Romney's "R" word: GOP hits Obama over '1998 redistribution' tape; does it add up?
CNN's Erin Burnett tackles "redistribution," the latest 14-letter word attack against President Barack Obama by Republicans and the Romney campaign. In a 1998 audio tape, the then-Illinois State Senator said he "believed in some redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot."
Mitt Romney seized on the opportunity to drive home that Obama wants to take wealth from the rich and redistribute it to the poor.
"The president's view is one of larger government," Romney said to Fox News on Tuesday. "There's a tape that came out today where the president's saying he likes redistribution. I disagree. I think a society based upon a government centered nation where government plays a larger and larger role, redistributes money, that's the wrong course for America, that will not build a stronger America, or help people out of poverty."
Do the 'redistribution' attacks add up? Burnett takes a look at both Obama and Romney tax plans to see if they're both guilty of redistribution.
GOP's relationship with redistribution
OutFront tonight: Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal and John McCormack of The Weekly Standard.
Romney, Republicans hit back with Obama 'redistribution' tape
After withstanding searing criticism from both rivals and fellow Republicans on secretly recorded remarks Romney made at a fundraiser in May, his campaign is mounting a counter-offensive with a recording they hope will go viral as well: then-Illinois state Senator Barack Obama speaking favorably of "redistribution."
The audio clip first surfaced Tuesday, as Democrats were seizing upon their own video of Romney speaking at a private fundraiser in Florida. That event was held in May.
On Twitter
A redistribution of wealth is when you lay people off and ship their jobs overseas.
Yea, four hundred years of FREE slave labor was the ultimate redistribution of wealth to the confederate South.
Welcome to America. If you pay taxes, congratulations, you've had your money redistributed since the day you received your first paycheck.
Don't act like somehow Obama is unique in this respect.
Yes – he thinks he's Robin Hood. You finally figured that out – wow.
Give me back my money the Republican chickenhawks redistributed for unnecessary wars.
All of the greatest societies have had a system of redistributing wealth. Oftentimes, what has led to the collapses of these societies was a decision to stop redistributing wealth.
Heard in tax class that Reagan was for cutting the mortgage interest deduction because it encouraged people to be in debt. It's not a terrible idea for the upper tax brackets, since a lot of folks in that bracket are refinancing at 3-4% currently. However, it would be hard to sell & you'd have to wait a few years before implementing it, just to let the housing market keep picking up. Saw that existing home sales were up ~8% in August, which is good, but it's gotta keep going like for a while.