Romney 'gifts' comment not a new idea on the right

Mitt Romney likely sees benefits for regular folk as
"gifts," but tax breaks for those like him and wife Ann
aren't, the writer says

By Paul Waldman, Special to CNN

updated 2:38 PM EST, Thu November 15, 2012

 

Editor's note: Paul Waldman is a contributing editor at The American Prospect and the author of "Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success." Follow him on his blog and on Twitter.

(CNN) -- It took until the presidential campaign was over, but Mitt Romney finally figured out the sinister plan Barack Obama executed to win re-election. Here's how it worked: During his first term, Obama craftily carried out policies that helped improve Americans' lives, thereby tricking them into voting to re-elect him. Diabolical!

OK, that wasn't exactly how he put it. But in a conference call with his major donors after the campaign ended, Romney attributed his loss to the fact that Obama gave "gifts" to various groups to win their loyalty. Young people, women, Latinos, African-Americans, all voted for Obama because he showered them with presents, he concluded.

"With regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest was a big gift," Romney said. "Free contraceptives were very big with young, college-aged women. And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents' plan, and that was a big gift to young people."

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Government programmes for me, not for thee

The Texas Tribune found that Governor Rick Perry, despite his anti-stimulus rhetoric, has taken $17.4bn of federal stimulus money [GALLO/GETTY] Although Republicans profess to dislike federal spending, many of their candidates have gained from spending programmes. In other words, if Americans realise that a single-payer healthcare system will help protect their parents and children from disease, then they’ll be for it. But if it can be something abstract that just helps those other people who are mere statistics at best, supplied by an amorphous “big government” with no human face, long tentacles and the ability to force you to drink fluorinated water or strictly require a pulse to purchase a firearm - well, then, it’s easy to hate. And hate it they do. As long as it is government spending for you, and not them. Because the truth is, with very few exceptions, conservative elected officials (of both parties) are hypocrites when it comes to spending money. It’s probably why they hate that darn intrusive government until it’s time to collect those fat farm subsidies for the family estate, or that government-sponsored healthcare they happily take but would be a leftover Soviet plot with a side of El Che if it were offered to you. You need more examples? Well, how about the Social Security-despising, French-cuff cowboy himself, Governor Rick Perry of Texas? Man, does he hate that Obama stimulus plan - except for when he doesn’t hate it so much. Namely, when it helps him. READ MORE