BATON ROUGE — Two-time failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney is headed to the Pelican State today to rake in the dough for Congressman Bill Cassidy at a high-dollar New Orleans fundraiser.

“There’s no telling what Congressman Cassidy and Governor Romney will discuss at their French Quarter shindig today, but I’m 47 percent sure it won’t be about what Louisiana families actually need,” said Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “They need a fair minimum wage and equal pay for equal work. They need to be able to retire at a reasonable age and access the Social Security and Medicare benefits they’ve paid for. Congressman Cassidy and Governor Romney think it’s not their job to worry about those things, but they couldn’t be less educated about what’s really important to working families in Louisiana.”

A fundraiser was the setting for Romney’s infamous “47 percent” speech that chastised Americans who pay no federal income tax, saying, “My job is not to worry about those people.” Observers quickly noted that “those people” consists mainly of seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and low-income working families.

Cassidy had his own “47 percent” moment earlier this year when he called people without health insurance “less educated” and “illiterate” at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association’s annual meeting.

According to the latest statistics from the Census Bureau, about 751,000 Louisianians — or about 16.6 percent of the population — lack health coverage. While the uninsured rate has plummeted in states that have accepted federal Medicaid expansion dollars, Louisiana’s uninsured rate has stayed relatively unchanged.

Before making his way to Louisiana, Romney stopped in the Bluegrass State yesterday to give his endorsement to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

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