Jimmy Carter's grandson, James Carter 4th, is man who unearthed Mitt Romney's '47 percent of Americans dependent upon government' video
Freelance researcher trolled internet and found clip that has damaged Romney campaign
By Jonathan Lemire / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 10:46 PM
John Amis for New York Daily News
Freelance researcher James Carter 4th, former President Jimmy Carter's
grandson, is the one who unearthed video of Mitt Romney claiming that 47
percent of Americans are dependent on the government.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Former President Jimmy Carter.
Jimmy Carter's grandson was tired of hearing the ex-President used as GOP punchline — and his act of revenge has hobbled Mitt Romney’s campaign.
In an odd twist of fate and history, it was James Carter 4th who unearthed the secret video of Romney at a Florida fund-raiser in which the Republican nominee demeaned the “47%” of Americans who are “dependent upon the government, who believe that they are victims.”
RELATED: ROMNEY GETTING HEAT FROM REPUBLICANS
Carter, a freelance researcher, had been trolling the Internet for damaging videos and quickly realized the fund-raiser clip was his chance to get even with Romney for assaults on his family.
“I’ve gotten a lot of Twitter messages from people supporting me and saying that it’s poetic justice that it was a Carter that uncovered this,” the younger Carter told The Associated Press. “I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly.”
RELATED: ROMNEY DEFENDS '47 PERCENT' COMMENTS
Jimmy Carter reveled in the discovery. “James: This is extraordinary,” the former President emailed his grandson. “Congratulations! Papa.”
The younger Carter, a 35-year-old left-leaning political researcher who lives in Atlanta, said he did not receive any payment from the Obama campaign or any political organization for his Internet sleuthing.
The self-proclaimed “partisan Democrat” said he was doing a standard sweep of YouTube — searching terms like ‘Republicans’ and ‘Romney’ — when he discovered the clip on a YouTube channel called “Anne Onymous.” He realized that there might be more than just the brief snippet that was posted online.
“I’ve been searching for clips on Republicans for a long time, almost
every day,” Carter told reporters. “I just do it for fun.”
Carter used Twitter to contact the person who posted the video and began a negotiation with the group that made the secret recording.
Eventually, he persuaded the owner to anonymously hand over the video to Mother Jones magazine, which posted the entire film — and rocked the presidential campaign.
His Twitter profile lists him as unemployed — but that should soon change.
He has received several job offers this week, including from the online news site The Huffington Post and the Ohio Democratic Party, according to reports.
jlemire@nydailynews.com
In an odd twist of fate and history, it was James Carter 4th who unearthed the secret video of Romney at a Florida fund-raiser in which the Republican nominee demeaned the “47%” of Americans who are “dependent upon the government, who believe that they are victims.”
RELATED: ROMNEY GETTING HEAT FROM REPUBLICANS
Carter, a freelance researcher, had been trolling the Internet for damaging videos and quickly realized the fund-raiser clip was his chance to get even with Romney for assaults on his family.
“I’ve gotten a lot of Twitter messages from people supporting me and saying that it’s poetic justice that it was a Carter that uncovered this,” the younger Carter told The Associated Press. “I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly.”
RELATED: ROMNEY DEFENDS '47 PERCENT' COMMENTS
Jimmy Carter reveled in the discovery. “James: This is extraordinary,” the former President emailed his grandson. “Congratulations! Papa.”
The younger Carter, a 35-year-old left-leaning political researcher who lives in Atlanta, said he did not receive any payment from the Obama campaign or any political organization for his Internet sleuthing.
The self-proclaimed “partisan Democrat” said he was doing a standard sweep of YouTube — searching terms like ‘Republicans’ and ‘Romney’ — when he discovered the clip on a YouTube channel called “Anne Onymous.” He realized that there might be more than just the brief snippet that was posted online.
Mother Jones Video/AP
Scene from the now-infamous video of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaking at a May fund-raiser. James Carter discovered a clip on YouTube and brought the video to nationwide attention.
Carter used Twitter to contact the person who posted the video and began a negotiation with the group that made the secret recording.
Eventually, he persuaded the owner to anonymously hand over the video to Mother Jones magazine, which posted the entire film — and rocked the presidential campaign.
His Twitter profile lists him as unemployed — but that should soon change.
He has received several job offers this week, including from the online news site The Huffington Post and the Ohio Democratic Party, according to reports.
jlemire@nydailynews.com
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