Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday declared that Mitt Romney has a “golden opportunity” to embrace what some observers have seen as embarrassing comments that 47 percent of Americans are victims who are dependent on government, and start educating voters about conservatism.
“They're trying to fill the narrative that Republicans don't care; that Republicans are cold-hearted, mean-spirited, extremist bastards that don't care about the poor. That's what they're trying to say that Romney's comments prove,” said Limbaugh on his radio program. “That's why Romney has to get out there, take this by the horns, turn it into a positive, and go right for those people since they're now listening. Especially if they think they've been insulted — even better!”
The Romney campaign has spent much of the week thus far responding to a political maelstrom created by the emergence of a video in which the candidate told a group of Florida donors that almost half of American voters "believe that they are victims." Romney did not disavow the comments but said they were made during a question-and-answer session that was indicative of his campaign's effort to "focus on the people in the middle."
Rather than distance himself from the comments, Limbaugh said that Romney and his political team should aggressively defend them.
“I've spoken to Mitt Romney a number of times, and I don't believe he's written them off, despite how it sounds. But if he has, it's time to forget that. If he has written 'em off, this is an opportunity to educate 'em,” said Limbaugh. “This is an opportunity to inspire 'em. This is an opportunity to tell them, if he's Mitt Romney, what he wants for them. This is it. It's sitting there on a silver platter. It is right there. It's ready for the taking.”
But Limbaugh adds that the Romney campaign must have consultants who are “fearless” and will allow him to speak unfettered. “These consultants! These people put shackles on these guys and try to get 'em to make sure they don't make a mistake when they go out and speak, and look what happens,” he said.
While Romney has taken fire for his comments, Limbaugh said that President Obama has written off America’s hard-working middle class.
“The Obama campaign has written off ‘white, working-class voters.’ He's written 'em off,” insisted Limbaugh. “Now, there's no tape of Obama saying so. But there's a column of one of Obama's supporters saying that that's what the campaign's doing. And it's been buttressed a couple of other times, and it's clearly factually correct when you watch the Obama campaign. He's declared war on anybody making over $200,000 a year.”
He said that the president has been attacking successful Americans. “Obama's out attempting to stigmatize anybody that has succeeded and is calling them the enemy,” he said. “Where's the outrage over that?”
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