Obama allies continue to push secret Romney video

"I disagree with Governor Romney's insinuation that 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims who must depend on the government for their care," Linda McMahon, the Republican candidate for a Senate seat in Connecticut, said in a statement posted to her website.

Sen. Scott Brown, facing a tough re-election race in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, said of Romney's comments, "That's not the way I view the world."

And New Mexico's Republican governor, Susana Martinez, noted in reaction to Romney's remarks that many in New Mexico live at or below the poverty level, and "that safety net is a good thing."

On Wednesday, the Romney campaign released two television ads accusing the Obama administration of conducting a "war on coal." The ads come one day after Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources disclosed that it is closing mines in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania and eliminating 1,200 jobs. Alpha CEO Kevin Crutchfield blamed the shutdowns, in part, on "a regulatory environment that's aggressively aimed at constraining the use of coal."

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