AFL-CIO targeting Romney’s ‘47 percent’ remark in swing states

The AFL-CIO is taking aim at Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” remarks in a direct-mail campaign this week in swing states.

Direct-mail pieces being sent to union households in Ohio and Wisconsin will say that Romney can’t represent them after saying at a private fundraiser earlier this year that 47 percent of Americans feel entitled to government assistance.

“At a recent $50,000 per person campaign dinner, Mitt Romney said 47% of Americans think they are ‘entitled,’ ‘dependent on government’ and aren’t willing to ‘take personal responsibility and care for their lives.’ To Mitt Romney, that includes seniors, veterans, students and the middle class,” says the labor federation’s mailer. “The more you learn about Mitt Romney, the more you know there is no way he could ever represent us.”

The direct-mail pieces targeting Romney will go to more than 75,000 union households in Ohio and almost 70,000 in Wisconsin. The AFL-CIO is also sending a different direct-mail piece to more than 66,000 union households in Florida — hitting Romney on his education plan and tax cuts for the wealthy.

The AFL-CIO will also be sending direct mail to union households for Senate races in Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin this week. Each recipient of a mailer will also get a robo-call from the AFL-CIO before and after they receive the mail, according to an AFL-CIO official.

The direct-mail campaign comes as the presidential race heats up this week, with the first debate between President Obama and Romney. The AFL-CIO, which has endorsed Obama for reelection, and others in labor will be key for Democrats this election as they help get the vote out in November.

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