Engaging in the debate over government's role

Michael Goodwin:

Under the prevailing definition of a gaffe — accidentally telling the truth — Mitt Romney is guilty, guilty, guilty. The only surprise is that he knew the truth all along and kept it to himself. 

A tape from a May fund-raiser is rocking the campaign because Romney was “caught” accurately outlining our political polarization.

As a defining principle, the almost-half the nation backing President Obama wants government to do more. The other half backs Romney because it knows the government already does too much.

It is a financial fight, but also a cultural one. The entitlement mentality isn’t limited to those who earned or desperately need their country’s help.

We’re sinking because too many politicians like Obama think their job is to “level the playing field” by confiscating wealth from some Americans and giving it to others. First, they take a big cut for themselves and their friends.

It is a fact that nearly 47 percent, as Romney said, don’t have any skin in the game — they pay no federal income taxes. Not all are greedy, of course, but whatever the government spends is gravy to them. The more spending of other people’s money, the more gravy they get.

These clashing views about the role and size of government are what the 2012 campaign is about. Or should be.

Until now, Romney has been too timid in saying so, while Obama has been more forthright in promising an ever bigger, more powerful state. Obama is winning that argument because he is a more talented politician and a better liar in claiming the endless goodies can be paid for by hiking taxes on the top 2 percent. His road leads to Greece, with stops for insolvency and soaring unemployment.

No matter. Who can resist free stuff, especially when the president says go ahead, everybody else does it? And you deserve it because society is rigged against you and America is unjust, blah, blah, blah.

That, not incidentally, was the theme of the Democratic convention. For three days, the grievance committee was in session, with a parade of speakers railing against success and complaining that somebody’s check wasn’t in the mail. They celebrated victimhood as a sign of virtue.

Grievance is also the theme of the Occupy rabble. Is there any doubt the vagabonds taunting cops and making life miserable for working New Yorkers will vote for Obama, if they bother to vote?
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With polls showing 54 percent of voters think government is doing too much, Romney appears to have swerved into a winning issue with the help of the liberals who released the tape thinking it would hurt Romney.  What it actually did is invigorate a debate conservatives and independent wanted and confirmed to Obama supporters their free stuff might be in jeopardy.

I think this "gaffe" will not have legs, because it merely sharpens the focus on what the Democrat policy really is.  It is a policy that a majority of voters disagree with, so Romney and the Republicans should just say "go for it."  They have thrown Romney in the brier patch and he should run with it.