Does Romney believe in ‘taking care of’ the rich?

This is a really crazy paragraph from John Heilemann’s piece on Team Obama’s strategy:

“Romney really, actually thinks that if you just take care of the folks at the top, it’ll trickle down to everybody else,” says another Obama operative. “But no one believes that stuff—no one! And once you puncture that, there’s nothing left. He’s not likable. He’s not trustworthy. He’s not on your side. You live in Pittsburgh and you’ve got dirt under your fingernails, who do you want to have a beer with? It ain’t f—ing Mitt Romney. You’re like, ‘S–t, I’d rather have a beer with the black guy than him!’ ”

I understand the point about the beer and Romney’s relative likeability. That’s one of the things George W. Bush had going for him in both 2000 and 2004 — it’s been buoying Obama’s numbers for a long time, and at this point it’s one of the few things he has left going for him.

What I do not understand is this notion at the beginning of the paragraph: How not taking 50 percent of someone’s income suddenly constitutes “taking care of him.” Low tax rates — as opposed to the corporate handouts that characterize Obama’s economic plan — are not “giveaways” or handouts and do not constitute “taking care of” anyone.

Consider it an insight into the liberal mind: “Should five per cent appear too small / Be thankful I don’t take it all.”

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