I haven't seen any commentators mention this - if another diarist has, I apologize for repetition.
We've seen the dog whistles. The welfare ads, when welfare isn't even an issue in the campaign. The "real American". The birther jokes.
But why isn't the dog whistle being mentioned in discussions of the 47% remark?
When Romney talks about dependent people who won't take responsibility for their lives, who are they? The welfare queens with Cadillacs - only Ann Romney is entitled to a Caddy (or two). The big bucks buying steak with food stamps.
Those who consider themselves victims? People of color, women, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer, people with disabilities. If you say racial discrimination or bias exists, you're "playing the race card". Anti-women forces coined the revolting term "victim feminist" to describe women who talk about getting paid less or getting raped as oppression, rather than "taking responsibility". You know, like the Arizona judge telling the woman who was sexually assaulted that it wouldn't have happened if she had stayed home.
As a person with a disability, I've had a lot of employment difficulty and have been told, many times that "if people won't change the whole way they work you say you're a victim". (For the record, all I need is a simple physical accommodation, no changes to how anyone works.)
Romney wasn't just speaking off the cuff. He was talking to his real base. The ones who insist that the only real discrimination is white Christians who are oppressed by women using birth control and by not being able to fire gays. When Romney talks about those who consider themselves victims, he was dog whistling about "those people".
Us.