Roseville Reacts to Romney Controversy

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney grabbed headlines and sparked stormy  debate this week when a series of undercover videos from a private fundraiser surfaced online.

Released from the magazine Mother Jones, the clips show Romney speaking to the group — reported to be about 30 individuals — at a Boca Raton home on a variety of topics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvqHERTcytI. One clip caught more attention than any other: Romney's  views on his opponent's supporters:

 "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney says in one clip. "All right — there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."

While Obama supporters and Democrats were quick to rebuke Romney's comments, a local Republican said he doubts the GOP Presidential candidate will suffer any permanent fallout over the flap.

Rebound is Possible

"I think he (Romney) can rebound," said Kent Kaiser, an assistant communications professor at Northwestern College in Roseville and a fourth-generation Republican. (See an earlier opinion piece by Kaiser that appeared on Roseville Patch.).

But Kaiser also insisted Romney shouldn't back away from the conservative viewpoint that takes issue with Obama's stand on redistributing American wealth. "Just because the Obama camp says it (the "47 percent" comment) is a gaffe doesn't mean it was," Kaiser said.

Kaiser added he likes Romney's later comments this week that he favors moving 100 percent of America forward, that we are "all in this together."

Romney "put his foot in his mouth"

On the other side of the fence, Roseville DFLer and state Sen. John Marty said he thought Romney "put his foot in his mouth when he said half of the people aren't his concern." Romney's comments likely offended some of what would be normal supporters, retired Americans, he said.

Still, Marty said that while he found Romney's comments callous, "No, I don't think it is a fatal blow." The bigger issue, Marty contended, is whether Romney's most recent comments coupled with earlier disclosures "suggest that he is out touch" with middle-class Americans.

Marty was referring to a comment that Romney made in Republican Presidential debate when he suggested wagering a $10,000 bet on an issue.

Bigger picture more important?

However, another John in Roseville, former mayor John Kysylyczyn said he expects the Romney "47 percent" flap to blow over. "All of these different flaps, they last a couple days and then (people) move on,"  contended Kysylyczyn, a Republican, political consultant and a newspaper owner.

In the end, Kysylyczyn said he expects voters will look at the big picture, judging the candidates on issues such as the economy. But he also added, "The sad reality of things in this country is that an overwhleming number of people don't read the newspapers or watch the evening news."

Meanwhile, Kaiser said that he is concerned that too many Americans may not have a stake in the nation's success if they are not paying federal income taxes.

"Everybody should have a stake in the government and everyone should be paying taxes," he said.

Romney's numbers about the "47 percent" come from a Tax Policy Center report, which stated in June 2011 that 46.4 percent of Americans paid no income tax. That includes more than 20 million of the nation’s elderly and millions more people who either work but make less than $20,000 a year or who work but whose deductions -- such as dependent children -- are greater than their taxes owed.

But Kysylyczyn said media reports suggest the "47 percent" number doesn't accurately reflect that many people did pay taxes but had overall liabilities severely cut due to tax credits for such things as child care, mortgages and energy-efficient appliance purchases. He cited as support for this view, a CBS report ( the link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57516821/who-are-mitt-romneys-47-percent-a-breakdown/

Romney addressed the video Monday night, according to the Huffington Post, calling for the full, unedited video to be released. While he didn't deny the comments, he did say the comments were an indication of his campaign's message to draw voters in the middle — not those who will likely already be supporting Democratic President Barack Obama.