Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, March 13, 2013
2012 The Man Who Made the 47-Percent Video
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 6:00 AM
He'll be making his identity known today, and Huffington Post says he was motivated by Bill Clinton:
WASHINGTON — Bill Clinton won the presidential election for Barack Obama. But it wasn't his masterful Democratic National Convention speech or the advice he offered the president's reelection campaign. Clinton, it turns out, inspired the man who filmed Mitt Romney's infamous and game-changing 47 percent comments...
The man, who tended bar for a company that catered to a high-end clientele, had previously worked at a fundraiser at a home where Clinton spoke. After Clinton addressed guests, the man recalled, the former president came back to the kitchen and thanked the staff, the waiters, the bartenders, the busboys, and everyone else involved in putting the event together. He shook hands, took photos, signed autographs, and praised the meal — all characteristic of the former president.
When the bartender learned he would be working at Romney's fundraiser, his first thought was to bring his camera.
Meanwhile: How did Romney treat the bartender and the rest of the staff at the infamous event? Take a wild guess.
1
National Hero. I wish someone had prevented GW Chimp and his criminal crew from seizing power in 2000. It would not have taken much, the election was close enough for them to steal it.
3
By dispelling the mystery, he's going to ensure that the Republicans will now require ironclad non-disclosure agreements from anyone who wants to work an event.
What he did was great - he's a civic hero; but his act was even more powerful when we - and more importantly, they - didn't know who did it.
What he did was great - he's a civic hero; but his act was even more powerful when we - and more importantly, they - didn't know who did it.
4
I've met two presidents, Reagan and Clinton.
Reagan was just the sort of phony drip you'd expect him to be, all hearty laughs and cornball Hollywood schmaltz. (It really is no wonder he won. He was engineered to appeal to idiots)
With Clinton, on the other hand, I felt like I was in the presence of a real intellect. I didn't agree with a lot (most) of what Clinton did, but I at least respected him for having a brain, unlike that grade-Z actor Reagan. He always made me feel like he was trying to sell me a new stove.
Reagan was just the sort of phony drip you'd expect him to be, all hearty laughs and cornball Hollywood schmaltz. (It really is no wonder he won. He was engineered to appeal to idiots)
With Clinton, on the other hand, I felt like I was in the presence of a real intellect. I didn't agree with a lot (most) of what Clinton did, but I at least respected him for having a brain, unlike that grade-Z actor Reagan. He always made me feel like he was trying to sell me a new stove.
5
LOL Catalina.
Somehow I think you just made shit that up. Self-aggrandizing "I've sucked two Presidents dicks..."
That, and it has nothing to do with the OP.
Romney lost ya'll, get over it yo.
Somehow I think you just made shit that up. Self-aggrandizing "I've sucked two Presidents dicks..."
That, and it has nothing to do with the OP.
Romney lost ya'll, get over it yo.
9
So let me get this straight...
Jimma Carda's grandson is a BARTENDING hero? Wow.
You'd think with those connections, he could get a job at the liberal Cato Institute or EDF or some shit...
I guess the left needs "useful idiots" (so sez Lenin).
Jimma Carda's grandson is a BARTENDING hero? Wow.
You'd think with those connections, he could get a job at the liberal Cato Institute or EDF or some shit...
I guess the left needs "useful idiots" (so sez Lenin).
10
@9:
As opposed to the "useful idiot" used by Cheney to run the country?
The article doesn't say how old the grandson is, but he could be working his way through school.
As opposed to the "useful idiot" used by Cheney to run the country?
The article doesn't say how old the grandson is, but he could be working his way through school.
11
@9: the bartender gave the video to Carter. Way to pay attention, but I guess the world "needs" useless idiots too.
12
i think romney would have lost with out the 47% comment, and he didn't really mean to say what everyone took him to have said (he meant that 47% of voters will vote democratic no matter what so his task is not to win their votes), but, hoo boy, that was some delicious schadenfreude and petard hoisting.
i don't know if any GOP candidate ever revealed his empty soul more clearly. fuck him, fuck his just for men touch of gray hair, and fuck his imperious wife.
@3: they'll go beyond non-disclosure. they'll confiscate all devices with cameras at the service entrance. never again.
i don't know if any GOP candidate ever revealed his empty soul more clearly. fuck him, fuck his just for men touch of gray hair, and fuck his imperious wife.
@3: they'll go beyond non-disclosure. they'll confiscate all devices with cameras at the service entrance. never again.
13
Oops, how embarrassing. I took @9 at his word, having just read the article but not watched the video.
So the grandson is a Senior Political Economy Reporter.
So the grandson is a Senior Political Economy Reporter.
14
@12 You seem to have misunderstood what upset people about the comment. It wasn't the implication that Romney didn't care about 47% of the vote, but that he thought 47% of all Americans are bad, lazy people. And the 47% he was referring to included mainly senior citizens and people working one or more jobs for far too little money. And he absolutely did mean that - which is obvious, since he has repeated variations on the same theme over and over again.
15
This could only happen once. No one who paid many thousands of dollars to be there would break the rules, and they were probably already going to temporaririly confiscate all camera devices from service employees, now that this happened. It was pretty obvious that some employee had taken the video. And yeah, it's a shame that the veil of secrecy is going to get thicker. At least this little trick was put to good use. I don't know if this makes us feel better.
But yes, he should have kept his anonymity. I do agree with that. Maybe he's coming out because his employers already have a good hunch, anyway, and fired him (or her). And maybe he's hoping to make some gold from his fifteen minutes. He ain't gonna be working as a catering employee anymore, though.
But yes, he should have kept his anonymity. I do agree with that. Maybe he's coming out because his employers already have a good hunch, anyway, and fired him (or her). And maybe he's hoping to make some gold from his fifteen minutes. He ain't gonna be working as a catering employee anymore, though.
16
Yes, he did mean to say that. He also meant to say that those people are a bunch of lazy, useless assholes.
Let's say Obama said something comparable about the other side, that he's not going to try to win them over because they're inbred hicks. We would never hear the end of it. Romney got off easy.
(he meant that 47% of voters will vote democratic no matter what so his task is not to win their votes)
Yes, he did mean to say that. He also meant to say that those people are a bunch of lazy, useless assholes.
Let's say Obama said something comparable about the other side, that he's not going to try to win them over because they're inbred hicks. We would never hear the end of it. Romney got off easy.
19
@5 I have also met President Clinton and in my opinion if he wanted to sell you a new stove you'd have one.
21
BFD that Romney didn't come around and shake every hand of the bar and kitchen staff that night. I'm sure no Democrat (and I'll toss Hollywood in there) has ever thrown a party and ignored the help, right?
This whole thing is stupid, right on down to the reason for releasing the video.
This whole thing is stupid, right on down to the reason for releasing the video.
22
21, um, yeah, it *is* a BFD. Sorry to burst your bubble there, but this is what politicians do. This story is proof of how doing little things, and how you treat others, affects your life. We're not machines.
And since his Romney's statements sunk his campaign deader than a dodo, this story is very much important.
I'm always amazed at the rightwing nutjobs insistence that people shouldn't be held accountable for things they say. What you want, really, is a return to the aristocratic system where a small class of people could do whatever the fuck, say whatever the fuck, and everyone else had to go along w/ it. Which is why you're traitors to America.
And since his Romney's statements sunk his campaign deader than a dodo, this story is very much important.
I'm always amazed at the rightwing nutjobs insistence that people shouldn't be held accountable for things they say. What you want, really, is a return to the aristocratic system where a small class of people could do whatever the fuck, say whatever the fuck, and everyone else had to go along w/ it. Which is why you're traitors to America.
23
What's so great about this is that it perfectly encapsulates the problem that arrogant rich people have with the little folk. When they constantly think they're better than everyone else and act like it, even as they rely on other people whom they view as inferiors to do the work of supplying their means of self-aggrandizement, inevitably those belittled and humiliated suppliers will betray them... because they deserve it. But the rich jerks can't admit that they brought it on themselves, so they just demonize and abuse the little folk all the more for their disloyalty, until the backlash is so strong it removes their ability to do so.
24
@9 seems to think that if you have connections, you are entitled to get some high paid gig at a think tank, qualifications be damned. After all, that's what the right does.
He then projects this onto the Democrats and implies that if you don't use your connections in this way, its a moral failing. Classic.
He then projects this onto the Democrats and implies that if you don't use your connections in this way, its a moral failing. Classic.
25
Genestoner dear, I assure you it was nothing special....
October, 1982: Ronald Reagan comes to Omaha for a GOP fundraiser! I was a member of the Union Pacific Drum & Bugle Corps, and since UP is a major corporate sponsor of the GOP, we performed at the rally. Later, they bought him over to shake hands with the clean-cut kids that comprised the group, and take some pictures. Since I am naturally photogenic and intrinsically shallow, he saw in me a kindred soul.
November, 1993: I am working at the Olympic Hotel during the APEC convention. I am standing talking to a very pregnant banquet server when the Secret Service comes through and tells us to stay right where we are (which they were always doing). President Clinton comes by, sees us, and goes up to shake our hands. The pregnant banquet server tells him how much she is hoping to see his healthcare plan enacted, and nervously glances at me. President Clinton tells us that it's "Couples like you" that are the reason they are working on healthcare. He walks away, we both burst out laughing.
October, 1982: Ronald Reagan comes to Omaha for a GOP fundraiser! I was a member of the Union Pacific Drum & Bugle Corps, and since UP is a major corporate sponsor of the GOP, we performed at the rally. Later, they bought him over to shake hands with the clean-cut kids that comprised the group, and take some pictures. Since I am naturally photogenic and intrinsically shallow, he saw in me a kindred soul.
November, 1993: I am working at the Olympic Hotel during the APEC convention. I am standing talking to a very pregnant banquet server when the Secret Service comes through and tells us to stay right where we are (which they were always doing). President Clinton comes by, sees us, and goes up to shake our hands. The pregnant banquet server tells him how much she is hoping to see his healthcare plan enacted, and nervously glances at me. President Clinton tells us that it's "Couples like you" that are the reason they are working on healthcare. He walks away, we both burst out laughing.
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