Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Mitt Romney: Un-American?

To hear the right-wing describe "average Americans," one is amazed that they would support Romney at all. This is regardless of his stances on various issues... Or, one might more accurately say, his various stances on the same issue.

Multiple Cadillacs. Multiple homes. Hobnobbing with billionaires he can truthfully refer to as friends. Independent wealth. An effective tax rate almost equal to the capital gains rate. A willingness to portray himself as something he is not. Offshore investments. The list goes on...

To say that Romney is part of the 1% is an understatement. He's so far away from the "traditional" definition of American (yes, the tie-in with "traditional marriage" is intentional) that it is a wonder that people think of him as American beyond his citizenship and residency.

This isn't a question of despising him for his financial successes, it's not about envy, it's not about wanting to tax him into poverty. This is about being able to relate to the average person on the street. He can't, because he isn't. Not any longer. All that stopped for him a long, long time ago.

Electable? Maybe in a different year against a different opponent.

Relatable? Not a chance in several hundred million.

Remember, he's been campaigning continuously for 5 years. In 2008, he put tens of millions of his own money into his campaign. Then we had a huge market crash. Anyone in a traditional investment vehicle saw losses between 25% and 50%. And still he reported relatively astronomical (primarily passive) investment income in 2010 and 2011.

The guy hasn't been a "traditional" American for well over 20 years.

You can tell by listening to him talk.

Just sayin'.

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