Cantor: Romney ‘s 47 percent comments a ‘distraction’

Cantor was asked by host Neil Cavuto if he believes, as some Democrats have asserted, that Romney’s comments at a fundraiser that became public this week were “throwing half of Americans under the bus,” and Cantor disagreed.

{mosads}Romney drew ire from Democrats, and frustration from some Republicans, when comments he made at a private fundraiser that he’s not worried about the 47 percent of Americans who aren’t going to vote for him and believe they are “entitled” to various benefits from the goverment because he’ll “never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

But Cantor insisted that Romney and Republicans were working to get those Americans back to work, and he cited a measure to reinstate the work requirement for welfare recipients that was passed in the House on a party line vote earlier on Thursday as evidence.

“We don’t want to take away – from people in need – the safety net,” he said, clarifying that Republicans want to help people get back to work and get access to training programs.

“We don’t want to just rob them of what they need. We want them to need the safety net less and to get back into a productive mode so they can begin to determine their own destiny,” Cantor added.

The Obama administration has waived the work requirement for welfare recipients, a move that Republicans say will explode the program and ultimately make it more difficult for recipients to get back to work.

Cantor also blamed the impending budget cuts and expiration of a series of tax cuts, known around Washington as the “fiscal cliff,” on “disagreements in Washington over the past two years,” mainly over tax rates. He explained that the debate hinged on whether you want more of Americans’ money to go to Washington or to stay in their pockets.

He said that the debate over taxes would be decided with this election.

“If President Obama is re-elected, taxes are going up.  If Mitt Romney is elected, taxes will not go up,” Cantor said.