But Was It True?

Here's what Romney said in the video (see prior post):

“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 the 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…These are people who pay no income tax... my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives…. The president has been a disappointment. He told you he’d keep unemployment below 8 percent. Hasn’t been below eight percent since. Fifty percent of kids coming out of school can’t get a job. Fifty percent.”

Here's what the Washington Post's Fact Checker says about it:

First, let’s start with the notion that nearly half of Americans do not pay income tax. This is one of these “facts” that is not very informative. “Income taxes” are just one type of tax that people pay, and for most working Americans, payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare far exceed what they pay in income taxes. Moreover, if some people do not pay income taxes, it is because of policies often advocated by Republicans.

Some 44 percent of those who do not pay income taxes are because they benefit from tax benefits aimed at the elderly, while another 30 percent benefit from tax credits for children or for the working poor, according to a paper published by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

But not all of these people are automatically Obama supporters. In fact, according to a map published by the Tax Foundation, eight of the top ten states with the lowest income-tax liability are the heart of Romney country — the deep south. The only exceptions are Florida, a battleground state, and New Mexico, which leans toward Obama. Meanwhile, most of the states with the lowest level of nonpayers are Obama states. [my emphasis]

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As for the claim that Obama promised that unemployment would be below 8 percent, Romney has already earned Two Pinocchios for that. 

So, you'd think that Mitt would be in trouble with his base for insulting them like that. But no. When his base hears him talk like that, they know who he's really talking about.