Recently released videos of Mitt Romney speaking at a private fundraiser are sending shock-waves through Mitt Romney's campaign, and the larger political establishment.
The comments contained on the secretly recorded tapes show a candidate that is dangerously out of touch with reality, and they dovetail nicely with the narrative that the Obama campaign has been developing since Romney became the Republican standard bearer.
But, these comments - on his fellow Americans
There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax…[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.
...and on possible peace in the Middle East...
I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, "There's just no way." And so what you do is you say, "You move things along the best way you can." You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem. We live with that in China and Taiwan. All right, we have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it.
on a larger and just as important level, represent the dogma of the Republican Party.
This video may prove to be devastating to Romney's campaign, as it should. But, the danger of the policies enunciated by Romney on this tape - towards 47% of Americans, or towards peace in the Middle East - are still being furthered by Republican legislators on Capitol Hill and in state houses across our country every day.
If the GOP is able to gain the majority in the Senate and retain the House, the feckless disregard Romney displays on this tape will infect every piece of legislation.
We must tie Mitt's comments and the underlying policies contained within them to every Republican running for office in 2012.