Original Opinion Mitt Romney: I pay 15% Tax
January 17,2012 
I met up with my friend and fellow blogger Oliver Willis yesterday, and he came up with a brilliant take on Mitt Romney: He is the Republican John Kerry.
In 2004, John Kerry tried his best to connect with everyday voters, but his aloofness and upper class vernacular made it extremely difficult for him to appear like a normal human being. The Bush campaign effectively painted him as an out of touch, patrician elitist who spent most of his time windsurfing and speaking French.
Romney, a long time politician and multi millionaire is now suffering from the same attacks (and amazingly from his own party). The second time Presidential candidate only has himself to blame though. From the Guardian:
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney highlighted the gap between himself and average Americans on Tuesday when he maintained he did not make "very much" from speaking fees, even though the $370,000 earned in a single year would be considered a fortune by many middle-class Americans.
His comments came at a press conference while out campaigning in South Carolina ahead of its potentially decisive primary on Saturday. Romney is the favourite to win in South Carolina, enjoying a double-digit poll lead over his nearest rival, former speaker Newt Gingrich.
At the press conference in Florence, he disclosed that he pays a tax rate of only 15% in spite of having an estimated wealth of $200m.
Not exactly the type of statements you want to be making as the country slides into another possible recession and 49 million Americans don't have enough to eat.
I've been spending a lot of time slamming Mitt Romney while ignoring the other candidates mainly because he's quite clearly going to win, but also because he makes it so damn easy.
I met up with my friend and fellow blogger Oliver Willis yesterday, and he came up with a brilliant take on Mitt Romney: He is the Republican John Kerry.
In 2004, John Kerry tried his best to connect with everyday voters, but his aloofness and upper class vernacular made it extremely difficult for him to appear like a normal human being. The Bush campaign effectively painted him as an out of touch, patrician elitist who spent most of his time windsurfing and speaking French.
Romney, a long time politician and multi millionaire is now suffering from the same attacks (and amazingly from his own party). The second time Presidential candidate only has himself to blame though. From the Guardian:
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney highlighted the gap between himself and average Americans on Tuesday when he maintained he did not make "very much" from speaking fees, even though the $370,000 earned in a single year would be considered a fortune by many middle-class Americans.
His comments came at a press conference while out campaigning in South Carolina ahead of its potentially decisive primary on Saturday. Romney is the favourite to win in South Carolina, enjoying a double-digit poll lead over his nearest rival, former speaker Newt Gingrich.
At the press conference in Florence, he disclosed that he pays a tax rate of only 15% in spite of having an estimated wealth of $200m.
Not exactly the type of statements you want to be making as the country slides into another possible recession and 49 million Americans don't have enough to eat.
I've been spending a lot of time slamming Mitt Romney while ignoring the other candidates mainly because he's quite clearly going to win, but also because he makes it so damn easy.