A stake through the heart. By Jonathan ChaitNew York Magazinereadersupportednews.org I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again, but I may never have been as wrong as I was when I initially predicted that Mitt Romney’s heinous diatribe against 47 percent of America would have little direct impact on the election. It’s an absolutely crushing blow. Obviously it doesn’t guarantee his defeat — if a secret video surfaces depicting Obama promising to impose Sharia law in his second term, Romney will stand a good chance of coming back — but it destroys his public standing in ways What’s devastating about (a recent Obama ad featuring Romney's comments), aside from the juxtaposition of Romney’s words against photos of regular Americans, is something I only noticed the second time I watched it. It’s the sound of silverware clinking on china in the background as Romney speaks. That detail contrasts the atmosphere Romney inhabits with the one in which most Americans live. You can tell, even though you’re not seeing this, that the remarks are being made to people enjoying a formal dinner.
The damage of the remarks is twofold. Obviously, it deeply reinforces the worst stereotypes voters have of Romney. Indeed, the fact that he is currently running ads trying to make the case that he does care about all of America testifies to the grim position in which Romney finds himself. If you’re trying to clear the threshold of “does this candidate hate me” six weeks before the election, you’re probably not on the verge of closing the sale.
Worse still, the comments destroy Romney’s fundamental credibility. Here America sees what he says behind closed doors. Nothing he can say in public can possibly overcome the damage of these comments, because voters will quite correctly assume that he is telling them what they want to hear. George W. Bush’s campaign figured out how to do this to both Al Gore and John Kerry — by painting them as liars, Bush destroyed them as a message delivery platform. Romney has, essentially, done it to himself.
The size of the political damage Romney has incurred is beside the point. He was trailing narrowly, but in a polarized electorate with a tiny number of undecided voters. Not only has he turned some of those undecided voters against him, but he’s blown up his bridge to reach them.
My initial instinct, that Romney would escape, arose in part from my general belief that what is and what ought to be are not usually the same thing. Candidates routinely get tripped up by trivial mistakes, and escape unscathed from monstrous acts. Life isn’t fair. But if the 47 percent comments do finish Romney off, as now appears likely, it will be eminently fair.
It will be fair because Romney has spent the last five years refashioning himself in the image of his party, discarding his most decent elements along the way, only to be caught in the end speaking bluntly. I’ve argued that the comments reflect his true beliefs now, but it scarcely matters. America has now seen Mitt Romney talking about us (or 47 percent of us, which offends many more of us) behind our backs.
And then, finally, there is a poetic justice in the substance of Romney’s self-immolation. This is not a random gaffe, a joke gone bad, or even a terrible brain freeze. It is Romney exposed for espousing a worldview that is at the heart of his party’s mania. The idea he summed up at that fund-raiser was a combination of right-wing fever dreams I’ve been analyzing since Obama took office — the Ayn Randism, the fact-free class warfare, the frantic rage at a changing America. The Republican Party is going down because its candidate was seen advocating exactly the beliefs that make the party so dangerous and repellant.
READER COMMENTS
+39 #2012-09-30 17:53My hope is that RoMoney is bullied by the 47% on election day the same way he bullied the student at his prestigious private school he attended. 
+14 #2012-09-30 21:46My hope is that Jonathan Chait is correct. My hope is that the nation heard what Romney said in private and took it to mean what it does in fact mean: that Romney represents only the rich and that he doesn't care at all about poor or even working Americans. Romney said in so many words that his job is "not to worry about those people". "Those people" are you and me, folks. Romney was addressing the richest people in the country when he said that. Romney will represent them, but not you and me.
How much clearer could his position be?
+5 #2012-10-01 04:06Maxwell: I agree with you, he meant what he said. The only reason I can see that he even wants to be president is his hunger for power, but it is only for his own gain and the pandering he can do to his fellow millionaires. To him it is not and never was about us, the regular people. +1 #2012-10-01 05:15That Romney only represents the rich is so true. That's what the Republican party has been for years now --- of, by, and for the super rich and the large corporations. Perhaps some of the Republican right wingers will begin to realize what fools they've been to support Romney and his cohorts. The only problem with that is that they've been so brainwashed by Rush and Fox that it may take a while before it becomes apparent to them. +19 #2012-09-30 22:51Go to Greg Palast's website and read about the many ways the Republicans are using to steal the election.In 2008 almost 5 million voters were disenfranchised using any of the 9 ways Palast describes to throw away people's ballots.
I would not be so sure or cocky that Obama is going to win unless we do something about these Republicans and their dirty illegal tricks.
+4 #2012-09-30 23:14William J. Scnoebelen has a dark history in the occult, but seems to have a well documented account of what's wrong with Mitt in his book: "Mormonism And The temple Of Doom".Religion should not be part of a Presidential campaign. Looking at a candidate's belief system and subsequent world view should be.
A man that feels OK with "Harvesting Profits" from working companies, dismembering them and leaving behind ruined lives is not Presidential timber...
The long term fallout from Mitt's fits contaminates the GOP and millions of supporters who are compelled by circumstances to ride this horse to the bitter end. It well could be a very bitter end.
One thing going for Romney and the country; President Mitt would probably receive better treatment from House & Senate Dems than Obama's treatment from GOP members.
The biggest surprise of the election could be Romney's recanting of the bizarre and blasphemous rituals of the LDS. Next, the Civil Engineering shock: Romney lays out a comprehensive engineering proposal for dealing with America's water problems. Based on the 50 years old HAWAPA suite of engineering features, the entire US would benefit from restored aquifers and a multitude of Hydropower sites
The plate is pretty full now.. but Mitt, could you also face up to Peaking Conventional Oil? Care to make a phone call to Richard Heinberg? $10,000?
+7 #2012-09-30 23:38Mitt Romney is the literal embodiment of the psychological concept of projection. Everything he alleges about the supposed 47% of the American public who don't pay taxes is in fact true about himself, right down to the sense of entitlement and the failure to take responsibility for his own life. Yes indeed, I would dearly love to see this shallow, self-righteous man take responsibility for his own life with out his inherited wealth and privilege, with out corporate welfare, and without recourse to a system of predatory capitalism thar does not burden him with any sort of morality or common decency.What is most disturbing about the Romney presidential campaign is what a perfect opponent he is for President Obama. Romney is such a repulsive individual that Obama is not being held accountable for fis omissions, out right lies, and failiings. He looks so good compared to Romney that no one is challenging his administrations ' attempt to reinstate the clearly unconstitutiona l indefinite detention act, or his unlawful declaration of Bradley Manning's guilt, or his collusion with and failure to prosecute wall Street banksters, or his assumption of presidential power to assassinate any individual in the world without due process, even US citizens, and even US citizens who are children; and that is justis the tip of the iceberg. Funny how things work
out;;
+8 #2012-10-01 04:03I hope that the states conducting the Voter Suppression realize that to take away one's voting rights by purging them from the Rolls can lead to rioting in the streets of their towns. Voting is our constitutional right and if these liars and cheaters want to deny our Votes with their suppression and cheating machines, I think they should re-think that nasty action. People are fed up with stolen elections and tossed out ballots. +2 #2012-10-01 05:27Barbara: There will not riot. These are the same communities where restrictive covenants and red-lining was tolerated. One interesting side bar to this Boca Raton event was who else was in the room. A report I saw said that Mitchell A. Burns was there. Burns is the retired Chairman and CEO of Ryder System Inc, as well as former Chairman of National Urban League. As a former employee of Ryder I remember the various awards Ryder garnered for diversity and fairness. Which raises an interesting question: "Which Burns was in the room that day?" Burns knows how to hold a press conference and disavow what was said if it offended him. We have long tolerated these split political personalities and treated that as normal. It is time we call a spade a spade. Who is Burns?
+1 #2012-10-01 04:22If there is a real Romney, the 47% comment reflects that. It is pure Ayn Rand. The elites have jumped on that band wagon and have sold it to far too many. Those of us who are struggling and that is more than the 47% are looking for answers. Not too long ago, in ideology appeared and gained mass support by blaming a religious group for our troubles. That did not turn out so well. The comment will probably sink a leaky ship and well it should. However, just eliminating the Romney’s will not fix the mess albeit that Romney and his ilk will wreck a fragile nation much quicker. Romney is too easy to spot unlike the Reagan’s who won the support of the people and allowed the nation to be gutted by his friends and perhaps we will never know if Reagan ever got it. The 47% are growing fast as we continue to transfer the nation’s wealth to the few. That fact will not be fixed by a forced redistribution of wealth but it can be fixed by an appropriate monetary policy as existed from 1942-1952. Study that record and consider what happened. +1 #2012-10-01 04:31Perfect article and right on the money (pardon the pun.) No surprises from Romney here.The political right has turned mean, racist, and it was in the end MOST unethical as we can now see by the Republican voter suppression tactics. There is something in my left of center compadres that says we would never deprive those in our nation of that which makes us us - the ability to cast a vote. It is for most of us the only power we have. But the right does NOT care. If anything they want to remove even from life itself those who think a nation has the duty to provide those who cannot help themselves the basics - food, clothing, shelter and health care.
Romney and his Republican Party of charlatans and those know nothings who do not know enough to figure out Romney does not give a damn about anyone but himself and those of his own class. His class does not even include most Tea Baggers who erroneously think Romney cares about them. He doesn’t.
If one thinks back to the picnic table lunch Romney had with middle class people one can see how ill at ease he was and insulted even their food. But when he was at the infamous Florida dinner of those millionaires and billionaires whom he counted on for cash he feels just fine. One can see it.
He did not fool me for a minute. He SURELY is not and never has been fine with me!
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