The Question...

Much has been made of the recent video from a Romney fundraiser and the statements he made about the 47% of Americans that he thinks we vote for Obama no matter what.

Much of this discussion has lacked any reference to the context.

So to add some context, here is the question that he was answering when he made those comments:

Quote:

For the last three years, all everybody's been told is, "Don't worry, we'll take care of you." How are you going to do it, in two months before the elections, to convince everybody you've got to take care of yourself?

-- http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/full-transcript-mitt-romney-secret-v...

And Mitt's response, broken up for my own comments (from the same website):

Quote:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.

While I think this number is high, he is right that there is a large percentage of people that will vote for Obama no matter what, just like there is a large number who will vote for Romney no matter what.

Quote:

All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them.

Many think that he, here, is saying that that whole group fills all of these characteristics.  I think, based on the way he is saying it, he is throwing out a condensed lists of some of the attitudes that are held among the percentage of voters that will vote for Obama no matter what.  It would be like, if someone was discussing government workers, and said "they are the teachers, the firefighters, the policemen and women...".  He is saying that, among that group are people who believe these sorts of ideas regarding the role of government.

Quote:

And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48—he starts off with a huge number.

Again, I think the number is high, but there is a number.

Quote:

These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax.

These are two completely separate statements, and I quoted them together to point this out, because many think he is saying that this 47% is the same as the "47,48,49% that he referenced earlier.  Again, he is listing another quality that is common among that group that will vote for Obama no matter what.  Many in that group pay no income tax, and indeed, will not be swayed by a proponent of lower income tax.  That the actual percentage number (47%) used is the same is merely coincidence and not meant to make the groups synonymous.

Quote:

So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. And he'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich.

See above.

Quote:

I mean that's what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.

This one gets back to the question asked, which wondered, how he would convince them they have to "take care of yourself".  He is pointing out that IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CAMPAIGN, a campaign with the goal of obtaining the votes to win the election, it is not his job to worry about getting those votes.  It, further, is not his job, in the context of the campaign, to convince them of the idea of taking care of yourself, rather than, as the questioner asserted, having government "take care of you".  So this isn't about convincing specific individuals that they should care for themselves, but more about the belief held by many Obama supporters and Obama himself that government help is a necessary part of life.

Quote:

What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not, what it looks like. I mean, when you ask those people…we do all these polls—I find it amazing—we poll all these people, see where you stand on the polls, but 45 percent of the people will go with a Republican, and 48 or 4…

Here he is pointing out that there is a group in the middle, that is not committed to either side, and as the tape cuts off, he seems to be starting to say that he, too, has a large group of people that will vote for him no matter what. 

It seems that when context is added, much of what he said makes more sense and the "explosiveness" is mostly lost.  It becomes clear that the point being made is one about a distinction between more or less government "support", not one about not caring for a large portion of the population.