Gov't assistance to the poor = Feeding stray animals

[Thrilla]

I  when I saw this article.  The man has a valid point about this self-perpetuating cycle that will never end as long as folks are receiving handouts.  He probably won't be elected, but at least he can balance out the extreme leftism that South Carolina can be known for.

SC politician's welfare comments called `immoral'



COLUMBIA, S.C. – When things looked their darkest for Gov. Mark Sanford — when he was in danger of being impeached for running off to Argentina to see his mistress — his best insurance policy may well have been South Carolina's lieutenant governor, Andre Bauer.

Lawmakers knew if they removed Sanford, they would end up with Bauer, a fiercely ambitious Republican with a reputation for reckless and immature behavior.

Now Bauer has folks shaking their heads again, after he likened government assistance to the poor to feeding stray animals.

At a town hall meeting Thursday, Bauer, who is running for governor in his own right now that Sanford is term-limited, said: "My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that."

Democrats and others railed at him.

"I am disgusted by these comments. They show an unbelievable lack of compassion toward the unemployed workers in our state who are hurting during these hard times," said state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Democrat who is also running for governor. "His comments were immoral and out of line."

South Carolina schools Superintendent Jim Rex, another Democratic candidate for governor, called Bauer's comments "reprehensible" and said he should apologize.

Bauer said Monday that he regrets his choice of words but that government should expect welfare recipients to try to better themselves. He wants to require them to take drug tests and attend parent-teacher conferences if they have children in school.

A child of divorce who benefited from free lunches himself, Bauer insisted he wasn't bad-mouthing people laid off from work in the recession or advocating taking food from children, but rather emphasizing the need to break the cycle of dependency.

"Do I wish I'd used a different metaphor? Of course I do," the 40-year-old said. "I didn't intend to offend anyone."

Bauer has long been a love-him-or-hate-him figure in South Carolina politics. A nonstop campaigner and self-described workaholic, he was the youngest elected lieutenant governor in the country when he first won the No. 2 spot in 2002 at age 33.

Before his 2006 re-election, he shattered his heel when the single-engine plane he was piloting ran into power lines, crashed and caught fire. Bauer's office said the maintenance company that overhauled the engine botched the job. Court records show that a federal administrative law judge in June fined the company for returning the plane with incorrect bolts.

During the campaign, it was also disclosed that Bauer had been stopped for speeding twice, but not ticketed, even though in one instance he was going 101 mph in a 70 mph zone. He said he didn't realize how fast he was going and never asked for preferential treatment.

Bauer twice ran on a separate ticket from Sanford and the two have never been chums. In 2006, Sanford's now-estranged wife, Jenny, supported Bauer's primary opponent.

Bauer almost ascended to the top office last summer, after Sanford disappeared from the state for five days to be with his mistress. But the Legislature stopped short of impeachment.

Politicians who had gubernatorial ambitions of their own, or were backing other candidates, knew that replacing Sanford with Bauer would have given the lieutenant governor a year-and-a-half tryout for the job and the benefit of running as an incumbent.

At least three other Republicans and five Democrats have said they are running for governor.

Neal Thigpen, a political scientist at Francis Marion University, said Bauer tends to speak so fast and enthusiastically ("It's almost like a Gatling gun") that he sometimes "gets his mouth in place quicker than his head." Thigpen said the lieutenant governor's latest remarks could hurt him in the general election in the fall by allowing Democrats to portray him as "insensitive and downright cruel."

But as for the June Republican primary, "don't count him out. The kid's got a fanatical following," Thigpen said. "They're going to forgive him almost anything and stick to him like glue."

Similarly, Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon said Bauer's words "came out as condescending and insulting," but his overall message about government dependency and personal responsibility will appeal to his evangelical Republican base.

State GOP Chairwoman Karen Floyd, who is not taking sides in the race for the nomination, said the flap should be a lesson to everyone to "choose our words more carefully."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lt_gov_don_t_help_the_poor

[CCTAU]

Why is it wrong to speak the truth?

[Thrilla]

Why is it wrong to speak the truth?

According to the Dims...it hurts peoples feelings, so it must be wrong.

[Tarheel]

I  when I saw this article.  The man has a valid point about this self-perpetuating cycle that will never end as long as folks are receiving handouts.  He probably won't be elected, but at least he can balance out the extreme leftism that South Carolina can be known for.
...

That really is an appalling metaphor but the point is valid with regards to FedGov politicians creating their own perpetual voting block of welfare recipients.  I am reminded of a famous quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville which I will paraphrase: A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It only exists until the people discovers they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits. 

I should point out that our treasury is empty; we're living off of the largess of the Chi-comms.  That is fucking sick irony.

[GarMan]

According to the Dims...it hurts peoples feelings, so it must be wrong.

Political correctness... 

Calling them stray animals may seem a little extreme to some.  I prefer to call them deadbeats and leeches.

[DnATL]

Now where's Bob Barker?

[AUTailgatingRules]

I've always wondered why we can't force those on the government dole, that are able bodied, to at least pick up trash on the side of the road or perform some sort of public need in order to "pick up a check" from the government.

I'm tired of paying people to sit on their lazy asses, mass produce dependent children, and leach off my tax dollars

[CCTAU]

I've always wondered why we can't force those on the government dole, that are able bodied, to at least pick up trash on the side of the road or perform some sort of public need in order to "pick up a check" from the government.

I'm tired of paying people to sit on their lazy asses, mass produce dependent children, and leach off my tax dollars

That might be humiliating to them. And they have a right to feel and have everything you have.

[ggraf71]

I've always wondered why we can't force those on the government dole, that are able bodied, to at least pick up trash on the side of the road or perform some sort of public need in order to "pick up a check" from the government.

I'm tired of paying people to sit on their lazy asses, mass produce dependent children, and leach off my tax dollars

I think this is an awesome idea. Since half of them are on the phone nonstop anyway, they should set up a call center wherein all welfare recipients must work in order to recieve "dey check" each month. This would provide labor for understaffed nonprofit organizations such as the Red Cross. They could be operators to either set up appointments or cold call for donations.

They would be required to keep up a certain percentage of positive feedback from those called in order to recieve the welfare assistance.

[bottomfeeder]

I've always wondered why we can't force those on the government dole, that are able bodied, to at least pick up trash on the side of the road or perform some sort of public need in order to "pick up a check" from the government.

I'm tired of paying people to sit on their lazy asses, mass produce dependent children, and leach off my tax dollars

To me, people who work for government and the IRS are no different than those people on welfare.