(Source: johannahsamurai)
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THE GOP MANTRA: DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO
★ Marco Rubio benefited from using Pell Grants for his education.
★ Paul Ryan received federal assistance from Social Security survivor’s benefits after the death of his father.
★ Ayn Rand (the role model for the GOP) also spent her entire life talking about “virtuous makers” and “lazy takers” and derided poor people. But in the end she too took Federal money from the government.
I honestly think people like Rep. Ryan and Sen. Rubio are counting on the fact that a lot of people who receive government help won’t realize the help they’re getting comes from the government. This is a political party that thrives on ignorance, after all.
I mean, a lot of people benefit from Pell grants and student loans to get through college (hell, they were the only reason I was able to go). A lot of people receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. A lot of people pay lower tax rates due to subsidies and deductions.
But how many of them truly realize this is all one form or another of government assistance? If the GOP’s rhetoric is any indication, not many of them.
I readily admit I’ve received government assistance over the years; until I turned 23, I had health insurance through TRICARE, since my father served in the Air Force. I paid for college with Pell grants and subsidized loans. On more than one occasion, I benefited from a stimulus program that led to a lower tax bill (or a larger refund)
And now, because of the Affordable Care Act, I have private health insurance for the first time in my adult life. The thing is, I realize the government has helped me along the way, and I know it’s done the same for other people in various aspects of their lives.
To me, it boils down to messaging; the GOP keeps beating the “government-is-bad!” drum because it peddles in hypotheticals and generalities. If you get specific with someone about the things government does, suddenly it might not sound quite so bad.
At which point, a Republican talking point dies. And the way I hear it, every time a Republican talking point dies, an angel gets its wings. So it’s up to us to keep debunking the likes of Ryan and Rubio until they have to finally abandon their nonsense for good.
Every Republican says the same thing: “Government help is bad, except for the kinds of government programs that have helped me. The programs that directly benefit me are worth saving, but the shit that benefits all of these people that I don’t even know are obviously worthless and need to be cut.” Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy.
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Africa is not poor. Africa is being looted.
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