Defining "Mitt Moments"

WHAT HE SAID AND WHAT IT MEANS

Romney: "I'm not concerned about the very poor."

• Look no further than what Romney says he'll do to the country for confirmation:
  • He'd raise taxes on parents struggling to make ends meet so he can cut his own taxes in half.
  • He'd make seniors, children and vulnerable families bear even more of the burden so millionaires, oil companies and big corporations can get more tax handouts.
• Do we really want our kids to grow up in an America where our leaders openly admit they're not concerned about all of us?

Romney: "It's all about envy."

• For Mitt Romney, when Wall Street CEOs rig the game at everyone else's expense -- we're just jealous if we think that's not right.
• Fighting for an economy that works for everyone isn't "all about envy." It's a basic American value.

Romney: "I'll tell you what, ten-thousand bucks? $10,000 bet?"

• Romney's bet shows he doesn't understand that to most Americans, $10,000 means a lot -- even if it doesn't to him.
• For most Americans, money isn't a game. For the average American, $10,000 is four months' pay. We need leaders who understand the challenges we face.

Romney: The $374,000 he gets paid in a year to make speeches is "not very much."

• Most Americans would say that $374,000 is a lot of money. But to Mitt Romney, 14 times the average American's salary is "not very much."
• It's more than a gaffe. It shows yet again he doesn't understand the value of a dollar or the challenges working Americans face.

Romney: "I'm not looking to put money in people's pockets."

• When Romney said he's "not looking to put money in people's pockets", he just means other people.
• Romney doesn't just want your vote -- he wants more millionaire tax giveaways for himself, too.

Romney: "Corporations are people."

• Corporations and hedge fund managers don't spend millions of dollars on candidates unless they expect a return on their investment.
• Is it any surprise that the corporate special interests that benefit most from a rigged system would go for the politician who'll keep it that way?

Romney: "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me."

• Most of us would never say we like firing people -- no matter the context.
• What kind of guy says he likes firing people? Apparently the same kind of guy who says "corporations are people" and casually bets $10,000 like it's pocket change.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Mitt Romney's campaign and super PAC has drawn the most support from billionaires. In fact, the top four donors to his super PAC are hedge fund managers, and in the last quarter alone, his presidential campaign raised 12 times more money from Wall Street than Obama.
• In all GOP primary elections so far, Mitt Romney cleaned up with the richest voters. But he's struggling with regular people, doing worse with voters the closer they get to the average person's income.
• In the last two years, Romney paid an average tax rate of 14 percent on the money he made off money each year -- lower than millions of middle-class Americans pay on the earnings they make from working in a job.
• Mitt Romney is trying to cut his own taxes by nearly half but raise taxes for many working parents and middle-class families.
• Romney denies that he wants more tax cuts for the rich, but actually, his tax plan would be a $6.6 trillion windfall overwhelmingly benefiting the wealthiest 1%.
• In just the last generation, the richest 1% almost quadrupled their incomes. Now the average wealth of the 1% is 225 times bigger than the typical household's. At the same time, the richest few are paying the lowest income tax rates in generations.

We develop messaging by aggregating, analyzing and distilling polling, tested messaging, and expert recommendations, and monitoring the media to identify what is and isn't working. See here for some of the experts and organizations we draw on.