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“Especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and
young people.”
“In each case, they [the Obama administration] were very generous in
what they gave to those groups,”
“With regards to the young
people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest was a big gift, free
contraceptives were very big with young, college-aged women. And then, finally,
Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26
years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents’ plan, and
that was a big gift to young people. They turned out in large numbers, a larger
share in this election even than in 2008.”
“You can imagine for somebody making $25,000 or $30,000 or $35,000 a
year, being told you’re now going to get free health care, particularly if you
don’t have it, getting free health care worth, what, $10,000 per family, in
perpetuity — I mean, this is huge,”
“Likewise with Hispanic voters, free health care was a big plus. But in
addition with regards to Hispanic voters, the amnesty for children of illegals,
the so-called Dream Act kids, was a huge plus for that voting group.”
These were Mitt Romney’s statements in a recorded conference call with
his big donors post-election. This is the reason that he is stating that he
lost. And you know what, he’s right. You add up women (not just young women,
but any woman who cares about making her own choices in life), young people, Latinos,
and African Americans, you have most of the electorate (Obama also got an
overwhelmingly large percentage of the Asian-American vote) accounted for,
except for white men.
So essentially what Mitt Romney is saying in this statement is that the
Obama administration didn't cater as well to white men as every other
administration that has ever existed. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with
that statement (old white men got plenty of “gifts” from the Obama
administration), I don’t think that we as a country should be lamenting the
decreased influence of white men in our politics, our boardrooms, or anywhere
else in society. Old white men have had their run - it’s been long and deleterious
to pretty much every other social group – and it’s time that we as a nation
begin to embrace the original concept of this country, inclusion.
Romney’s statement, while misguided in its use of the word “gifts”,
actually makes a lot of sense. People would vote in their best interest. While
Romney is lying in saying that Obamacare provides free health care for people,
it is understandable that people would embrace a change to the healthcare
system that would positively benefit them and their family. He’s make it
possible for people with existing conditions to get health care, he’s removed
the lifetime caps, he’s allowed children up to 26 years of age to stay on their
parent’s plan, and most of all he’s created the mandate that forces everyone
into the market (think “skin in the game”), which in the long run will be able
to decrease cost, and hopefully encourage more competition.
And why would a woman vote for Mitt Romney? He and his running mate
have shown support for policies that would drastically diminish the ability of
a woman to make healthcare choices about her own body. I’m not sure why that
would be such a mystery that a woman who wants to control her own health, even
getting (*gasp*) birth control if she wanted/needed it, to vote for the person
that actually espouses a view in support of women’s rights.
As far as Latinos are concerned, the Republican Party has done nothing
but patronizingly pander to them in an effort to win votes. When it comes time
to actually create policy that benefits Latinos, Republicans are nowhere to be
found. It’s interesting, however, to note that Latinos should be a key
demographic for Republicans. Republicans espouse to believe in hard work,
family, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, etc.; these seem to be characteristic
traits of Latinos (not to try and put anyone into a general category) and, in
fact, most immigrant groups, and yet immigrants are spit on by the Republican
Party and turned off by their jingoist, white is right, mentality.
Finally, African Americans. On the whole, I cannot see why the
Republican Party thinks that they have a chance to win the black vote. Not to
say that black people vote as a bloc, but Republicans have made every effort
they can to gerrymander this country into segregated districts, doing their
best to push black people into districts with only other black people. Was not
the “southern strategy” an overt effort to create fear of black people in this
country, by appealing to white voters misperceptions and stereotypes? Have
republicans changed their strategy at all? Not really. Newt Gingrich throughout
the Republican primary called Barack Obama a “food stamp president”, and
republicans talk of black people in this country as if every single one is on
welfare. They’re living in the past, and they want to keep it that way. Their
past is where the white man is superior, and the black man has to respect the
white man; they want to hold onto that for dear life.
Republicans after Obama’s first victory always referred to an unspoken “they”
that had taken the country away from “true Americans”. And while we can’t be
sure who exactly “they” are, we can surmise from the comments of Republicans,
from the tea party to Mitt Romney, that they were speaking of African-Americans,
Latinos, minorities in general, women, young people, LGBT people, religious
minorities, Muslims, immigrants, and basically anyone else that was not white,
was not married, was not heterosexual, was not born in this country, was not
Christian (hopefully Protestant, but they’d give you a little wiggle room as
long as you believed in Jesus), or was not a “job creator”. Republicans
fundamental belief is that this country was built by and for white people, and
everyone else is just “they” that are living here on “our” land on “our” dime.
I guess every group except for white people forgot that, and decided to vote
for the guy that actually considered them citizens of this country, and
therefore as important people and groups in our society.
