Did your state GOP reps use the 47% talking point before Mitt Romney got caught? "47% don't pay taxes" and "47% don't pay income tax" were talking points used on GOP talk radio to attack Occupy Wall Street protestors before Mitt Romney was recorded repeating it.
I think I first heard it from Rush Limbaugh during the protests. He may have used 46%. I wonder how many Republican Senators, Congressmen, and candidates were recorded using that line since the OWS protests? It might be useful for their Democratic opponents to know that for ads and debates.
I found this with a quick search: an excerpt from a wingnut's comment (full below) using that talking point in 2011 in reference to Elizabeth Warren's announcement to challenge Scott Brown in the Massachusetts senate race.
September 22, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Following this seriously brain dead twits line of reasoning leads to the realization that the leeches who comprise 46% of the country’s NON TAX PAYING population owe the rest of us a hell of a lot of money.
Limbaugh called OWS protestors dirty stinking freeloading vermin every way he could think of and the 47% (or 46%) line may have already been available or was suggested by some think tank like the Heritage Foundation. He (and probably some of the other radio gods) claimed the protestors didn't represent 99%, they represented the freeloading 47%. Not even 50%. OWS protestors didn't pay taxes and yet they were costing taxpayers millions in traffic, cops, extra security, disease and pest control, cleanup, and sterilization. That was probably repeated often (see wingnut blog comment below).
Cops, politicians, and local government officials heard that 47% talking point. The dittoheads and tea party faithful made sure of that when they threw tantrums about the filth clogging the streets, as urged by their talk radio gods. Did other Republican politicians use it, too?
Here's that full comment from Sept 22, 2011 I found at moonbattery.com under an attack on Elizabeth Warren. There may be all sorts of other references out there that could be attributed to GOP politicians. I found this quickly and can't do much more searching right now. This was with 46%.
Sep/22/2011
Socialist Elizabeth Warren to Run Against Scott Brown in Taxachusetts
Electing a RINO to the Teddy Kennedy Senate seat was a step in the right direction, but hardly a stake through the heart of Bay State moonbattery. When he comes up for reelection, Scott Brown will be faced with Elizabeth Warren — an unabashed socialist:
September 22, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Its too bad Elizabeth Warrens mother didn’t available herself of Planned Parenthood’s services when she was pregnant with this future socialists dimwit. That would have been a procedure I could have gotten behind. What social contract? We don’t have a social contract, we have a Constitution that governs this nation. Following this seriously brain dead twits line of reasoning leads to the realization that the leeches who comprise 46% of the country’s NON TAX PAYING population owe the rest of us a hell of a lot of money because it is our taxes that paid to build and maintain the roads, bridges airports, schools, public libraries and other infrastructure, not to mention the vast fortune we have spent on police, fire, EMS and educator salaries. The leeches contribute to nothing, but benefit from our largess disproportionately.
And thanks again to all those 'liberal'
universities that help keep Team Limbaugh strong and loud by broadcasting sports on right wing radio stations, bringing in those local sponsors in communities all over the US.
(PS In CO Dem Joe Miklosi (CD6) is running against scumbag Tea Partier Mike Coffman and in a TV ad I heard Miklosi say 'It's like Rush Limbaugh is running his campaign'. Good on him! I wouldn't be surprised if there's a recording somewhere of Coffman repeating the 47% talking point. Send Miklosi some money for that one!)