During the recent Republican debate in South Carolina, Juan Williams questioned Newt Gingrich about his comment that Black Americans should “demand jobs, not food stamps”.
He asked Gingrich if he could see that his comment would be “insulting to all Americans, particularly black Americans”. When Gingrich responded no, the South Carolina crowd cheered. I don’t mean applauded. A full-fledged cheer erupted in an astonishing, collective display of bigotry and ignorance about a program that helps poor Americans. Y’all are scarin’ me, Gingrich. We deserve more from a presidential candidate than a stereotypical misrepresentation of black Americans, particularly while an educated, hardworking black American is at the helm in the White House. While disproportionality is an ongoing issue in social services, poverty squarely crosses ethnic, gender and age lines.
Single mothers escaping a violent relationship may need food stamps to survive until finding work and affordable child care. Veterans who served our nation but are severely traumatized from war time experiences may need food stamps while overcoming those demons. The elderly, who could not conceive of $4 a gallon fuel when they retired, are choosing between heating or eating and may need food stamps until end of life.
Young and old who experience severe mental illness or disability may need food stamps. Those who lost their jobs and their homes in the recession that is slowly ebbing may need food stamps until once again employed.
Certainly there are individuals who have misused food stamps (actually called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP), just as there are corporations that use information, people or resources inappropriately or illegally. The food stamp system could be improved and made less vulnerable to fraud. But it’s unfair and inaccurate to characterize food stamp recipients as lazy or black. The bulk of recipients use food stamps as a stopgap mechanism to hold them over until once again self-sufficient. Or the recipients are so imminently vulnerable that we have a responsibility as a developed nation to provide ongoing assistance.
If bloated budgets are of concern, look at the trillions spent on a fruitless war that killed Americans, left Iraq in turmoil but substantially increased defense contractor’s wealth. Military spending in fiscal year 2011 alone (Defense, Veterans Administration and Homeland Security) totaled $929 billion and increased 9 percent annually on average from FY 2000-2009, with significant allocations to defense contractors such as Blackwater and Halliburton (whose stock rose exponentially between 2003 and 2008). Conversely, the FY 2011 SNAP/food stamp budget was $68 billion, with a total of $107 billion spent on all food subsidy programs and administration. These funds helped an average 2.8 million poor Americans per month — many of whom are the working poor or impacted by the recession.
A well fed Gingrich cannot seem to wrap his head around ensuring a meal for our most vulnerable citizens, including victims of a Wall Street induced financial crisis that pummeled the middle class, while the 1 percent got richer. He and the South Carolina crowd believe poor people should just pull up their boot straps and get to work despite year-end unemployment reaching an 18 year high.
The 2012 GOP presidential candidates are pandering to an ultra-conservative slice of the population and have degenerated to encouraging pride for being mean spirited, tight wads when it comes to helping the old, the poor and the vulnerable. We are fed a steady diet of misinformation and skewed views despite the facts: Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction, nor instigate 9/11. The U.S. cannot bomb or invade our way to world respect. Mitt Romney and many other 1 percenters inexplicably pay a lower tax rate than the middle class. The 1 percent may be creating some jobs but many are moved offshore.
Government has a significant role in a developed country. And Barack Obama was born in the United States. Republicans should be appalled at fabrications and misinformation, rather than seeking applause for crazy comments that feed Jon Stewart’s nightly comedy material.
And aren’t at least some members of the Grand Ol’ Party deeply embarrassed by their extraordinarily unpatriotic prime directive to provoke the failure of the president of the United States, even if it takes the rest of us down? Y’all are scarin’ me. Really.
• Craig is a social liberal, fiscal conservative and registered voter (political affiliation undeclared).
Comments (46)
Add commentThat was a pretty good line
"A well fed Gingrich cannot seem to wrap his head around ensuring a meal for our most vulnerable citizens..."
A friend of mine has a son who is a veteran
of the Iraq war. He has PTSD and is trying to get his civilian life in order. He applied for and receives food stamps to supplement his low income. Deborah Craig you wrote an excellent article. What dangerous buffoons Newt Gingrich and his ilk are. I'm an independent voter. I would be ashamed to be a member of the GOP.
This is not a partisan thing.
This is not a partisan thing. All the current batch of politicians are scaring me. GOP seems more vocal about their stupidity, but when you look at the voting records, they all seem equally stupid.
Ms. Craig exposes an issue
Ms. Craig exposes an issue that is often not focused on, the threat of the conservative electorate to a viable American future. What we usually see is an exposition of the morally vacant and intellectually infantile platforms of the candidates designed to pander to their electorate: lunar bases for statehood, self-deportation, elimination of capital gains and banking regs while extending no benefit to struggling homeowners, recusal of the Dream-Act, to name a few. But the debates (all 19?) have begun to highlight how morally decrepit and easily duped the conservative base is: booing gay soldier in Iraq, cheering to let a person die who did not have health insurance, jeering moderators who call candidates to task on their inconsistencies. Winston Churchill once said the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with a constituent. Point well taken.
ArTCLE
Excellent article!
Third Candidate in 2012?
I can't see that the non-crazies/non-rednecks in the GOP, nor the disenchanted Obama supporters, can get behind any of these candidates.
If someone doesn't want to vote for Obama, and Gingrich or Romney make them cringe (like me), then what are our options?
Who will step forward from the wings and throw this country another choice?
I hope whomever he/she is can help America because it looks like we're close to hitting bottom.
Facts don't lie. Under Obama
Facts don't lie. Under Obama food stamp usage has gone up by two thirds. Presently, one out of seven people is on food stamps. Obama can rightly be called "the food stamp president".
And still the Dept. of Agriculture under Obama's administration is offering $75,000 grants to non-profits that can enroll even more people in the program.
Gingrich was exactly right when he was speaking before a BLACK church audience and said that Americans do much better when they have a job and don't need to rely on the government for their food.
That Juan Williams is nothing but a bigoted, black man. It was evident when NPR fired him for his bigotry towards Muslims and he never misses the chance to call a white man racist.
So if "y'all" want to buy into this race rhetoric it only comes off as projection and makes "y'all" appear as the biggest racists in the room.
And Ms. Craig, with all due respect, you're no "fiscal conservative" if you're singing the praises of putting even more people on food stamps.
And the rest of your letter - blah, blah, blah and lies. Do some fact checking.
Right Middle
Its a scary time, Obama could win just by default. The GOP does not have a believable, viable candidate. Obama could be taken out by a common sense, business minded individual but I don't think anyone wants to come forward. We'll see...
if
If y'all voted for Obama to prove you're not racist, y'all should vote for anyone else to prove you're not an idiot
@banditrider - it's
@banditrider - it's interesting though that none of the recent, past presidents or the present one have been businessmen. The Bushes, Clinton and even Reagan. And God knows BO doesn't have a clue. I'm not sure the American people buy the business smarts model.
And now that the left has fomented the class warfare and vilify the rich mantra, I don't think the businessman model will sell. Romney still only gets a little over 30% among the electorate.
I hate to say it, but Americans seem to vote on the razzle, dazzle and Greek columns.
but
But wait calypso, isn't Barry rich too? Ahhh the horror
Yeah, but, isldandhopper, BO
Yeah, but, isldandhopper, BO has a D after his name so we don't talk about that!
Besides he has to be rich so the wife can spend $50,000 on an underwear shopping trip!!!
Speaker Gingrich exposes an
Speaker Gingrich exposes an issue that is often not focused on, the threat of the Marxist electorate to a viable American future. What we usually see is an exposition of the morally vacant and intellectually infantile platforms of the President designed to pander to their electorate:killing the space program,open borders, job killing taxes and banking regs while extending no benefit to struggling tax payers, amnesty for illegals, to name a few. But the debates (all 19?) have begun to highlight how morally decrepit and easily duped the Marxist base is: throwing Iraq under the bus, cheering to let a person die who did not have health insurance( left that one alone, since it was so stupid to begin with. NOBODY is denied medical CARE IN THIS COUNTRY), jeering moderators who call candidates to task on their inconsistencies. Winston Churchill once said the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with a constituent. Point well taken.
madison89
thank you, imitation is the greatest form of flattery. i will lead, you just keep following mate.
facts
I'd sure like to see verification of some facts in this post. For example claiming food stamps users have gone up by two-thirds. You also can not leave out the history of an issue by only point to the one item alone. You can not say things like under Obama thousands have died in Afghanistan without being honest about the entire casualty toll in the Afghanistan mess.The reason the GOP race is such a mess is the distortion of facts and flat-out lies about the candidates by other GOP candidates. These are not debates these are theatrics.
It easy to get a crowd response when the crowd is 100% friendly to your views. The scene changes rapidly when the actual presidential race begins and the entire audience is not from just on political faction. Then the candidates have to stop all the BS commentary about each other, They'll not enjoy a friendly crown where the can interject ever few lines how Obama is this or that. They might actually have to answer a question with a real solution to the issues. For now answers to the actual issues and providing solutions have been almost unheard in the GOP race.
Huntsman was the one true statesman running. And he lost out when the rest got off the issue and started bashing each other.
Facts.
Calypso - again, no links from you, surprise surprise. Just because FOX says it is so and you repeat it, does not make it "fact". I wonder if you would know an actual fact if it hit you in the nose.
First - month by month figures going back to January 2001 show that recipients of food stamps rose by nearly 14.7 million under President George W. Bush. Nothing before that time comes close to that number.
Under President Obama, the increase has been 14.2 million, and the number receiving food stamps declined by 43,528 in October 2011.
Google USA today article, 1/18/2012.
Personally - I find it outrageous that so many, including people cheering the sick and gay soldiers, as well as the GOP candidates, are so unable to put themselves in the position of others.
Not everyone lives exactly like you (the collective "you") do, or has the job, benefits, upbringing, or whatever that you are fortunate to have. We MUST, as a human society, recognize that, and be able, even if it's not what we personally would do, to have some kind of understanding and empathy for those who do not live exactly as we do. Without that capability, there is no humanity. And that - unfortunately - is what is on stage right now with the GOP candidates.
@madison
Where do you get the idea that no one is denied medical care in this country? Maybe minor medical care , but major things are not affordable in this country and most are denied because a person can't pay
@calypso Yes maybe there are more people on food stamps, but have you ever considered that more people are in need of food being unemployed for long period of rime
Food stamp applications
Food stamp applications increased during a recession? Who'da thunk it!
I know Obama was supposed to swoop in and stop the recession with sheer force of will (and mind bullets) like Ronaldus Maximus would have, but obviously his superpower is more like Professor Xavier's than Cyclops'. Less cool, but perhaps more potent.
And along X-men lines, Gingrich would be Sabretooth, Romney would be Mister Sinister, and Santorum would be Apocalypse. There is no Magneto among the GOP field because Magneto is smart and has depth of character.
Isldandhopper, isn't that kinda like
saying, if you voted for McCain and $arah, y'all have already proved yourselves....
pp
Ronaldus Maximus? More like Ronald McDonald, being they're both clowns.
@bill - exactly true that
@bill - exactly true that more people are unemployed and are in need of food assistance, BUT, why are more people unemployed?
It's because of this administration's policies for over three years now - Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, green energy wasteful spending, onerous EPA regulations, etc. Obama has certainly spent plenty of taxpayer money ($4+T) and there's nothing to show for it economically.
So logically it comes down to ideology. Progressives like the socialist model (spending other people's money and cradle to grave government) and conservatives like the personal responsibility model.
In your mind, which works better?
@Calypso: "conservatives like
@Calypso: "conservatives like the 'I got mine, [filtered word] you' model."
I fixed that sentence for you.
49er
How's that hope n change thing working out? Yup I'd vote for m mouse & goofy before Barry & j biteme.
@swimmer - you do a great
@swimmer - you do a great disservice to humanity when you continue to sell everyone's dignity short. In your mind, about half of humanity needs to having a constant pity-party with all their woes. Come on, where are your expectations for the human race? We all benefit when we all contribute. And no, it's not mean to expect great things from all people.
A little clarification on food stamp numbers -
Under Bush's 8 years 14.7M were added. (probably because of illegal immigration - just my guess)
Under Obama's barely 3 years 14.2M were added.
So now the total number is 46M on food stamps.
I'd say BO is clearly on his way to being "the food stamp president" extraordinaire.
Calypso -
Don't put words in my mouth - I am all for checks and responsibilities for receiving public services - I think those receiving food stamps or welfare or unemployment should be required to attend classes - how to balance a household budget, how to write a resume, how to manage debt, read a paycheck, do taxes, etc. I don't think that's pity - that's a "hand up" not a "hand out" - - -
All I am saying is that I was lucky to have parents who worked, managed their money, taught us kids how to do the same, etc. etc. If you did not grow up in that kind of environment, you don't have that kind of knowledge - it's not inherent, is all I'm saying.
Folks like you, the GOP candidates, Republicans in general, and sadly religious conservatives don't seem to get that. (so much for the charity of the church) You say things like everyone should contribute, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, etc. It's like saying "you should know how to swim" to someone who grew up in a desert - it's an unrealistic expectation, for them to instantly know how to swim, just because you do, after taking lessons as a kid. that's not pity, or socialism, or whatever else - it's human nature, and the reality of our upbringings.
Certainly, I agree that social programs need less fraud, limited terms of use, and added responsibilities for accessing them, in the form of education designed so that people don't have to access those services again.
You seem to be of the opinion that we should just cut all those services, because you personally have been lucky enough not to need them. So if someone doesn't know how to swim, just throw them in the deep end anyway - those who know how live, those who don't die, is that it?
@Calypso
True the economic system of the country is falling apart. The question is why are the wealthy people of this country getting richer while the middle class, and the poor are getting less and less. Something is wrong with this equation.v rOffering low paying jobs, with just enough $$$ to maybe pay rent is not fair
calypso -
the much, much larger disservice to humanity is yours, when you basically say - screw em, you live if you are lucky enough to be born to the right family.
Yeah, you're dignified and full of humanity all right. I'm sure all those kids who will go to bed hungry tonight through no fault of their own are thankful for you're 'personal responsibility' message of human dignity to them.
Exactly how does one grow up with zero compassion?
What really bugs me is the bigotted remarks from the so called
people who say they are not bigotted. You know who you are.
Put it this way hopper,
there was no doubt that GWB wasn't getting my vote for re election.
And who knows, a mouse or a dog could be president, Rove got Dubya re elected....
A little reality check for Calypso
The most recent Department of Agriculture report on the general characteristics of the SNAP program's beneficiaries says that in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2010:
•47% of beneficiaries were children under age 18.
•8% were age 60 or older.
•41% lived in a household with earnings from a job — the so-called "working poor."
•The average household received a monthly benefit of $287.
•36% were white (non-Hispanic), 22% were African American (non-Hispanic) and 10% were Hispanic.