Rasmussen: GOP 'attacking the poor

More so than any other moment in the 2012 campaign, it was the "47 percent" video that defined and damaged Mitt Romney's candidacy. Romney never recovered from the publication of the tape, in which he said nearly half the country is dependent on the government and electorally unattainable by Republicans.

Romney later said he didn't mean what he said in the video but pollster Scott Rasmussen wrote in a Friday commentary that the "47 percent" mentality is one that exists as a cancer in the Republican Party.

From Rasmussen's column:

If they want to seriously compete for middle-class votes, Republicans need to get over the makers vs. takers mentality. We live in a time when just 35 percent believe the economy is fair to the middle class. Only 41 percent believe it is fair to those who are willing to work hard. Those problems are not created by the poor.

GOP candidates would be well advised to shift their focus from attacking the poor to going after those who are really dependent upon government -- the Political Class, the crony capitalists, the megabanks and other recipients of corporate welfare.

@eScarry