[h=3]By SARA MURRAY and PATRICK O'CONNOR[/h]LOS ANGELES—Mitt Romney's presidential campaign promised Monday that it would offer more specifics of the Republican nominee's policy plans as it works to regain traction after falling behind in public opinion surveys.
Associated PressMitt Romney speaking on Monday.
But videotaped comments of Mr. Romney describing many of his opponent's supporters in unflattering terms, which surfaced late Monday, threatened to derail his effort to draw new focus to his economic plans.
In the video, Mr. Romney described many supporters of President Barack Obama as dependent on government and unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives.
Ed Gillespie, a top adviser to the Romney campaign, told reporters that voters want to hear meatier policy details from both candidates in the White House race.
But he added, "We're not rolling out new policy. We are making sure people understand that when we say we can do these things, here's how we're going to get them done, and these are the specifics."
Mr. Gillespie's comments, along with a set of new TV ads from the campaign, marked an effort by Mr. Romney to regain his footing amid signs that Mr. Obama is building a lead in national opinion polls and most battleground states.
But the campaign faced a potential setback when the video, posted on the website of liberal magazine Mother Jones, showed comments said to be made by Mr. Romney at a private fundraiser earlier this year.
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president, no matter what," Mr. Romney said in the video. "All right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.…These are people who pay no income tax."
Mr. Romney also said in the video that his "job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Asked about the video, Romney spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said in a statement that Mr. Romney "wants to help all Americans struggling in the economy. As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government."
Mr. Romney was drawing on the fact that many American households pay no federal income tax—a group that includes about 46% of American households in 2011, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.
However, the comments could be read as unflattering to Obama supporters broadly and to millions of people who hold jobs and in many cases pay payroll taxes, but who don't earn enough to pay the income tax.
Those people tend to receive tax benefits that have been championed by both parties, such as tax credits for children, which wipe out their tax burdens.
Mr. Romney's comments appeared to be an inartful statement of ideas he has laid out elsewhere as central to his candidacy: that the federal government spends too much money and has unmoored the country from the principles of free enterprise and hard work.
The incident was reminiscent of Mr. Obama's remarks this summer—made famous by his awkward "you didn't build that" comment—that were interpreted by Republicans as a disparagement of entrepreneurialism. Democrats said the president meant only that government spending on infrastructure and other programs is important to business owners.
In other contexts, the candidates have said these competing ideas go to the heart of the election, with Mr. Obama arguing for a government role in the economy and Mr. Romney saying government is too intrusive.
Mr. Obama himself was accused similarly of offering a broad and unflattering characterization of voters in 2008, also during a fundraiser, when he said people in small towns with high unemployment "cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them.''
Mr. Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, said it was "shocking'' that Mr. Romney would say that "half of the American people view themselves as 'victims' entitled to handouts…It's hard to serve as president for all Americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation."
Mr. Romney's campaign arranged for Mr. Gillespie to speak to reporters Monday amid a set of news stories about the campaign's weakening position in public opinion surveys and after the website Politico posted an article about infighting inside the Romney campaign.
Mr. Romney spent part of an interview Monday with Spanish-language network Telemundo making reassurances that his campaign staff was up to the job. "My senior campaign people work extraordinarily well together. I work well with them," Mr. Romney said. He said there wouldn't be any staff changes: "I've got a good team."
Democrats and some Republicans have said Mr. Romney should lay out more policy specifics, such as which tax breaks he would scrap in order to pay for a 20% cut to tax rates he has proposed for all income brackets.
"We do think the timing is right, at this moment, to reinforce the specifics—more specifics—about the Romney plan," Mr. Gillespie said.
Mr. Romney didn't offer new policy specifics in a speech Monday to small-business owners at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He said he would overhaul the legal immigration system. Mr. Romney said he would grant green cards to those who receive advanced degrees and create a path to permanent legal citizenship for those who serve in the military, proposals the Republican nominee unveiled months ago in another speech to Latino leaders.
His comments dovetail with House Republicans' effort to pass legislation that would increase the number of visas for workers in fields like engineering and science. A vote is expected this week.
Write to Sara Murray at [email protected] and Patrick O'Connorat [email protected]
But videotaped comments of Mr. Romney describing many of his opponent's supporters in unflattering terms, which surfaced late Monday, threatened to derail his effort to draw new focus to his economic plans.
In the video, Mr. Romney described many supporters of President Barack Obama as dependent on government and unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives.
Ed Gillespie, a top adviser to the Romney campaign, told reporters that voters want to hear meatier policy details from both candidates in the White House race.
But he added, "We're not rolling out new policy. We are making sure people understand that when we say we can do these things, here's how we're going to get them done, and these are the specifics."
Mr. Gillespie's comments, along with a set of new TV ads from the campaign, marked an effort by Mr. Romney to regain his footing amid signs that Mr. Obama is building a lead in national opinion polls and most battleground states.
But the campaign faced a potential setback when the video, posted on the website of liberal magazine Mother Jones, showed comments said to be made by Mr. Romney at a private fundraiser earlier this year.
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president, no matter what," Mr. Romney said in the video. "All right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.…These are people who pay no income tax."
Mr. Romney also said in the video that his "job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Asked about the video, Romney spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said in a statement that Mr. Romney "wants to help all Americans struggling in the economy. As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government."
Mr. Romney was drawing on the fact that many American households pay no federal income tax—a group that includes about 46% of American households in 2011, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.
However, the comments could be read as unflattering to Obama supporters broadly and to millions of people who hold jobs and in many cases pay payroll taxes, but who don't earn enough to pay the income tax.
Those people tend to receive tax benefits that have been championed by both parties, such as tax credits for children, which wipe out their tax burdens.
Mr. Romney's comments appeared to be an inartful statement of ideas he has laid out elsewhere as central to his candidacy: that the federal government spends too much money and has unmoored the country from the principles of free enterprise and hard work.
The incident was reminiscent of Mr. Obama's remarks this summer—made famous by his awkward "you didn't build that" comment—that were interpreted by Republicans as a disparagement of entrepreneurialism. Democrats said the president meant only that government spending on infrastructure and other programs is important to business owners.
In other contexts, the candidates have said these competing ideas go to the heart of the election, with Mr. Obama arguing for a government role in the economy and Mr. Romney saying government is too intrusive.
Mr. Obama himself was accused similarly of offering a broad and unflattering characterization of voters in 2008, also during a fundraiser, when he said people in small towns with high unemployment "cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them.''
Mr. Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, said it was "shocking'' that Mr. Romney would say that "half of the American people view themselves as 'victims' entitled to handouts…It's hard to serve as president for all Americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation."
Mr. Romney's campaign arranged for Mr. Gillespie to speak to reporters Monday amid a set of news stories about the campaign's weakening position in public opinion surveys and after the website Politico posted an article about infighting inside the Romney campaign.
Mr. Romney spent part of an interview Monday with Spanish-language network Telemundo making reassurances that his campaign staff was up to the job. "My senior campaign people work extraordinarily well together. I work well with them," Mr. Romney said. He said there wouldn't be any staff changes: "I've got a good team."
Democrats and some Republicans have said Mr. Romney should lay out more policy specifics, such as which tax breaks he would scrap in order to pay for a 20% cut to tax rates he has proposed for all income brackets.
"We do think the timing is right, at this moment, to reinforce the specifics—more specifics—about the Romney plan," Mr. Gillespie said.
Mr. Romney didn't offer new policy specifics in a speech Monday to small-business owners at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He said he would overhaul the legal immigration system. Mr. Romney said he would grant green cards to those who receive advanced degrees and create a path to permanent legal citizenship for those who serve in the military, proposals the Republican nominee unveiled months ago in another speech to Latino leaders.
His comments dovetail with House Republicans' effort to pass legislation that would increase the number of visas for workers in fields like engineering and science. A vote is expected this week.
Write to Sara Murray at [email protected] and Patrick O'Connorat [email protected]