Today in Let Them Eat Bootstraps

Jamelle Bouie, with further evidence of how Mitt Romney's 47% comment was right in line with mainstream conservative philosophy, i.e. bullshit fantasies about bootstraps used to justify all manner of ignorant and bigoted thinking:

If you want a sense of what motivates the politicians and activists who push for voter identification laws, look no further than this quote from Pennsylvania State Representative Darryl Metcalfe:

I don't believe any legitimate voter that actually wants to exercise that right and takes on the according responsibility that goes with that right to secure their photo ID will be disenfranchised. As Mitt Romney said, 47% of the people that are living off the public dole, living off their neighbors' hard work, and we have a lot of people out there that are too lazy to get up and get out there and get the ID they need. If individuals are too lazy, the state can't fix that.

As always, it's worth noting the extent to which the "47%" meme has penetrated the right-wing consciousness. It's why Romney immediately doubled-down on the statement; he's echoing many conservatives when he says that Obama's supporters are people who won't "take responsibility for their lives."

I particularly like Metcalfe's "legitimate voter" line. Legitimate presidential birth certificates. Legitimate rape. Legitimate voters. Conservatives are obsessed with "legitimacy," which, like "tradition," is a concept used to reinforce the idea that the most privileged among us are the only objective arbiters of who should and can be allowed to participate in the shaping of this nation.