The full transcript of the 1998 Obama “redistribution” audio has been obtained by The Daily Caller, where in the audio then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama expresses some far-left positions on gun control, universal health care, and welfare reform. In the video, Obama describes welfare recipients and the working poor as a “majority coalition.”
“What I think will re-engage people in politics is if we’re doing significant, serious policy work around what I will label the ‘working poor,’” Obama said in the 1998 remarks during a Loyola College Forum, “although my definition of the working poor is not simply folks making minimum wage, but it’s also families of four who are making $30,000 a year. They are struggling. And to the extent that we are doing research figuring out what kinds of government action would successfully make their lives better, we are then putting together a potential majority coalition to move those agendas forward.”
A 96-second clip from the 1998 remarks made their way to YouTube last week and became a national story, for during the forum Obama says he believes in "redistribution" of wealth, “at least to a certain level to make sure everybody’s got a shot.”
The RNC quickly jumped on the discovery by producing a 50-second web video calling attention to the remarks spliced over clips of Romney criticizing Obama at the RNC for "attacking success," Obama tripping up during a 60 minutes interview, and his now infamous "you didn't build that" comment.
Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the Manhattan Institute appeared on "Wilkow!" Monday to discuss what larger messages can be taken from what is heard in the audio released Monday.
