Monday night on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” host Rachel Maddow was joined by Mother Jones writer David Corn, who broke the story Monday of Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)’s controversial remarks that have come to be known as the “47 percent” tape.
In the leaked video, which was surreptitiously recorded by an attendee at the May event, Romney describes “47 percent” of the electorate as people who think of themselves as “victims,” freeloaders who are dependent upon the government and will vote for President Barack Obama no matter what.
“Different variations of this speech, different variations of this footage have been bouncing around on the Internet for months,” Maddow said, including one version that popped up on YouTube on an account named “Rachel Maddow.” It wasn’t Maddow, and guest David Corn brought apologies from his source for impersonating the host and Drift author.
“I’m glad to be with you, Rachel,” said Corn. “I have to say that the source apologizes for impersonating you early on.”
“Is that so?” she asked, before pressing Corn on how he was able to verify that the tape is “what it purported to be,” and not a hoax.
Corn said that while he could not reveal his source, the tape is accurate in its portrayal of events, and that the footage was recorded at the Boca Raton, Florida home of controversial private equity manager Mark Leder, known for his penchant for losing business deals and lavish sex parties.
Leder started Sun Capital after meeting with Romney’s Bain Capital in 1995 Sun, however, has not matched Bain’s success. Since 2008, 1 in every 5 of the companies among Sun’s holdings have filed for bankruptcy, according to the New York Times.
Corn said that Romney’s response to the tape’s eruption into the headlines is especially telling.
“The fact that Mitt Romney has not challenged a word here shows you that this is what he said. This is what he said behind closed doors to a bunch of other millionaires who he felt comfortable with,” said Corn.
Maddow asked Corn about his reaction to the content of Romney’s message, saying, “I find it in raw terms, just hearing him dismiss half the country as victims who are dependent on the government that he’s not worried about, I find it to be raw and grating, but the campaign is trying to spin it in a different way.”
“What he’s saying on this video,” Corn replied, “it doesn’t take a close listen. Everybody, not just some, but everybody who voted for Barack Obama comes from this part of America where they believe they’re entitled to health care and food and you name it. And they don’t believe in personal responsibility, they don’t take care of themselves and they don’t pay taxes. So, he’s equating half of the electorate with a band, with a mass of moochers who believe they’re victims of society.”
He concluded, “People can judge for themselves what level of disdain that shows, but the spinners trying to protect Mitt Romney are not dealing with the words he actually said.”
Corn also revealed that there is more footage to come.
“There will be more very soon,” he promised, “on Mitt Romney and what he told those people at that fundraiser.”
(Source: MSNBC and RawStory.com)
