Romney's 'not concerned about the very poor' line: A 'monster gaffe'?

Fresh off his Florida primary win, Mitt Romney triggers a barrage of criticism while explaining his economic policies

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Mitt Romney disrupted his own "Florida victory lap" Wednesday when, while explaining his economic plan to CNN, he said he is "not concerned about the very poor." (See the video below.) Romney explained that the poorest Americans have a "very ample safety net," with food stamps, Medicaid, and more. "I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90 to 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling," he said. Interviewer Soledad O'Brien suggested that people below the poverty line might think Romney's statement "sounds odd." Romney didn't back down, saying that if there are holes in the safety net, he'll fix them. Was Romney's point defensible, or was it a "monster gaffe" that will come back to haunt him?

This was a huge, costly gaffe: "Mitt, Mitt, you don't say these things out loud," says Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly. Everyone knows Republicans don't craft their policies to help the needy, but when it comes up you're supposed to scream "class warfare" and change the subject. It's precisely this kind of "tone deafness" that loses general elections.

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