While appearing on MSNBC Wednesday morning to defend President Obama against criticisms of his “You didn’t build that” comment last week Democratic National Committee (DNC) Executive Director Patrick Gaspard made a gaffe of his own.
On The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd Gaspard said the DNC had never taken Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s words out of context.
Despite the Gaspard’s claim that the DNC has never taken Romney out of context, Red Alert has put together a “Top 3 List” of Romney quotes Democrats have taken out of context:
Number 3: I’m also unemployed
During the GOP presidential primary Mitt Romney attempted to make himself seem more appealing to the average American by telling a group of supporters that like millions of Americans he is also unemployed. At the event, the line got laughs as it was intended to. But the DNC used the comment to attack rich Romney as out-of -ouch with jobless Americans struggling to pay their bills.
Number 2: I’m not concerned about the very poor
In February, Romney was accused by the DNC of saying he was “not concerned about the very poor.” Despite Romney’s attempt to reach out the middle class – a sticking point for the Obama campaign – Romney was portrayed as someone who didn’t understand the plight of the poor, as this editorial from the Washington Post points out.
Number 1: I like being able to fire people
In January, Romney’s detractors, with the help of the DNC, were able to paint him as a corporate raider who was out of touch with the American people after Romney said he liked being able to fire people via the free market system and hire people who are more qualified for the job. However, his comment was use to pad Democrats’ claims that the purpose of Romney’s former company Bain Capital was to bankrupt companies and put people out of work. It didn’t matter to Democrats that Bain created thousands of other opportunities for other Americans.
Surely Gaspard agrees that comment was taken out of context, right?
“We certainly didn’t take Governor Romney’s comments out of context,” Gaspard said of the “I like being able to people” incident, according to Mediate. “We’ve accurately represented his views on job creation.”
Francesca Chambers contributed to this report.
