Insiders: 47 Percent Comment Damaging
Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 03:56PM in the latest National Journal Political Insiders Poll, Insiders of both parties mostly agreed that Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comment had damaged his candidacy, although they differed on just how damaging it was.
Nearly 80 percent of Democratic Insiders said the secretly-taped remarks were "very damaging"; none deemed it "not damaging." Meanwhile, only about 2 out of 10 GOP Insiders classified the incident as "very damaging" while the vast majority said it was "damaging." About 14 percent said it was "not damaging" at all.
Many Insiders said Romney's remarks on the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay income tax were especially harmful because they reinforced what President Obama's campaign has been saying about him and the Republican Party all along -- that they are the party of out-of-touch millionaires who don't understand the middle class.
"He gave voice to the worst caricatures some have of Republicans: uncaring, selfish, and arrogant," one GOP Insider said.
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How much has Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comment hurt his candidacy? |
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Democrats (101 votes) |
Republicans (97 votes) |
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Very damaging |
78% |
18% |
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Damaging |
22% |
68% |
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Not damaging |
0% |
14% |