Romney's disdain | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Re "Romney: 47% of Americans 'believe they are victims,' 'dependant on government'" (Tribune, Sept. 18):

In Park City in July, Vice President Joe Biden told donors that Gov. Mitt Romney is an honorable and decent man, but that the two campaigns "have a fundamentally different vision for this country." Biden criticized Romney's social and foreign policies, but at no point did he suggest that he and President Barack Obama were not trying to speak to 100 percent of the American people or that they represented the interests of less than 100 percent of Americans. Nor did he criticize those who will vote for Romney no matter what.

Yet Romney says he is not speaking to the 47 percent who will vote for the president "no matter what." The 47 percent who he claims pay no income tax and are "dependent upon government, who believe … they are victims" and "are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it." That's one of every two Americans for whom Romney shows disdain.

Tonight at dinner, look around. Which half of your family is Romney speaking about? Which half of your neighbors? Your community? Your country? I want a president who represents all Americans.

Josh Kanter

Sandy