Here are a few choice remarks (hat tip, Media Matters) from Republicans and conservatives condemning people who don’t pay federal income taxes (you’ll see below they often don’t bother to make clear that they’re talking about that particular kind of tax):
Limbaugh: "47 Percent Of The Population Is Content To Be Slovenly, Lazy Takers." During the November 22, 2011 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, host Rush Limbaugh attacked those who do not pay income tax, claiming they are "content to be slovenly, lazy takers." [Premiere Radio Network, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 11/22/11]
Hannity Falsely Claimed "Half Of Americans ... Don't Pay Taxes." On his August 30, 2010, Fox News show, Sean Hannity said, "If half of Americans now don't pay taxes, and the other half are the beneficiaries of the tax that the other half pay, at some point you say, OK, you got a full voting block and it seems like the Democratic Party ... caters to that." Hannity has repeatedly claimed that 50 percent of Americans don't pay taxes. [Fox News, Hannity, 8/30/10, 4/15/10, 4/12/10, 4/9/10, 4/8/10]
And: During the April 9, 2012 edition of Fox News' Hannity, host Sean Hannity claimed that 50 percent of American households don't pay taxes and then asked "What does that mean for America if you have a voting electorate that's not paying any taxes?" [Media Matters, 4/9/10]
Fox's [Steve] Doocy: Should The "47 Percent Of Americans Not Paying Taxes ... Be Allowed To Vote?" During the July 28, 2010 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy teased a segment by asking if those 47 percent of Americans who don't pay taxes should be allowed to vote. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 7/28/10]
And, of course, there was Donald Trump’s predecessor as the Republican nominee for president:
Mitt Romney: 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.
To Romney’s credit, he has denounced Trump (although if he was truly a patriot he’d be endorsing Hillary Clinton), but his 2012 remarks demonstrate just how deeply embedded into the so-called Republican establishment is this divisive, disgusting, makers vs. takers rhetoric.
As for 2016, Trump declared at last week’s debate that he and Sean Hannity are pretty tight. Do any of you think that Hannity’s slavish support for Trump—Salon.com’s Simon Maloy dubbed him “Trump’s towel boy”—will suddenly shift now that we know he’s a taker who doesn’t pay any federal income taxes? If you do, I’ve got some prime real estate to sell you, cheap. Even if I take a loss, I’ll still be ahead of the game, thanks to what I’ve learned from Trump and his tax returns.