From the Community: Mitt Romney clarifies his statement on the "very poor"

As another primary ends, we're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Romney: 'I'm not concerned about the very poor'
Submitted by Gordon_Shumway

After less than 24 hours after a big win in Florida, Mitt Romney stated he isn't concerned "about the very poor" because “we have a safety net there.” Instead of focusing on the highest poverty levels, Romney intends on helping middle class Americans find jobs.

"If it needs repair, I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich. They're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."

"We have a very ample safety net and we can talk about whether it needs to be strengthened or whether there are holes in it. But we have food stamps, we have Medicaid, we have housing vouchers, we have programs to help the poor," Romney said. "But the middle-income Americans, they're the folks that are really struggling right now."

Since his comments, Romney claimed his poor choice of words were taken out of context.

"No, no, no, no," Romney said. "You've got to take the whole sentence, all right, as opposed to saying, and then change it just a little bit, because then it sounds very different. I've said throughout the campaign my focus, my concern, my energy is gonna be devoted to helping middle income people, all right? We have a safety net for the poor in, and if there are holes in it, I will work to repair that. And if there are people that are falling through the cracks I want to fix that."

However, the community holds nothing back when it comes to the presidential candidate:

unimatrix0: "Romney is a moral monster."

HarukoHaruhara: "I'm nominating Mitt Romney for Upper Class Twit of the Year."

FreeSpiritMuse: "As much as I'm disgusted by what he said, I believe he's being truthful and honest in what he says. He's not concerned about the very poor. He's going after the middle class voters, what's left of the middle class and those that consider themselves middle class even though they may be considered poor (not very poor). As offensive as it is to me, it's probably a strategy that will work for him."

northernexpat: "Of course he's not concerned about the very poor. First, they wouldn't vote for him anyway so why pander to them; and, second, the GOP is ensuring that they lose their right to vote anyhway with the new Voter Suppression Acts being but into place all over the country."

Don't miss a chance to tell us your thoughts on the Republican nominee in today's BFD:

• Who likes Mitt Romney?

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