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Health & Fitness

Romney writes off Republican Voters Who Live in the South

Obama's lead over Romney in the swing states is widening. Obama is up 10% over Romney in a poll of Ohio's likely voters. The reason? Don't blame the campaign, Romney says. Blame him.

On CNN David Gergen commented regarding Mitt Romney's biggest gaffe of late ("the 47% of Americans who don't take personal responsibility for themselves"):

"It's bad enough when you realize you don't like a candidate. It's even worse when you realize the candidate doesn't like you."

My husband Jim and I burst out laughing. 

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So if you're one of the 47% who pay no federal income tax, you don't take responsibility and care for yourself. Mitt Romney looks down on you. You're not only too poor to pay federal income tax, but it's your own fault because you're irresponsible and see yourself as a "victim"!

Of course, 61% of the 47% who pay no federal income taxes do pay payroll taxes. That means that they're the working poor. The working poor don't make a living wage. So after Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush gave them a tax break to make tax cuts for the rich more palatable, the working poor don't pay federal taxes on their meager income.

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Twenty-two percent of the 47% who pay no federal income taxes are elderly. Are you irresponsible if you live on Social Security and pay no federal income taxes? Not if you paid into Social Security and Medicare for decades of your working life, and none of us have a choice on whether to pay or not.

Why do people call Social Security and Medicare an "entitlement" when most of us pay an extremely regressive tax for old-age benefits when we can least afford it? Income earned in 2012 will be taxed for Social Security up to $110,100 a year. Mitt Romney, who paid 13.9% of his $13.7 million in income, all of it from investments, in federal taxes, pays no more Social Security taxes on $14 million a year than someone earning $110,100 a year.

So Romney was insulting his own electorate.

The most palatable characteristic of Romney so far is his recent refusal to blame his campaign for his sagging poll numbers.

When a reporter asked him if he blamed his campaign, he shook his head.

"It's not my campaign that's at fault," he said, smiling ruefully. "It's me."

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