Boca Raton, FL-  A video released Sept. 18 shows Republican presidential candidate, Governor Mitt Romney, speaking candidly to his wealthy supporters about his opinions on the economy, voters and how to win an election.  The video surfaced after an attendee of the private fundraiser leaked them to “Mother Jones,” a nonprofit news organization that publishes online and through magazine.
Marc Leder, Vice President and Director of Catalina Lighting Inc., held the event at his home in Boca Raton, FL.  The fundraiser took place on May 17 after Romney had already gained his Republican presidential nomination.  Clips of the video show Romney speaking at the event addressing the wealthy supporters in attendance, unaware he is being filmed.
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.” Romney said.  “Who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that 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.”
Romney has since stood by the tape, deemed “secret” by “Mother Jones,” CNN and NBC.  He attributed his statements in the video to his concern for lack of jobs.
“I do believe that we should have enough jobs and enough take-home pay such that people have the privilege of higher incomes that allow them to be paying taxes,” Romney said.  “ I think people would like to be paying taxes.”
President Barack Obama remarked on the secret tape in an interview with David Letterman on CBS’s “Late Show” Sept. 18.  Following some banter, Letterman asked the president what Romney meant by saying 47 percent of the people do not matter to him. The quote he was referencing, of course, was one Romney had made in the tape.
“My job is not to worry about those people,” Romney said.  “I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
The president answered Letterman by saying that he did not know what Romney was referring to but did note that in his 2008 election, 47 percent of the people voted for his opponent, Republican Senator John McCain, and yet he still reached out to those people.
“What I said on election night was ‘Even though you didn’t vote for me, I hear your voices, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to be your president.’” Obama said.  “My expectation as president is that you’ve got to work for everybody.  Not just for some.”
Clips of the video can be found online at Youtube.com on the Motherjonesvideo channel, with a full transcript of the entire unreleased version of the video at Motherjones.com