The Man Behind the ‘47 Percent’ Video Comes Forward

It was one of the enduring mysteries of the 2012 campaign: who was the source of the video that captured Mitt Romney saying at a private fundraiser that 47 percent of Americans are too dependent on government, a remark that haunted him through the remainder of the presidential race

As it turned out, the bartender did in fact do it - as many suspected.

The Huffington Post reports that the man “tended bar for a company that catered to a high-end clientele.” And the idea of bringing his camera to the $50,000-a-plate Florida fundraiser came from his previous work at an event featuring Bill Clinton, when the former president came back to the kitchen to thank the staff and sign autographs, the report said.

The man, who has not yet been pubicly identified, gives his account of making the surreptitious video in an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show”  that is being broadcast Wednesday night.

In a preview of the program, the man said he “debated for a little while” whether to release the video.

“But in the end I really felt like it had to be put out,” he said. “I felt I owed it to the people that couldn’t afford to be there themselves to hear what he really thought.”

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In his remarks at the fund raiser, initially reported by Mother Jones, Mr. Romney said:

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”

He continued on, adding, “My job is not to worry about those people.”

After the release of the video, Mr. Romney acknowledged the remarks were “not elegantl! y stated.! ”