More Than 47% Accurate

Carlton Whitfield: Closing down those distribution centers would be a big mistake.
Christy Wills: It so happens that those closings are exactly what Mr Prescott wants.
Carlton Whitfield: Well, then Mr Prescott hasn't thought things through very well.
Art Thomas: I'm going to tell *him* that you said that.
Carlton Whitfield: Good!
--The Secret of My Success

This video, perhaps to become known as "The 47% Video," of Mitt Romney speaking to a group of supporters last May has lit up mainstream media and the blogosphere. As usual, however, most of this energy has been directed toward the periphery of the matter in the form of hand wringing, fact checking, and qualifying.

Far less consideration has been allocated to the core ideas underlying Romney's remarks. As I understand it, what he was trying to say is this: For people who do not pay income taxes, it is difficult for them to "connect" to an election platform grounded in reducing income tax burdens. And because the fraction of people not paying income taxes in the US has increased to nearly 50%, with a similar fraction participating in some type of government payout that increases dependence on those who do pay taxes, then a campaign seeking to reverse that trend will face a difficult battle in an election where the winner is determined by majority vote.

These ideas are fundamentally true. They strike at some of the root problems that we face, namely government's authority to redistribute wealth using a progressive tax mechanism enforced by strong armed agents of democratic (read: majority) principals.

Romney should own what he has said, expand on it, and discuss it with the people. Keep it in the forefront; don't back away from it.

Instead, he and the Republicans appear once again to be cowering from a thread of public discourse that this country desperately needs.