During a recent interview with GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, Jim Daly, head of Focus on the Family, defended GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s offensive behind-closed doors attack on 47% of Americans, which even Romney has now called “completely wrong.”
In his defense of Romney offensive comments, Daly said to Rep. Ryan: “There’s been alot made of this comment of Governor Romney’s about the 47 percent and we’ve heard all the expression of that. Let me read to you, something that at the founding of our nation was stated and I think it gives some context for his comment and I would like for you to respond to it.”
Daly then quoted a statement, not from the founding of the nation, but from 1951 in The Daily Oklahoman under the byline Elmer T. Peterson: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury.”
Daly then concluded his defense of Romney’s 47 percent statement: “In other words, once people figure out ‘I can get my guy to vote for money my direction, the democracy is in trouble.’ That’s kinda what he was saying, wasn’t it?”
Rep. Ryan quickly answered “It is!”
In his 47 percent comments, Romney said: “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. 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. 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. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect. And he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. 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.” strong>
(Source: Focus on the Family)
