Mitt Romney wasted no time squandering what should have been his Florida primary victory lap today. Romney told CNN this morning:
There is so much wrong with this statement, whether you take it in or out of context.
Out of context, the “I’m not concerned about the very poor” line feeds directly into Democrat efforts to portray Romney as an uncaring tool of the wealthy elite. You will see it in campaign commercials before the general election is over.
In context, Romney’s reasoning feeds directly into the left’s Occupy Wall Street narrative. Instead of saying that Romney cares about all Americans, Romney is essentially saying he only cares about 90 percent of Americans. The rich are doing fine and the poor are hopeless. He’ll only give his attention to those in the middle. This is just as divisive as the left’s “We are the 99%” rhetoric.
Worse, any true conservative would know that not only is our safety net horribly broken, but its dysfunction is a big part of the reason why the very poor are very poor. Government programs breed dependency. The Democratic Party’s War on Poverty helped destroy family structures in poor communities. Medicaid funding crowds-out private insurance. All three entitlement programs are bankrupting this country. It’s not “if” they need repair. They do need repair.
The other Republican candidates have proven to be inadequate alternatives. But Romney is going to have to step up his game if he is going to beat Obama.
