Matters of Church and State

WHAT WAS HE THINKING?

               As I was out running errands this morning, I heard on the radio a Democratic ad replaying Governor Romney’s comments about the “47 percent of Americans” who allegedly consider themselves victims, who pay no taxes, and are dependent on government.

         Even though I had heard the comment reported widely before, for some reason it just now got me thinking about what prompted this remark and why he made it.  And I am trying to get my head around the circumstances and the reasoning that made him say it.

In other words, what was he thinking?

As a former speechwriter for government officials, I am aware of the dynamic between speechwriter and speaker.  Maybe it’s different in the private sector or when running for office, but I don’t think so, based on my reading of speechwriters’ memoir and speaking with speechwriters in those other venues.

It should come as no surprise that many speeches seemingly impromptu and off-the-cuff are anything but that.  Even responses to questions in a press conference are usually scripted and well prepared.  As a result, I can smell and hear a sculpted taking point a mile away.  And, frankly, I am not in favor of them, and wasn’t even when I was in the business because they rob the official or candidate of their instincts and personalities, the very reasons that got them to where they are in the first place.  And they place too much importance on the unaccountable ghost writer in the backroom.   But, in this “gotcha” world and the instant sound bite age, regrettably it’s probably necessary.

So, my strong suspicion is that Governor Romney’s comments about the 47 percent were not a slip of the tongue or an abberation, despite his later apology saying he was “completely wrong.”  You can be wrong about a statistic or a fact or an opinion based on erroneous information.  But this was far more than that.  To me, it represented a way of thinking, reminding me of instances where celebrities are found making ugly ethnic or religious slurs, and apologize later saying they were drunk or just misspoke.  I don’t buy it.

Comments caught in unguarded moments indicate where your heart is.

Do I think Governor Romney is a bigot or a racist or hates the poor?  No, I do not.  But, I don’t think he has a clue as to how most people live and the economic challenges they face.  The 47 percent remark reflected that.  Patricians like Roosevelt and the Kennedys somehow understood it, despite their privileged backgrounds and cushy upbringing.

But, Romney doesn’t seem to get it, as multiple comments he had made over the course of the primaries and in the general election campaign bear witness, e.g. the $10,000 wager he made to a competitor in a primary debate, and suggesting that young men and women might borrow money from their parents to pay for their educations.  These plus the economic plan his running mate has crafted and that he has endorsed.  Its effects on the poor and marginalized in our society would be disastrous, as the Nuns on the Bus and others have shown.

What Romney really doesn’t seem to get is the indispensable role that Government plays – and must play – in the lives of millions of people, not moochers or slackers, but people genuinely in need.  It’s the role that Republican President Lincoln described so well long ago:  Government must do what people cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves.  And, as Sister Simone Campbell at the Democratic National Convention spoke so movingly of this social compact that is one of the hallmarks of America’s greatness:  “I am my brother’s keeper.  I am my sister’s keeper.” 

Will Governor Romney get it over time?  Maybe.  But we have a President who gets it already, based on his own upbringing and his work as a community organizer in Chicago, so why take a chance on someone who doesn’t?

         Gerald E. Lavey