Mitt Romney is “turning his back on half the country” said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on Sunday's Meet the Press. Patrick, who succeeded Romney as governor, was referring to the Republican candidate's now famous remarks about the “47 percent” of Americans who don’t pay federal income tax. Patrick said his mother had relied on food stamps and that she worked “to get to a better place, to get her GED, to get a job, to stand on her own two feet. The notion that she, or we, or people like us would be belittled while we needed some help to be able to stand on our own two feet is exactly what Governor Romney is conveying.”
Romney surrogate and New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte stood by Romney’s comments, saying they were “not a governing philosophy” and that the candidate “has a vision for 100 percent of America.”Ayotte blamed Obama for the sluggish economy, pointing to the recent surge in the number of Americans on food stamps. (Though on Up with Chris Hayes this Sunday, Hayes pointed out that the most recent expansion of food stamps eligibility was under the Bush administration, and the recent surge is because more people are poorer following the financial crisis.) Ayotte wasn’t the only Romney surrogate to stand by Romney’s “47 percent” remarks this morning; Romney economic adviser Emil Henry decided to “triple down” on the remarks on Sunday's Up with Chris Hayes.