I don't have any answers to your questions. I am not in politics and this is not the 1950's. But I do know that just telling everyone that the poor will pay all the taxes and the rich will never pay anymore than 15% is just about the dumbest way I have ever heard of getting 98% of the population to accept your budget plans.

The currently crop of Conservatives are attempting to turn this old way of doing things around by skipping the part where the wealthy pay their 'fair' portion of the taxes and going right for the Poor. Working out pretty well for them don't 'ch think?

The way Romney described the 47% is the new normal among Conservatives. This plays well among those that, like Romney, don't care about the 47%, but it is not the way to attract more voters.

It is however, a great way to see everything you have worked for during an election go down in flames.

Want to have the people accept a bad deal? Make them think they thought of it. Republicans had been doing this up until about ten years ago. I really don't know why they quit except that the money part of the Party was taken over by rich guys that thought they knew everything because they are rich.