As a continuation on the previous post on the leaked video from Romney's Boca Raton, Florida, fundraising speech, we will now look at the responses to the video from the press, fellow republicans, and Romney himself.
Romney still agrees with what he stated admitting only that his phrasing was less than eloquent at a impromptu press conference during a fundraising stop in Orange County.
As a reminder, Romney criticized the "47%" who supposedly do not pay taxes and are "victims." However, as pointed out by this article, this strategy also emphasizes wealthy people's low tax rates, compounded with Romney's tax returns released earlier this year, which reminds voters that Romney is out of touch with the average American.
Another controversy was that Romney also proclaimed the possibility of peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was impossible since--according to Romney--Palestinians "have no interest" in peace. Of course this infuriates the Palestinian Authority, who blame Romney for hurting the peace process by making this statement; furthermore "No one stands to gain more from peace with Israel than Palestinians and no one stands to lose more in the absence of peace than Palestinians," noted Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Senate republicans with difficult reelections coming up are trying to distance themselves from Romney's comments to preserve the possibility of reelection, while others are echoing Romney's basic point or criticizing Romney's write off of half the country. An especially interesting case is Scott Brown from Massachusetts, who is at the same time trying to separate himself from Romney while his office and campaign office say that he still supports Romney. Brown stated "that's what being an independent senator is about: criticizing my party when it's appropriate and then praising people when they have an opportunity to do something well" when asked directly about his position on Romney.
Undoubtedly, Romney is in trouble. How should fellow Republicans be acting? Should a tough reelection bid affect the Senator's response to Romney's points? At this point is there any way to do any damage control? Will peace for Israel and Palestine be affected by Romney's statements or is that an overreaction? Will this wildfire blow over anytime soon?
Romney still agrees with what he stated admitting only that his phrasing was less than eloquent at a impromptu press conference during a fundraising stop in Orange County.
As a reminder, Romney criticized the "47%" who supposedly do not pay taxes and are "victims." However, as pointed out by this article, this strategy also emphasizes wealthy people's low tax rates, compounded with Romney's tax returns released earlier this year, which reminds voters that Romney is out of touch with the average American.
Another controversy was that Romney also proclaimed the possibility of peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was impossible since--according to Romney--Palestinians "have no interest" in peace. Of course this infuriates the Palestinian Authority, who blame Romney for hurting the peace process by making this statement; furthermore "No one stands to gain more from peace with Israel than Palestinians and no one stands to lose more in the absence of peace than Palestinians," noted Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
 |
| Looks like the dog isn't the only thing on Romney's roof. |
Undoubtedly, Romney is in trouble. How should fellow Republicans be acting? Should a tough reelection bid affect the Senator's response to Romney's points? At this point is there any way to do any damage control? Will peace for Israel and Palestine be affected by Romney's statements or is that an overreaction? Will this wildfire blow over anytime soon?
3 comments:
Just in case you guys are interested, here's a short video of a law school professor at the University of Miami explaining who Romney's rumored "47%" are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwlvpCHuUnQ . It consists of elderly retired people, low-income families that don't have enough money to pay federal income taxes, etc.-- this all just makes Romney look even worse because he didn't get his facts straight.
I think both Republicans and Democrats are offended by many of the things Romney has said thus far, but doing damage control seems to be a bit unlikely at this point... In order for Romney to create a more positive image for himself, he needs to get in touch with the parts of American political culture that allow him to relate to as many people as possible... The problem however, as Kathryn stated, is that he's very out of touch with most average people... I don't think any of his mistakes will blow over any time soon. Or maybe never.
When I heard about this video, I didn't even think that it was real. However, after watching the video, I am in complete shock. A lot of what has been said on both sides has been absolute drivel, but this tops the list as truly offensive. What has been kind of interesting is some of the Republicans' reactions to Romney's comments; after all, this isn't something that one can just say was misinterpreted or phrased badly. Some claim they want to focus on other issues, others say that Romney didn't mean what he said, and there are those who agree with his statements.
And goodness gracious, the Palestine issue. Forgive me, but why on earth would Romney say that Palestinians have no interest in peace? Even if he thought it true, saying it certainly doesn't help things along. We know that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a mess, but I sincerely hope that someday (hopefully sooner rather than later) it will be resolved.
Romney's comments definitely put the Republican Party in a tough situation. There is no way Romney could have controlled the damage from his comments. Although standing by his comments made Romney seem extremely out of touch with voters, apologizing and saying his comments were wrong wouldn't have been much of a better choice either as it would just make Romney seem like he was once again changing his beliefs to get elected. Fellow Republicans really don't have any way to react to these comments either without hurting their party. If they distance themselves from Romney, they hurt his campaign's but help theirs. By standing with Romney, they help his campaign, but hurt theirs. These videos were pretty much a lose-lose situation for the Republican party.
Post a Comment