On Fox News Sunday today, Mitt Romney blamed minorities for costing him the election, and poor people who like free things for his defeat.
Video:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Transcript via Think Progress:
ROMNEY: We did very well with the majority population, but not with minority populations, and that was a failing, that was a real mistake.
CHRIS WALLACE: Why do you think that was?
ROMNEY: Well, I think the Obamacare attractiveness and feature was something we underestimated, particularly among lower incomes. And, uh, just didn’t do as good a job in connecting with that audience as we should have.
Mitt Romney is still living in a fantasy land. The problem with Romney’s statement is that he did not do “very well” with the majority population. According to the US Census Bureau, women are the majority population (50.8%) in America. Women made up 54% of the electorate in 2012, and Obama crushed Romney with these voters, 55%-44%. Romney’s did so poorly with women that the gender gap between how men and women voted increased from 12 points in 2008 to 18 points in 2012.
In Romney’s view, the majority is white men. This belief demonstrates that Mitt Romney still doesn’t understand who the electorate is. (It is stunning that the man could take such a total drubbing at the polls, and still believe that he did well with the majority.) It wasn’t minorities who love Obamacare that hurt Romney. It was his embrace of far right views on issues like abortion and contraception that mortally wounded his presidential campaign.
Romney’s comments about poor people and minorities loving Obamacare were just a new spin on his 47% comments. Mitt Romney still sees America as makers and takers, and he thinks people who voted for President Obama just want more free stuff.
This was a giant trip down the rabbit hole of self delusion. Mitt Romney thinks he won with the majority when he didn’t. Romney is blaming minorities and the poor for supporting a healthcare reform that was based on what he did as governor. Notice that there was a lot of blame coming out of Mitt Romney’s mouth, but he never took responsibility for his own poor decisions.
He didn’t blame himself for moving to the far right and alienating women. He didn’t blame himself for the decision to run against his own healthcare plan. In Mitt Romney’s view, he lost because poor people like free stuff.
Even in defeat, Mitt Romney remains self entitled and completely wrong about America. The country dodged a bullet when they relegated this self deluded disaster to the dustbin of history.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
