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The Common Good vs. Let Them Eat Cake

Mitt Romney:

There are 47 percent of the people 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. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. [...] My job is is not to worry about those people. [Emphasis supplied.]
FDR:

I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. But it is not in despair that I paint you that picture. I paint it for you in hope—because the nation, seeing and understanding the injustice in it, proposes to paint it out. We are determined to make every American citizen the subject of his country’s interest and concern; and we will never regard any faithful law-abiding group within our borders as superfluous. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. [Emphasis supplied.]

< Tuesday Morning Open Thread | We're All In This Together vs. You're On Your Own >
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  • Display: Sort:
    Excellent. (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by oculus on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 11:21:43 AM EST


    MT, thought of you as I put this on FB, (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by oculus on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 11:36:34 AM EST
    Let him eat-- (5.00 / 5) (#2)
    by KeysDan on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 11:26:29 AM EST
    his words.    The onus, more than ever, is now on Romney to release at least ten-years of his tax returns to demonstrate that he is not a government moocher, has never been a recipient of corporate welfare or other government largesse, and has paid federal income taxes at rates greater than the Americans he holds in contempt.

    Without the tax returns... (5.00 / 5) (#7)
    by kdog on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 11:43:33 AM EST
    we already know the FDIC saved Bain by eating some of their losses.  Mitt Romney's Federal Bailout

    Pay your bills b*tch, before b*tchin' about anybody else.

    Parent

    I Mean Seriously (5.00 / 3) (#9)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 03:46:01 PM EST
    The guy who refuses to show his returns complaining about other people's returns, what a tool.

    Parent
    We have an old friend, (none / 0) (#11)
    by Zorba on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 03:59:52 PM EST
    a conservative/libertarian, who almost always votes Republican, who just emailed us to say "put him in a crate on the roof and drive him off into the sunset."
    I do believe he's given up on Mitt, although he never was that enthusiastic about him in the first place.  I doubt that he'll vote for Obama- I would imagine that he'll be voting Libertarian, if there is someone on the ballot in his state.

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    I think it was Donald (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 11:26:35 AM EST
    in HI that linked to this speech a while back and got me thinking that SOMEONE needs to speak some of the same words today. SOMEBODY should talk about how  the unemployed today are not the scourge of society. SOMEBODY should stand up for the people that have really gotten hit. Not seeing that SOMEBODY right now and Obama certainly is not that person.

    The Very Unemployeed.... (none / 0) (#10)
    by ScottW714 on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 03:49:01 PM EST
    ... republican policy created under GWB, the stones it takes to say that and then not apologize for it when given the opportunity.

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    Romney should be running for (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by observed on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 11:34:47 AM EST
    President of the country club, not President of the United States.

    That FDR guy sounds great. (5.00 / 4) (#5)
    by dk on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 11:35:42 AM EST
    Can I vote for him?

    I also would like (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by MO Blue on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 12:02:02 PM EST
    to be able to vote for FDR. I don't like peas. ;o)

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    Our Greatest President (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by cal1942 on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 07:05:37 PM EST
    Even conservative historians rate him number three.

    All Democrat running for public office should be required to read FDR's speeches.

    Parent

    And should be required to graft some backbone (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by DFLer on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 07:51:49 PM EST
    from the courageous Eleanor R.

    Parent
    Slightly inaccurate comparison... (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by huzzlewhat on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 05:18:58 PM EST
    Marie Antoinette: "Let them eat cake!"
    Mitt Romney: "They're not entitled to cake!"


    Legitimacy of common good (1.00 / 2) (#15)
    by diogenes on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 07:29:20 PM EST
    We largely have a voluntary tax system.  In many countries (Italy, Greece, etc) the rich simply do not pay and are considered suckers if they do pay.
    Once 60 percent of the people decide that the other forty percent have infinite amounts of money and once the 60% elect leaders who promise to loot this money, that is the beginning of the end.  My office is already thronged with people who are unfortunately (whether by Bush's fault, Obama's fault, or their own fault) unemployed and feel entitled to get Social Security Disability benefits for the rest of their lives although they have no discernible disease.  

    Voluntary? (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by Yman on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 07:42:02 PM EST
    Okay, ... problem solved.  Just don't pay your "voluntary" taxes.

    Be sure to let us know how that works out for ya.

    Parent

    shovel ready jobs (none / 0) (#14)
    by diogenes on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 07:23:59 PM EST
    At least FDR gave people shovel-ready jobs, as opposed to the porkulus provided by Obama.  And there was NO safety net in 1935.  FDR would regard the Romney safety net as extraordinarily progressive.  


    oy (5.00 / 3) (#17)
    by sj on Tue Sep 18, 2012 at 07:44:20 PM EST
    Alas, it is not 1935 (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by lilburro on Wed Sep 19, 2012 at 12:26:52 AM EST
    or Johnny Weissmuller could swing across your gaps in logic...

    Parent