Rahm Emanuel Says Mitt Romney Is "Too Far Removed" From The Poor

Photo via Chicago Mayor's Office Facebook

Mayor Rahm Emanuel told the Chicago Tribune today that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is out of touch with poor people. Romney has come under fire for saying he is "not concerned about the very poor" because there is a "safety net."

“Maybe Mr. Romney is a bit too far removed from the day-to-day concerns of people who live paycheck-to-paycheck,” Emanuel said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Emanuel, former chief of staff to President Obama, also set his sights on Romney at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines in November. He poked fun at all of the Republican presidential candidates, calling them turkeys, but Emanuel also made it obvious that Mitt Romney is the only candidate he takes seriously saying, "Can we afford Mitt Romney's leadership?" Video of Emanuel's speech is available here. Emanuel also took a jab at Romney during an appearance on ABC after the speech.

In November it was also rumored that Emanuel played a role in leaking information on the accusations of sexual harassment against Herman Cain.

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By Samantha Abernethy in News on February 2, 2012 4:20 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Dave Snell

Kettle? Hi, it's Pot. You're black.

KETTLE66

Your right Rahm....those two belong together...they are both out of touch with AMERICA as a whole...and they will find that out Come November 2012. By the way your doing a GREAT job as Mayor............

ChicagoD

You know he probably doesn't read the comment section, right? And if he did, he'd want you to use "you're" for "your are."

Dave Snell

I don't know about that... apparently every once in a while, Rahm rides the Red Line too, usually in late October... So maybe he reads the common people's blogs too.

ChicagoD

He rides the Brown. It is near his house.

Navin_Johnson

Glass houses dawg.

Politburo

Mayor of a city with 20% of the population below the poverty line likely has more insight on the matter than the guy getting million dollar donations to his Super PAC.

Dave Snell

Mayor of a city that he didn't actually physically live in for a few years... I'm sure he got a lot of "insight" into the lives of poor people while jetsetting back and forth between DC and Chicago... why I think O"Hare even employs some people who make minimum wage!

Navin_Johnson

How did he gain that insight? Shaking hands at a redline station back when he was campaigning? Do you not think that if Rahm ran for Pres that he'd have loads of donations coming in too (just as he did when he ran for congress/mayor) just as pretty much any viable candidate does? I'm trying to understand the argument you're trying to make.

ChicagoD

Glass houses to one extent, but you know that Rahm's house is in a neighborhood that people live in. I'm not sure in any of Romney's are. Maybe Plexiglass house.

Navin_Johnson

I doubt Rahm mingles with anybody who lives "paycheck to paycheck" unless of course you mean paychecks that are for millions and millions, like the kinds he got as a go between between bankers and politicians, or the kinds of paychecks that pay you hundreds of thousands of dollars for murky, cronyism with Freddie Mac, during the build up to the crisis no less.

ChicagoD

Yes yes yes. Rahm is wealthier than you, blah blah blah. I get it. The fact remains that he is much, much less wealthy than Romney. Rahm is not exactly of the people, but he's not Romney rich either.

BTW, I would just note that the pay scale for ALL elected officials is such that they are not "of the people" once they take the job. Oh wait. That was your point . . .

Navin_Johnson

The fact remains that he is much, much less wealthy than Romney.

And that's kind of a meaningless fact to build your argument on. Rahm has millions, and Mitt has even more millions. So what? By that reasoning Romney is REALLY in tune with regular folks compared to somebody like Warren Buffet. Most posters on Chicagoist don't know about living 'paycheck to paycheck' for that matter, unless of course they're reminiscing about their "college days" over "craft" cocktails....

ChicagoD

Oh. Shut. Up. You are such an asshole when you are pretending to "get" the Peoples. We both know how this works now: if I claim a past of living check to check you mock and deride. If I don't I'm out of touch. It's just rhetoric to you. It's why I haven't engaged you in any meaningful back and forth in ages. I was just starting to trust you again . . .

Navin_Johnson

if I claim a past of living check to check you mock and deride.

Not really, I've never gotten the vibe that you're somebody who doesn't know the value of a dollar, or falls for mindless conspicuous consumption.

Navin_Johnson

Sorry to point out that your argument (one rich guy is not as fabulously wealthy as another) was completely faulty. I think you just felt compelled to back up Rahm as iirc you were quite a fan of his during the mayoral elections. Sorry to break this to everybody, but Rahm only said this to do a little thinly veiled campaigning for Obama. I'll remind you that you came after me too....not the other way around.