U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney caught on secret tape telling donors his job is not to worry about Obama-voting 'freeloaders' who depend on the state

• Romney says voters support Obama because they depend on government
• Leaked footage was discovered by the grandson of former Democratic President Jimmy Carter
  
• Obama campaign hits back saying Republican has 'disdainfully written off half the nation'
• Romney's 47% figure comes from a Tax Policy Center report that found 46.4% of American households do not pay federal income tax
  
• Candidate also joked he would be winning if he was Hispanic

By Toby Harnden In Washington

PUBLISHED: 16:36 EST, 17 September 2012 | UPDATED: 07:53 EST, 18 September 2012

Mitt Romney last night stood by remarks secretly recorded at a campaign fundraising event in which he said that 47 per cent of Americans are dependent on government and that 'my job is not to worry about those people.'

Referring to Obama supporters, Romney said: 'All right, there are 47 per cent 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.

'That, that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.'

He added that 'my job is not to worry about those people -- I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.'

Scroll down to hear the leaked recording

Controversy: Romney said his plan is to create jobs -- not government dependency -- for the '47 per cent'

Leaked: Mother Jones, a liberal news magazine, says it obtained the footage from an anonymous person who attended the fundraiser

Bona fide: The Romney campaign did not dispute the authenticity of the video

Romney added to the controversy by referring to his family's Mexican heritage and saying if his father George had been 'born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this'.

He then made a further reference to how voting based on race favours the Democrats, saying: 'We are having a much harder time with Hispanic voters, and if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African American voting block has in the past, why, we're in trouble as a party and, I think, as a nation.'

In a hastily-arranged evening press conference in California, Romney said that Obama believes in 'a government-centred society' whereas the Republican nominee believed in a 'free people, free enterprise, free market' society and had an approach that would put 23 million people back to work.

He added that 'my campaign is about helping people take more responsibility' and 'getting people back to work.'

Romney conceded only that his sentiments were 'not elegantly stated' because he was 'speaking off the cuff.'

But it will be difficult for Romney to rebut charges that he is contemptuous of almost half the population and has no desire to persuade them or win them over.

VIDEO: Mitt Romney reacts to the undercover filming from MotherJones 

The timing of the release of the clip -- 50 days before the election -- could make it even more damaging than the 2008 audio of then-Senator Barack Obama saying at a 2008 fundraiser that rural voters 'get bitter, they cling to guns or religion'.

Obama made those comments in the April of election year when he was already all but guaranteed to win the Democratic primaries. He then had seven months in which to overcome them.

The Obama campaign was quick to exploit the potential political bombshell of the Republican nominee effectively writing off almost half the country.

Facts: Romney has statistics on his side when it comes to the 47percent statistic -- only 53 percent of Americans pay federal income tax after deductions and rebates

In a statement reacting to the secret recordings, Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager, said: 'It's shocking that a candidate for President of the United States would go behind closed doors and declare to a group of wealthy donors that half the American people view themselves as "victims" entitled to handouts, and are unwilling to take "personal responsibility" for their lives.

'It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation.'

In an initial attempt at damage limitation, Gail Gitcho, Romney’s communications director, said in a statement: ‘Mitt Romney wants to help all Americans struggling in the Obama economy. The campaign did not dispute the authenticity of the clip.

Gracious host: Hedge fund manage Marc Leder threw the $50,000-a-plate fundraiser where Romney made the comments

‘As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government, including the record number of people who are on food stamps, nearly one in six Americans in poverty, and the 23 million Americans who are struggling to find work. Mitt Romney's plan creates 12 million new jobs in four years, grows the economy and moves Americans off of government dependency and into jobs.’

The videos, posted on YouTube, were obtained by Mother Jones, a left-wing magazine. 

Romney's 47 per cent figure seems to have come from a Tax Policy Center report that found 46.4 per cent of American households paid zero income taxes or received a net refund from the government.

This leaves 53.6 per cent of households shouldering the nation's entire tax burden. When the report was released, some Republicans took up a rallying cry of 'the other 53 per cent' -- a response to the Occupy movement's 'the other 99 per cent' slogan.

The startling figure is the result of a number of tax loopholes -- mostly credits given to the elderly and the poor.

But Romney appeared to mix up the 47 per cent of people who did not pay income tax -- many of whom pay state and local taxes and payroll taxes -- with the proportion of core Obama supporters. Many of of those who don't pay income tax are Republican supporters -- particularly working class white men and the elderly.

According to David Corn, who wrote the Mother Jones article, the video was filmed at a $50,000-per-plate fundraiser thrown by hedge fund manager Marc Leder.

Battered: The Obama campaign quickly jumped on the statement saying Romney 'disdained' half of the nation

No responsibility: Romney claimed he could never convince Obama supporters to 'take responsibility for their lives'

The New York Post reported last year that Leder, worth an estimated $400million, threw an end-of-summer bash in the Hamptons last year where 'guests cavorted nude in a pool and performed sex acts, while scantily clad Russian women danced on platforms. Dancers at the party also twirled flaming torches to booming beats.'

The May fundraiser in Boca Raton was part of a two-day sweep through Florida that netted Romney $10million in two days.

South Palm Beach County campaign chairwoman Bonnie Re told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel at the time that the fundraiser was a success.

'He really ad libbed a lot,' she said. 'He's loosening up so much more each time I see him.'

New York magazine’s Daily Intel reported that former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson helped unearth the footage. James Carter IV is credited as a research assistant on the Mother Jones piece that broke the story. Carter spends much of his time searching for video clips of Republicans. Once he discovered the video on YouTube, he put the owner of it in contact with Mother Jones, who he has worked with before.

Buzz Feed's McKay Coppins writes that the comments reveal Mitt Romney is a true conservative.

'Romney's condemnation of America's entitlement society -- and his assessment that Obama voters are part of the problem -- fit firmly into contemporary movement conservatism, and seem to demonstrate an internalization of the Republican Party narrative about meritocratic success,' the Buzz Feed article says.

Standing by his words: At a press conference on Monday, Romney said his remarks were 'not elegantly stated,' but did not back away from the message

In the tapes, Romney also referred to his family heritage in Mexico and joked that if his father George had been 'born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this'.

The tape emerged as the GOP nominee spoke at US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles in a bid to erode the strong advantage among Latinos enjoyed by President Barack Obama.

But in comments very different from those to the Chamber, Romney told wealthy voters at an event that has not been identified by the anonymous film maker, Romney made light of the problem he has attracting Hispanic voters.

'My dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a car company,' he said.

'But he was born in Mexico ... and uh, had he been born of uh, Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this. But he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico. He lived there for a number of years. I mean, I say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be Latino.'

At the same event, he dismissed Obama voters as freeloaders who pay no taxes, don't take responsibility for their own lives and who expect government to take care of them.

Talking about his wealth, Romney said: 'I have inherited nothing. There is a perception, "Oh, we were born with a silver spoon, he never had to earn anything" and so forth. Frankly, I was born with a silver spoon, which is the greatest gift you can have: which is to get born in America.'

Romney told the donors that 'women are open to supporting me' but that 'we are having a much harder time with Hispanic voters, and if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African American voting block has in the past, why, we're in trouble as a party and, I think, as a nation'.

When one contributor asked how those present could help Romney sell himself to others, he replied: 'Frankly, what I need you to do is to raise millions of dollars.'

VIDEO: Mitt Romney on Iran's nuclear program