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Bartender Who Taped Romney's 47% Remarks Was Inspired By Bill Clinton
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 13, 2013
Modified Mar 13, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 13, 2013
Modified Mar 13, 2013
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You can forget about forgetting about the 2012 presidential election as it has produced yet another piece of pop culture flotsam. The bartender who videotaped Mitt Romney's 47% speech is set to appear on MSNBC's The Ed Show tonight to talk about why he heroically videotaped a politician giving a speech, and, naturally, Bill Clinton inspired him to do it.
The Huffington Post reports that the man worked for a high-end catering company, and that at an earlier fundraiser that Clinton appeared at, the former president "came back to the kitchen and thanked the staff, the waiters, the bartenders, the busboys, and everyone else involved in putting the event together."
Believing that Romney would do the same at his fundraiser last May, his colleagues brought cameras to record their moment with the Republican candidate, but it was not to be.
Catering Code dictates that nebulous, altruistic retribution against slights handed down by rich people includes acts such as consuming a few more diver scallops, or spilling some aioli into an expensive-looking purse, or crying in the bathroom. This caterer dreamed big.
The bartender set a camera on the bar and started recording. "I felt it was a civic duty. I couldn't sleep after I watched it," the bartender said, repeating the words he usually reserves for when the bar empties out and it's just him and his date, staring into each other's eyes. "I felt like I had a duty to expose it."
The bartender was also asked by 19th century carnival barker owner Ed Schultz if he ever feared for his life. “I was up against the most powerful, the richest people in the country and the stakes were pretty high and you never know what could happen. There’s nuts out there. You just don’t know. I’ve certainly had threats.”
Asked for comment, President Obama said he "owed that guy, big time." "I mean, look, I was half-assing it there for awhile," the president said as he meticulously adjusted the altitude on a drone circling northern Yemen. "Frankly, I just didn't care about campaigning. Didn't care about contrasting my message with Mitt's. But then this video came along and changed everything. Kept us in the Lincoln Bedroom! You tell that guy if he needs someone to disappear, Barry's his man."
Tagged
barack obama
mitt romney
republicans
47% video
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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