US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a fundraiser in Atlanta on September 19, 2012.
Sen. Dean Heller became the latest Republican on Wednesday to distance himself from Mitt Romney's comments that 47 percent of Americans were dependent on government, The New York Times reported.
Heller, fighting for re-election in Nevada, said, "I have a very different view of the world, having grown up with a father who was an auto mechanic and a mother who was a school cook and five brothers and sisters."
He recounted the story of his father who required assistance for six to eight weeks after a back surgery. "I think the government has a responsibility," said Heller, according to The Times. "One of the responsibilities of the federal government is a safety net."
A day earlier, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Linda McMahon of Connecticut released statements denouncing Romney's "off-the-cuff" comments, according to CNN.
Brown said on Tuesday, "As someone who grew up in tough circumstances, I know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be in," according to the Associated Press. "Too many people today who want to work are being forced into public assistance for lack of jobs."
Romney's comments, first released by Mother Jones, were spoken at a Republican fundraiser in May of this year. He said, "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it."
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According to CNN, McMahon said in a statement on her website, "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."
Like Brown and Heller, McMahon pointed to financial struggles in her own past, saying she was sympathetic to the struggles of many Americans.
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez also spoke out against Romney's comments, saying, "We have a lot of people that are at the poverty level in New Mexico, but they count just as much as anybody else," according to ABC News. "There is a net that does allow them to be caught and taken care of, whether it be through medical services, whether it be food services, whether it be with funding for apartments, for housing."
Conservative blogger Erick Erickson called on Romney to defend his statement, saying that potential voters would understand the message of government entitlements. Erickson told NPR, "I think [Romney] needs to now own this statement, articulate it better than he did at that dinner, and actually now have a substantive policy on entitlement reform."
Romney did write an opinion editorial in USA Today on Wednesday, defending his stance.
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