his is pure racist liberal claptrap. No one has put any kind of face on poverty and welfare recipients except liberals who exploit them for political gain. Conservatives believe a rising tide floats all boats... that comes from a rather famous Democrat conservative who was once president, I believe.
"No one has put any kind of face on poverty and welfare recipients except liberals who exploit them for political gain. "
Say what??? Now I know you are delusional. John Kennedy was the last president to say he was a liberal and I haven't heard anyone in the democrat hierarchy say they were. Only frustrated right wingers continue to use the term as a pejorative put down for anyone, politician or not, who doesn't jump on board the "conservative" bandwagon.
In modern times, race continues to play a major part in the political arena. You deny it but the Right has frequently used race to galvanize White voters behind "conservative" causes. Martin Gilens nails it in his book, "Why Americans Hate Welfare." Focusing on the causal factors of that hate, a review of the book by the Library Journal reveals:
"A provocative analysis of American attitudes towards 'welfare.'. . . [Gilens] shows how racial stereotypes, not white self-interest or anti-statism, lie at the root of opposition to welfare programs." -Library Journal
Do I need to uncloak the conservative nexus? The Right played a pivotal role in masterminding and dispersion of false notions certifying the face of poverty and welfare in America is black. Must I remind you of Reagan's anecdotes pertaining to the illustrious " black Welfare Queen?" ( her blackness is questionable based on census data). If that isn't sufficient let's pull these out of the conservative closet:
Newt Gingrich told a crowd of senior citizens in New Hampshire, "The African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps." Rick Santorum was even more egregious, claiming he doesn't "want to make black people's lives better by giving them other people's money" (although he later claimed that he never intentionally said "black").
Gingrich's latest offense comes only weeks after he received widespread criticism for saying that poor children should work as janitors and clean toilets. He specifically made a point of addressing "inner city" youths -- which has become conservative code for black and brown people everywhere, from the South to the coasts, the suburbs to the metropolises, regardless of where they actually live.
For some odd reason, this is acceptable rhetoric among the conservative political class. It is especially troubling because every reliable statistic shows that white Americans are the overwhelming beneficiaries of welfare in this country and make up the largest number of those in poverty by a wide and substantial margin. The Republicans' well-rehearsed lies on the subject have been so effective that people of every hue have come to believe them, feeding widespread ignorance about the true face of poverty and the ever-growing gap between America's rich and poor.
So you see, conservatives have put a black face on poverty and welfare. Yes I know Blacks make up 39% of those on AFDC welfare but if you include food stamps and other welfare assistance Whites jump way ahead! But welfare doesn't delineate the boundaries of poverty, there are working poor and people too proud to ask for assistance. More White people are poor than are blacks. 41% of the poor in this country are non-Hispanic Whites and 25% are Black. The face of American Poverty is White! Conservatives have ignored that and played the "impoverished Black" angle to manipulate political outcomes!
Okay... So your evidence to support your views are from a like-minded liberal nitwit and you believe that is supposed to impress others? Liberals are good at cherry-picking quotes, taking them completely out of context and then building a false argument around their perversion of reality.
You will find NO REPUBLICAN who has EVER said "most welfare recipients are black." Not today, not yesterday, not 50 years ago. There has been no such speech by a Republican candidate, no such writing in any book by a Republican, nothing... no sign of such a statement, yet here is a liberal trying to make that a reality.
We always see these statistical percentages trotted out as if they prove some grand point. Black people represent about 15% of the population, so yeah-- more white people are on welfare, more white people are wealthy, more white people are poor, more white people do drugs, more white people commit crimes, more white people own household pets, more white people buy new cars...own homes... etc. This has nothing at all to do with the state of the black community which is experiencing the highest rate of unemployment, under-employment and under-education. When a Republican points this out, he is suddenly being "racist" because some pinhead liberal wants to take his words out of context and turn it into that.
We've had over 50 years of liberal policies to combat the "War on Poverty" started by LBJ... yet statistics show the poverty level in America (for all races) is virtually unchanged. Now the prime liberal reasoning is, as always, "not enough has been done!" Well, we've spent over $20 trillion and have committed to spend another $100 trillion in coming years... so how much more can be done? We've nearly bankrupted our country trying to eliminate poverty but poverty persists relatively unchanged. The Liberal Left's answer is to keep spending money we don't have, bilk the producers of wealth some more, keep redistributing from the 'haves' to the 'have-nots' and one day when we finally reach "Utopia" all the poverty will be gone!
Conservatives believe in enabling everyone with the tools for success and motivating them to strive for success as opposed to being dependent on government. Every person in America, regardless of their resources, has had the opportunity to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. There are countless examples of people from every race overcoming adversity and poverty to become millionaires or even billionaires. Not because of government hand outs, but because they had the motivation and determination to succeed.
Touché.
