Obama camp: Romney's comment 'exact opposite' of Obama's 2008 guns and religion remark

The Hill ^

[Sub-Driver]

Obama camp: Romney's comment 'exact opposite' of Obama's 2008 guns and religion remark By Daniel Strauss - 09/18/12 11:41 AM ET

The Obama campaign said on Tuesday that Mitt Romney's statement on the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay income taxes is completely different from President Obama's 2008 comments that some frustrated voters cling to religion and guns.

Stephanie Cutter, the deputy manager of the Obama campaign, said then-candidate Obama's comments, which received wide criticism during the 2008 presidential campaign, were the exact opposite of Romney's.

"He was saying the exact opposite of what Mitt Romney was saying. He was talking about how some people get frustrated by their circumstances and react to that and that we need to bring everybody together and talk to everybody about how we're going to strengthen middle-class security," Cutter said on MSNBC. "Mitt Romney was saying the exact opposite, that 47 percent of the country are never going to vote for him because they don't take personal responsibility for themselves, they consider themselves victims and that they're not his concern. So it's the exact opposite."

Cutter's comments come the day after Mother Jones magazine posted video of Romney at a closed fundraiser saying that 47 percent of Americans are "dependent" on government and would never vote for him over Obama.

The snippets of video captured of the May 17 fundraiser has put Romney on the defensive, and observers have compared the remarks to ones made by Obama at an April fundraiser in 2008 in which he said that some Americans who were not inclined to vote for him "cling to their guns or religion."

Democrats have been hammering Romney on his remarks. The GOP presidential nominee attempted to do damage control late Monday, saying the comments were "not elegantly stated." Romney did, however, say that his comments represented "the same message I give to people" publicly.

Cutter echoed the Democratic critique when she said Romney's comments show that he's essentially "written off" half of the country.

"I think it's very troubling that Mitt Romney went behind closed doors to basically say 'there's a reason that my policies help people like myself, because I don't care about the other 47 percent,'" she noted. "Well, that other 47 percent — you know, half of all seniors don't pay taxes. We're talking about veterans coming home getting veterans benefits. You know it's extremely troubling that you're running to be president of the United States and you've written off half of the country."

[Sub-Driver]

Just Laughable...........

[kevkrom]

Oh, please, Ms. Cutter... please don't remind everyone of the "bitter clingers" comments. We don't want to go in that briar patch!

[Viennacon]

I cannot believe Cutter hasn’t been fired yet. She was caught lying on national T.V., and then tried to attack Romney using Chicom propaganda. She’s pathetic.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Steph Cutter is straight out of Orwell:

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

[kabar]

Obama October 2008 speaking to donors:

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Here is the audio

[doomtrooper99]

I think Romney helped himself with his comment.

[EGPWS]

[WilliamofCarmichael]

The the 47 percent vs. the Bible huggers

As usual the Obama nonpartisan MSM and the MSM's nonpartisan "fact" checkers like dopes.com and nonpartisan flak chuckers like Media Smatters are busy generating the proper perspective that is news feed for public consumption.

I much prefer the old, old days of partisan and competing newspapers.. we are getting back to those days thanks to our alternate media radio and Internet.

[justlurking]

"I think it's very troubling that Mitt Romney went behind closed doors to basically say 'there's a reason that my policies help people like myself, because I don't care about the other 47 percent,'" she noted. "Well, that other 47 percent — you know, half of all seniors don't pay taxes. We're talking about veterans coming home getting veterans benefits. You know it's extremely troubling that you're running to be president of the United States and you've written off half of the country."

Romney didn't say that, and it's a lie to even imply otherwise.

[dalebert]

Oh do play that again

[TigersEye]

IOWs 0bama voters cling to welfare checks and other freebies.

I knew that.

[Ouderkirk]

that 47 percent of the country are never going to vote for him because they don't take personal responsibility for themselves, they consider themselves victims and that they're not his concern.

No, they are not going to vote for Romney and they are not his concern. Nor should they be my concern either, other than Obama and the democRATS are stealing my labor at the point of a gun to transfer it to those exact people

[Ohioan]

In a sense--not that intended--the remarks are indeed exact opposites. Romney was critical of those who have abandoned the American societal characteristic of self-reliant, individually responsible, free men. Obama was being critical of those who had most clearly retained those traditional values.

William Flax

[BlatherNaut]

Oh, please, Ms. Cutter... please don't remind everyone of the "bitter clingers" comments. We don't want to go in that briar patch!

This is good. Keep flapping your lying lips, Cutter.

Obama's remark was arrogant, offensive and obnoxious.

There is an overlap between the 47% and we "bitter clingers". :-)