The Romney Gambit

Ever since the release of Romney's comments on the 47% that he described as "victims" and "dependents", something has not set right with me. And it has to do with the nature of American politics. When you run for the highest office in the country, you've already been vetted, you've already learned how to handle a mic, and what to say and what not to say when the cameras are rolling.

Sometime late last night, amidst the Facebook fury that continued to pour out, it hit me. Romney didn't misspeak, this was very deliberate. I believe that the Romney campaign is employing a new strategy to separate the two candidates. Let's call it the Romney Gambit.

It has long been theorized that to understand how someone's mind works, you need to look at the accusations of their opponents. In the case of the Republican Party, look back no further than 2008, when they accused the Obama campaign of using race to bait the undecideds. They charged the Dems with planting the idea that if you didn't vote for Obama, you were racist.

Switch "Obama" with "Romney" and "racist" for "classist", and you have the Romney gambit in a nutshell. Buy demanding that 47% are victims, he is challenging voters to prove that they are NOT part of the 47%, that they are in charge of their own destiny. He is charging everyone who has ever bought a scratch ticket, every worker who has ever tried to burst that glass ceiling, to prove that they are not part of the dregs, the commoners, the unwashed masses.

It's a risky proposition, to be sure: potentially alienate half of the American public in order to push the other half to the polls to prove they're worthy, to pony up to the Republican trough in the mere hopes that the 1% will throw their breadcrumbs to the 99.

But gambits are risky, and it's one that just may work. Certainly a lot of self identified conservatives that are part of the 47% Romney chastised have come up to defend his statements. And Romney has not backed away from his statements, something he would have done had it been an actual gaffe.