There are 47% of people who will vote forthe president no matter what. All right, there are 47% who are with him who aredependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe thegovernments has the responsibility to care for them, who believe that they’reentitled to health care, to food, to housing, you name it. But that’s anincident entitlement, and the government should give it to them. And they willvote for this president no matter what. And I mean the president starts of with48, 49, he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no incometax. 

 

The question now, does the playing of thistape hurt or helps his chances? GOP strategist Ari Fleischer is an unpaid,occasional communications adviser to the Romney campaign, also, Paul Begalawho’s a senior adviser in the leading pro-Obama super PAC, and on the phoneCNN’s Jim Acosta. Er, Paul, you say this is a potentially devastating blow forthe Romney campaign, why?

Because the Democrats are trying to pushtwo narratives, and I’m helping them as you point out, I help a pro-Obama superPAC. And these are the two narratives onRomney that we are trying to push. First, that he doesn’t care about the middleclass. Well, thanks for the help, Mitt. In the latest CNN poll, by the way,before this gaffe, President Obama had a 20 point lead over Mitt Romney in thequestion of who’s more in touch with the concerns of the middle class. So ithurts there, hurts on the second front. There is a TaxPolicy Centerstudy that the Democrats have been pushing President Clinton referred it in hisconvention speech in Charlotte.And it says that in order to give big tax a cut for the rich, Mitt Romney isgoing to have to raise taxes on the middle class. Well, when you’re complainingto wealthy people that 47% of Americans don’t pay any federal income tax, Ithink a lot of those people, retirees, working class folks are going to listento that and think, gee, I guess the Democrats are right. I guess he does wantto raise the taxes on the middle class in order to help the rich. So this helpsthe Democrats in two really important ways. 

 

Ari, it’s not just someone like PaulBegala, Mark McKinnon, a former ad maker for George W. Bush, said that thistape could be potentially crippling. When you have a guy who wants to bepresident of the all of the United  States saying that 40% of the Americanpeople view themselves as victims and want handouts, what is that? I mean, howbad is this? 

 

Well, Anderson,let’s start with 47% figure, which Paul did not dispute, because no onedisputed it. It was originally reported by the Associated Press. And it’s afact, 47% of the country no longer pays any income tax, those are the taxes ofcourse that may provide for food stamps, provide for a whole series of socialwelfare. 

 

Do they view themselves as victims?

 

There is a lot of redistribution of income.Well, that is a different question. I don’t know the answer to that whetherthey consider themselves a victim or not. But what Paul very cleverly did wasdefine poverty upward. If we’re a nation where 47% of the country is consideredin poverty and therefore should not pay any taxes, boy, are we, (Yes), incometaxes, boy, are we in big trouble? Middle class people should be paying incometaxes. And that’s why it’s a difference, because the best way to hurt programsthat help people who need it or low income is for these programs to grow likemushrooms, to attract such a great proportion of the country that people startto say the system is rigged. We have so few people paying income taxes anymore, it’s not fair to anybody, and that’s what undermines support for socialsystem, social programs that we do need in this country. So, 47% is an accuratenumber and it’s a very problematic number, because if you are not paying incometaxes, you are getting benefits, you are getting government for free. 

 

Do you not worry that it sounds like MittRomney is dismissing 47% of the population as people he doesn’t need to careabout as people who want handouts, as people who view themselves as victims andare just sitting around?

 

I think what Mitt Romney is saying there isbetter way. And the way is through more private sector initiatives notgovernment dependence. The Democrats are offering government dependence whichwe know grows over time, tries to attract more people on to it, and that’s whythe social safety net has become a trap for too many. The other alternative isthrough private sector growth by getting government to create an environmentfor private sector jobs to grow. Now the word victim, I would not have usedthat word. He is right on the 47%. To say that they are victims, they think ofthemselves as victims, some might, some might not. Many people are there, somepeople are there because of circumstances beyond their control. But the pointremains that there are 47% of this country, and that’s a figure that was in the30s Bush was president. It’s grown dramatically since President Obama came intooffice, do get government for free. That’s a problem.