I have a new hero. His name is Scott Prouty. Prouty is the man who shot the infamous “47%” video of Mitt Romney at a $50,000 per plate fundraiser in Boca Raton, Florida. The story was fascinating to begin with and even more so now that Prouty is talking about the details behind the videotape. It’s a classic story of the regular guy getting over on the man.

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/47-percent-filmmaker-romney-has-no-clue-wh

Ironically Prouty says he got the idea to bring his camera to work after a previous fundraiser featuring former President Bill Clinton. At that fundraiser, Clinton made it a point to go back in the kitchen afterward and greet the staff, thank them and offer to pose for pictures. Prouty thought the same thing might be possible at the Romney gig but he was in for a very rude awakening.

Prouty’s first encounter with Mitt Romney took place when he served him a diet Coke with lemon from the bar (I thought Mormon’s didn’t partake in caffeine). Romney took the drink and turned away, no thanks, no eye contact nothing. Prouty was put off by the brusque nature of the encounter and perturbed when Romney began demanding faster dinner service from the rest of the wait staff. Prouty turned on the video camera from his vantage at the bar and began to video Romney’s remarks to the audience of wealthy supporters. The next few minutes when released to the general non-paying public quite literally changed the trajectory of the presidential race in 2012.

Perhaps even more disturbing than Romney’s remarks about the 47% of Americans who wouldn’t vote for him because they felt they were entitled to healthcare, housing and even food, were his admiring remarks about the conditions for workers at a manufacturing plant owned by Bain Capital operating in China. Romney expressed approval for the bunk beds stacked 3 to a wall that housed the female employees. The fact that 120 of the women shared one bathroom that consisted of a hole in the floor, a bucket and a hose was apparently a-OK with Mr. Romney too. It’s hard to swallow the callous nature of these comments and the casual disregard for basic human rights in the pursuit of profit.

Scott Prouty did more than blow open the 2012 presidential race in the incumbent’s favor, he lifted the veil on the big money nature of politics today. You and I will never attend a $50,000 per plate fund raiser, so the video allowed us a glimpse inside this world of influence and status. Romney can’t disown his own words. Maya Angelo once said, “If someone shows you who they really are, believe them.” Romney showed us that he is a moneyed, entitled, demanding prick and we should believe him.