McMahon, Long Separate Themselves From Romney
Updated at 3:04 p.m.
Republicans running for Senate in Democratic-leaning northeast states disagreed with Mitt Romney's remarks made at a fundraiser earlier this year about 47 percent of Americans wanting government handouts and considering themselves victims.
Connecticut GOP Senate nominee Linda McMahon posted a statement to her website this morning: "I disagree with Governor Romney's insinuation that 47% of Americans believe they are victims who must depend on the government for their care. I know that the vast majority of those who rely on government are not in that situation because they want to be. People today are struggling because the government has failed to keep America competitive, failed to support job creators, and failed to get our economy back on track."
Meanwhile, McMahon's opponent Chris Murphy sent around a video clip of McMahon saying that "47 percent of the people today don't pay any taxes..."
And New York GOP Senate nominee Wendy Long also weighed in on the statements -- though not proactively, as McMahon did. The website Capital New York:
"Now I don't believe that a lot of people in the 47 percent who are not paying taxes want to be there," Long told Fred Dicker this morning, in an appearance on his radio show.
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Long said she hadn't actually heard the comments or seen the video, posted yesterday by Mother Jones magazine, but said Romney's assertion "sounds like it probably was not correct."
She put the blame on President Obama.
"It's just a reflection of the fact that Obama really does want to create this culture of dependency," she said.
Both candidates are running in blue states where President Obama is expected to win easily in November. One difference -- McMahon actually has a chance of winning her Senate race, whereas New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand appears to be gliding to reelection.
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