months of treatment. It is a chronic, life threatening auto-immune condition. She was uninsurable and no doubt could not get all the care she needed other than what was extended to her via gratuity.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, she was med-vac'd to Atlanta in critical condition. She was on a ventilator for a while. She is in re-hab now and will probably go to a nursing home soon. Her medical bills far outweigh her assets and her guardian is preparing for Chapter 11. She will probably live out the rest of her life on Medicaid in the nursing home.
Her practice is closed.
Sad ending for a great career and a great, well-loved, hardworking, well-educated woman.
