Mitt Romney's 47 percent gaffe has been bouncing around the airwaves for a week now, and the Los Angeles Times has some evidence that it's hurting him with undecided voters.
A month after an initial poll, the LA Times conducted follow-up interviews with nine formerly undecided voters. Only one remained entirely undecided, while five say they will vote for President Obama, two say they're leaning that way, and one refuses to vote at all. None of them made any move toward voting for Romney.
Six of them had heard Romney's "47 percent" remark, in which he explained the American electorate to a gathering of wealthy supporters at a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser in May.
"There are 47 percent who are with [Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the 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," said Romney during the remarks, which were taped with a hidden camera. "These are people who pay no income tax."
"My job is not to worry about those people." Romney continued. "I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
The 47 percent of Americans who pay no income tax refers to those who make too little to pay federal income tax, though they still pay state and local taxes. It includes the elderly on Social Security, injured veterans receiving government benefits, people receiving unemployment insurance, retirees, and families with children who make less than the minimum taxable threshold.
Romney's comments have angered many traditionally Republican constituencies. Sister Simone Campbell, a nun and the executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby, says Romney's comments show he is out of touch.
"He has no idea how hard it is at the margins of our society," she said. Campbell is currently traveling around the country with the Nuns On A Bus tour, speaking out about the impact of Paul Ryan's budget on low-income Americans. See the video below:
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