Yesterday, Mitt Romney caused a stir when he made the following remarks about the poor during an interview with CNN : “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich…. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.” Following this comment, CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien prodded Romney to clarify his remarks. “We will hear from the Democrat party, the plight of the poor…. You can focus on the very poor, that’s not my focus…. The middle income Americans, they’re the folks that are really struggling right now and they need someone that can help get this economy going for them.” The media, Democrats, and many Republicans are painting him as out-of-touch, while expressing their concern that he is apathetic to the plight of the poor. However, they are missing the point. The real outrage is not that he doesn’t want to do more for the poor; it’s that he thinks they are taken care of with the welfare state. Worse, he believes that the welfare state is, more or less, functioning properly. Fear not, ‘any minor glitches would be repaired by Mr. Fix It. It is precisely this sentiment that makes Romney disqualified for the Republican nomination. Romney doesn’t believe that the welfare system is fundamentally flawed; that the welfare state is the consummate enemy of the poor; that unlimited welfare is what perpetuates and exacerbates poverty. He thinks it is working relatively fine, albeit in need of some minor tweaks here and there. As Senator DeMint noted , this could have been a teachable moment – a moment for Romney to shine. He could have gone on offense by explaining how it is these very welfare programs that have failed to deracinate poverty, even though they have been in place for decades. He could have shown how the only thing that is stimulated by these programs is the dependency of the program itself. $30 billion spent on food stamps gives rise to $60 billion, which now gives rise to $80 billion. He could have defended the inherent compassion of conservative free-market policies in weaning people off these programs and creating upward mobility. As conservatives, we care deeply about the poor. Then again, we care for everyone equally. We don’t recognize a class system – one that Romney has propagated incessantly throughout the campaign. It is that conviction that burns in the heart of every conservative who desires to fundamentally overhaul the welfare state and the cycle of dependency and poverty. We care immensely about the millions of poor who are condemned to a life of failure because they are trapped in the public education system perpetuated by teachers’ unions and the Democrats. We cry out for those who cannot afford healthcare because the liberals have destroyed the free market. We empathize with those who can no longer afford food, gas, and utilities because liberals have artificially inflated the prices with government interventions. We sympathize with those who can’t find jobs that fit their skill set because liberal environmentalists have eliminated their jobs. As conservatives, we are not happy to merely be efficient stewards of Medicaid, LIHEAP, Food Stamps, Unemployment, and TANF to deal with the aforementioned problems. We seek to solve those problems by offering an equal opportunity for everyone to earn a living with dignity; not by offering capricious politicians the opportunity to grow dependency, and by extension, their own power. Only one who is insouciant towards the plight of the poor – whether Republican or Democrat – can feel content with the core structure of the current welfare/entitlement state. Such a person is satisfied with trite incremental tinkering of the system. Mitt Romney personifies that caricature. That is why his solution to poverty it to manage the welfare state…and raise the minimum wage requirement . Is this the man we want as our spokesperson during an election over the economy? Cross-posted from The Madison Project
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The Real Problem With Romney’s Comments
Today is January 12th. On this day in 1998, nineteen European countries signed an agreement banning human cloning. On this day in 1998, nineteen European countries signed an agreement banning human cloning. On this day in 1998, nineteen European countries signed an agreement banning human cloning. .. I think maybe it didn’t take. Also, Happy National Marzipan Day ! Ich möchte Marzipan essen. LIIINKSSS!!!! Stay tuned for the word of the day after the links! Consider this an OPEN THREAD . EPA Fines Companies Because They Didn’t Use A Fuel That Doesn’t Exist | Human Events “The Orwellian nightmare of running a business in the shadow of the Obama Administration is nicely captured in this story from the New York Times, which explains why motor fuel companies are about to be fined $6.8 million for failure to use a biofuel that does not exist” Huntsman’s desperate bid for relevancy | Hot Air “I don’t begrudge Huntsman’s father his support for his son; it’s rather touching. But perhaps his son might spare his father a few million dollars and face the reality that there was no path to the nomination for Huntsman without an upset win in New Hampshire. Huntsman’s money couldn’t pull that off on Tuesday, or even come close.” The Sacred Narrative: Behold, the Sanity of the Center-Left | PJM “The mainstream media has taken on the role of mythmaker. They repeatedly color events in such a way that paints the liberals as logical and conservatives as extreme. No matter how far left the Democratic Party moves or how outrageous their rhetoric becomes, they will remain the gods of reason and commonsense.” And finally, inexplicably, this is a thing (video): “ Tim Tebow’s Fire “ Today’s Wordsmith.org Word of the Day (clone related even!!) autologous (ah-TOL-uh-guhs): adjective – Involving a situation in which the donor and the recipient (of blood, skin, bone, etc.) are the same person.
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Daily Links – January 12, 2012
Via the Transom , Nick Schulz in the USA Today argues that the recall elections for Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin are more important than the 2012 Presidential elections. The claim that “this presidential election is the most important election ever” is an enduring political cliché, and it’s almost always wrong. Consider this year. It’s likely the 2012 race for the White House won’t even be the most important contest of this year, much less of all time. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is currently the target of a recall effort spearheaded by national public employee unions. If his opponents get enough signatures by Jan. 17, Wisconsin will hold a gubernatorial election this summer. The outcome is crucial to the future of the country. * * * Here’s why the stakes in Wisconsin are so high. Public employee unions understand that the legitimacy of collective bargaining privileges is now in question, as cash-strapped states struggle under the burden of a costly public sector. If they can knock off Walker, they send a powerful signal to other reform-oriented governors not to target collective bargaining. Read, as they say, the whole thing. The reality is that Scott Walker has already passed more significant reforms in a hostile state in one year than most of the current GOP primary field combined. His bold efforts have helped to balance the state budget, end voting corruption, and keep numerous Wisconsin counties and cities fiscally sound. No one in the current field can claim to have accomplished these things in a liberal state during the middle of this recession. While we all analyze, nitpick, prop up and tear down guys like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum, the liberals are taking the opportunity to go to war against someone who has actually shown an ability to get a state’s fiscal house in order during the current economic wreck. I’d happily vote for him right now over any other candidate on the ballot, but liberals and union thugs are doing everything in their power and pulling out every dirty trick in the book to cut his tenure short, because their own place at the government trough is more important to them than the fiscal health of the country. We’ll have more as the year goes on about how you can help get involved to beat back the union thugs and stand with Scott Walker. Just remember that the Presidential election isn’t the only one going on this year.
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The Most Important Election This Year
Dave Weigel. Think about it. If Ron Paul was suffering and taking damage from the stories about his old newsletters, what sort of voters would abandon him? Who’d be offended by signed editorials about fleet-footed blacks and skeezy gay men?… See the original post here: Hilarious: Democrats and Liberals, Who Are Of Course Definitionally Non-Racist, Are Sticking With Ron Paul’s Racist Ass
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Hilarious: Democrats and Liberals, Who Are Of Course Definitionally Non-Racist, Are Sticking With Ron Paul’s Racist Ass
CNN: ” Obama, Dems drop millionaire surtax to pay for payroll tax cut ” Wall Street Journal: ” Regulation for Dummies ” Roll Call: ” Occupy, Liberals Can’t Get Together ”
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The Daily Grind: Regulation for Dummies
