Scott Walker and His Welfare Queens

We have Scott Walker's idol, Ronald Reagan, to thank for the term "Welfare Queen." He offered a depiction of a woman who was taking advantage of the system to malign an entire subset of society. All of the poor who received aid were condemned to a hypothetical representative that would've been impossible for anyone to duplicate. The woman Reagan cited did exist, but she was not the typical welfare recipient. She was an actual con artist. Her entire scheme was to get over on anyone in any way she could. She took advantage of many people and many government agencies.

While campaigning for the presidency, Reagan failed to mention all of the other government agencies she managed to take advantage of. Why would he not mention the rest? Because he was a dick. Because he didn't need her for that. He only needed a means to vilify the poor and create a narrative that would have Americans thinking twice about their tax dollars going to help them. The funny thing, which happens to not be funny at all, is that, as with all Republican approaches to societal issues, the idea of fixing a broken system that could be taken advantage of was not the issue. He did not talk about how to make the system more productive in its means of caring for the nations poor. The issue was to condemn those who needed it. And, for the Regressive Party, this has never changed.

Earlier this year, Kansas passed a law saying that welfare recipients cannot spend their money on cruise ships. Well holy shit! That must happen all of the time, right? I mean, either that or Kansas has gone so far out of its way to cure all of its ills that it is only left to mend the problem of assistance dollars being spent in the Caribbean. The focus of this new bill was meant to limit the amount a recipient can spend in one day to $25. This, obviously, makes it quite hard to pay rent and utilities. But I will explain what it does that is not so obvious. When I was on welfare, I didn't have a car most of the time. I had to take a bus wherever I went. Once a month I took a cab to get my groceries. I could hardly bring them all home on the bus, and a cab ride was not free. For the bulk of the time I was receiving aid, my daughter was in diapers. They are not cheap and (sorry Bubba) my baby girl had a very sensitive bottom so we had to buy only a specific (expensive) brand or she would have a terrible rash. With this new proposal, we would have to take a cab to the grocery store several times a month to do our shopping as you simply cannot, even with coupons and a wonderful sale, get a months worth of diapers with $25 along with everything else one needs to feed their family. And I had a family of two. I don't even want to try to imagine how many trips it would take to get the necessities for a family of five or six.

Honestly! Who believes this shit?

This year Maine, Missouri and dear Scott Walker's state of Wisconsin have been working on laws demanding that food stamps cannot be used to buy junk food or expensive items, like steak and lobster. Of course, this is all rhetoric in an attempt to get on the news to remind their lowly base that they need to hate the poor and completely ignore what other items their 'representatives' have on the agenda. The legislators know full well that they would never be able to maintain this even if they manage to pass these bills. First they would have to define junk food. Then they would have to deal with the lawsuits from companies who wanted to contend that their food should not be classified as unhealthy with so many studies defining subjectivities. Then they would have to back off because they were only doing it to rile up morons, anyway.

Lets just pretend that they were able to limit what a family can spend their food allowances on, okay? So we, my daughter and I, were a normal American family. Regardless of how much money we contributed to stimulating the economy, we were a normal, yet small, family. Every year on Audrey's birthday she would get to pick whatever she wanted for dinner. So if my child wanted me to make her a steak that would be unacceptable? And if I wanted to make her a birthday cake, which would be deemed junk food, that should not be allowed? And every month when my period comes I am not allowed to have a candy bar? I dare any legislator to come to my house when I'm on my period and tell me I can't have chocolate. They will leave fearing for their life. I'm pretty sure that's not even an exaggeration. Are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness only available to those who can afford it? Shit!

Actual Welfare Queen and my Princess :)

This myth created by Reagan, and perpetuated by Scott Walker and the Republicans, of what it is like to live on welfare is ridiculous. You do not get enough money to go on a cruise. You do not get enough food stamps to buy expensive (or healthy) food items. No one is having a wonderful life from the benefits this assistance offers them. It creates so many limitations that it is very hard to get off of welfare, too. With maybe $600 coming in a month you would be hard pressed to save anything. But if you could find a way to do it, you are not allowed. If you have money set aside, you do not need assistance. But if you do not set money aside, there is no way to get off of assistance without something pretty miraculous happening. Its an ugly circle. Americans who are desperate to condemn others to inflate their own pathetic lives seem unwilling to realize that there really are not enough bootstraps to go around.

Walker was so desperate to condemn those on welfare to drug testing that last year he said he would take it all the way to "a fight with the federal government and in court." Right. So the testing has already proven to be a profound waste of tax payer dollars in other states and now he thinks it is a justifiable use of tax dollars to pay for a lawsuit? This is the same man whose new budget just offered $250 million to millionaires and billionaires. It is curious that those who so excitedly support Scott and his plans are so easily distracted by his games. Wait. No. It isn't, is it? They have been playing the same game since Reagan invented it and designed the rules: Create distractions where the lowest individuals can feel better about themselves by giving them someone to malign and blame for their lot in life so they don't notice that on the other side they are literally giving away the money that could be used to create jobs in these communities to help those in need to the richest among us and their corporations. It's brilliant. Because their base are so stupid.

In a capitalist society that is woefully unbalanced, some aspect of that society will have to be weakened by that imbalance. The poor are those to suffer. Always. The Supreme Court has determined, through its Citizens United ruling, that campaign funding can be limitless and secretive, allowing the wealthiest Americans and corporations to control the message to the voters, and thus those who are elected. The poor can't afford a lobby, let alone the capacity to purchase their very own Congress.

Today the right has managed to convince its followers that Jesus Christ, himself, would condemn those who need assistance in caring for their families. That contention has even been made in a Congressional hearing on food stamps while (mis)quoting a passage from Thessalonians. Well, if St. Ronnie wasn't enough to convince them, Jesus certainly should be. How desperate can one person be for a scapegoat to allow the Bible to be rewritten to justify not helping the poor?

While you are being asked to hate the poor and imagine them sitting around having a lavish lifestyle, ask yourself how likely that really is. Realize, first, that many receiving aid are actually working. But they don't make enough money on their minimum wage job (the wage your representatives would like to eliminate altogether) to come anywhere near the poverty line. Ask yourself about the people you know who have fallen on hard times and needed assistance. Why do you allow them a pass? You don't know every family in America receiving aid. And you don't know what brought them to this place. No one aspires to end up on welfare. And no one wants to imagine continuing to have to give their children the lives welfare affords them.

Why not take a good ten minutes out of your desperate need to hold contempt for everyone you have been told to hate and quietly reflect as a human being why the politicians you support are asking you to hate the group who cost America a third of the amount lost annually by tax breaks offered to those who are meant to be stimulating our economy? And realize, you cannot condemn this economy that you attribute as a failure of President Obama, but then state that the economy is doing so well as to warrant tax breaks to those who are stimulating it so successfully.

Also, quietly ask yourself about the necessity of drug testing those receiving aid beyond the obvious profound waste of those taxpayer dollars you are always so mindful about. The basic tenet of this incredible belief system is that the poor should not be receiving federal dollars if those dollars are being used to buy drugs instead of feed their families. So the obvious first question is, "So the children won't get fed?" Which begs the question, "Wait. What is our objective?" If the answer to the first question is, "Fuck the children." Then the only response is, "Hello, we are asking ourselves the wrong question!" Kindly at least pretend to give a shit about someone other than yourselves and understand that those who are in need of aid are not your enemy. They did not create the system that left Americans with shitty wages and ever decreasing benefits. These are the people who have fallen through the cracks that your elected officials have created and have no intention of repairing. You helped create it. By condemning those with no power to fix the problem you are only enabling those who have created and are perpetuating the problem. That means YOU are the problem. Scott Walker is only the latest to join the circus of clowns who want to entertain and distract you instead of lead us all to a positive future.

Instead of criticizing those who have no means of defending themselves, maybe go demonize the politicians who think so little of your intelligence and capacity for critical thought that they asked you to get riled up about this in the first place. You are supporting those whose agenda is to only benefit the corporations who pay for their elections. They don't care about those of you who actually elect them. Wake up! When these corporations end up with the policies they want (those that will deregulate the means by which they run their corporations, are taxed and are responsible to their employees), Americans will be much poorer. Immediately. That includes you. Obviously none of you are well off (or well educated). You will be screwed. And the safety nets you rallied so hard to get rid of will be gone. And you will need them. And won't that just suck?

The Kochs Are Feeling the Bern!

The Koch Brothers kicked off 2015 making an $889 million bet with Americans that they could buy their very own government in 2016. Now, merely six months later, it sounds as if Americans are sending back a resounding, "Nu'huh..."

I have marveled repeatedly at their capacity to build a backward political movement based solely on hate. I feared that enough people wouldn't realize what was going on in time to stop them. Every election cycle they have been able to add to their arsenal of assholes and it seemed almost impossible to get things turned around after they had such a triumph last fall adding both a leader for 47 traitors and a train wreck inside a pair of Wonder Bread bags to Congress along with about a dozen others who promised to do whatever the Koch Brothers asked.

It has really seemed to all be falling into place for them. I am sure there is a sense of security to go with their sense of accomplishment which may have hindered their capacity to see some of the flaws in their plan. Of course, the one that is the most fun for me is their belief that everyone can be bought. The Kochs created the platform and they promoted those who would be beholden to their money and do whatever they were told to ensure future elections. Poor people are so easy, huh? But they forgot something about those they were promoting. Not only are they ignorant, they are so ignorant that it doesn't occur to them that they are not really qualified to run for office. If you couple that ignorance with the arrogance that tells you a run for office would be a great idea, its not a big leap to decide that you should definitely be President of these United States. Brilliant! And now we have at least 14,860 of them competing for the Regressive Party primaries. Whoops.

Their next oversight was in the Citizens United case they demanded. In their haste to make absolute the financing of all candidates deemed necessary by the billionaire class, they forgot a single factor in the equation that could screw up the whole thing. You see, it was an imperative that the Regressive Party have the right to financially bury any candidate on the left. Americans are so stupid that the only thing we vote for, apparently, are the people with the most television ads and the swankiest t-shirts. But what if you counted on an electorate falling to your will because of your sole capacity to fund the most ignorant and most arrogant candidate and then an even more ignorant and more arrogant candidate decided that he was going to fund his own campaign?

What could be worse than that if you were a Koch Brother? Well, there is one thing that could be worse. What if this ignorant and arrogant candidate was aligning with the Regressive Party and stealing all of your talking points but lacked the political savvy to realize that those are only the dog whistles used in certain company? What if he didn't realize that he wasn't supposed to actually say those things in front of every international news station for his kick off speech? And what if he was so unfucking-believably arrogant as to never EVER take back a single thing he says and if only hires people for his staff who will completely agree with whatever he wants them to? Well, I imagine, that means you are fucked if you are a Koch Brother. Fortunately I am not. So Donald Trump is just entertainment for me. And it is glorious, I'm not gonna lie.

For those of us who pay attention to politics every year and not just the month prior to the general election, we realize that the hate speech and rhetoric is supposed to be reserved on the right just for selected rallies during the primaries. We know that you don't want the media to cover it and we know that once you make it to next summer you will have to speak to those beyond your base and bring in those who your top candidates and the basest of your base call RINOs (Republican in Name Only) because they are not radical enough. But look what your little accident just did? He just told them all what you really have to say. And he is being dropped by major corporations every day who want to disassociate themselves from his extreme views. Could there be anything worse than that for your RINOs to hear? Well, yes. They could hear reminders of this daily. While getting the daily polling figures to show that Trump is rising in the polls. Daily. Ouch! You always know you can count on the media not to  report to those RINOs about what is going on in the world because they are too busy but entrust their party to nominate the best candidate so they can walk into the polling station, check the Rs and go home. But Trump is just too juicy. They had to report it. You can hardly blame them. I bet your RINOs will have to spend a little more time researching their party now. Shit. It sucks. I'm sure it does.

If Freud were around today I believe he would define four parts of the human psyche with an addition of a super id, which he might just call Trump to avoid any confusion. Trump is presently screaming all of the hateful shit he knows the right like to hear on their radio shows and the Fox cable station with the word 'news' in its title. He lacks the political sophistication to realize when and where the hate is appropriate, however. And he lacks the capacity to humble himself or ever just shut the fuck up so I don't think we will have to worry about his turning off the rhetoric any time soon. I wonder how many high level Regressive Party strategists do facepalms every hour.

Trump campaigning in the same cycle as Bernie Sanders is offering America a profound look at the juxtaposition of two sides which many like to ignore with a quick, "All politicians are the same," or "both parties really want the same thing." Sanders is speaking not only to those who are aware of what the Kochs have done politically, but also those who may not understand exactly what their effects have been but are still pissed about the overall economic catastrophe created by their ideals of austerity and disavowed commitments to America and her citizens.

Beautiful Bernie Sanders is the revelation no one could see coming. No one was supposed to take him seriously. He proudly identifies as a Socialist and that is a word Americans have been conditioned to recognize as a bad word. Again, in true Koch arrogance, they assume all Americans are as ignorant as the teabaggers. Even if someone had heard its negative connotations and is only just becoming politically aware, we all have dictionary apps, or at least Google. The majority of Americans do not learn from memes and could read the definition of Socialist, contrast that with the oligarchy we are obviously heading for and consider that theory a healthy alternative.

Americans are excitedly awakening to the messages of Bernie Sanders. And it's only beginning. It is July 2015. So many people are not even paying attention to what is going on in the political realm  yet. Many are disgusted with the way things are going but are not involved enough to quite put it in words or understand how and why things are the way the are, at present. It is hard to believe that people exist who literally don't want to discuss why women make less than men or why any state in America would be flying an official Confederate flag or why anyone is considering a law to prevent a baker from having to make a cake for a gay wedding, but they exist. With one thoughtful conversation about the futures they want to offer their families, it could be the beginning of a true American revolution toward the left. One conversation at a time.

Because the people who aren't paying attention often do so because they don't have time, the best message we can send them to guarantee their participation is about the economy. About their economy, in particular. The candidates on the right are saying they want to eradicate the IRS. Have that conversation with a rational human being. Feel free to explain they have no proposals on how society will function without the myriad benefits afforded by our present tax structure (the one guaranteed by the Constitution they are so desperate to defend), and be sure to make sure they understand that the only reason this is important is because the billionaires who fund those campaigns (and who generally pay a much smaller tax rate than whomever you're speaking to) would just rather not participate in taxation. Sanders is sincere. He is believable and he speaks as if his audience is peopled with free-thinking human beings.

Forward this and let him see why you are so excited:

Every month his support will grow as he continues to explain the how's and why's about the deteriorating middle class and people see that he actually gives a shit about the environment. America's disaffected voters will continue to be reignited as they realize that Bernie doesn't fumble to find the answer he thinks will appeal to a targeted audience, as he quickly answers every question very matter-of-factly as if he sincerely believes in what he is offering the voters. What a revelation! And his answers just so happen to coincide with most Americans.

I am reminded of the report card the Regressive Party gives itself after every election cycle where they remind themselves that they need to start getting people involved in the party who are women and people of color. It seems like it comes up daily from one pundit or another and I still realize I am shaking my head when they say it every time. Those on the right are literally so far out of touch that they do not realize when they say, "We need to find a way to reach out beyond our base," that intelligent audiences can hear them saying, "We have to find the right words to convince women and minorities that we don't really hate them." Its as if they think we are so stupid as to fall for their rhetoric if phrased properly and fail to notice the laws they try to pass, the laws they refuse to pass, and the awful things they say to make sure their base doesn't feel forgotten.

Bernie Sanders isn't pandering to anyone. He hasn't had to evolve on any of his positions to appeal to anyone. In fact, I bet he has staff are frustrated because he won't take advice on the 'right thing to say' to the media. The glaring difference between our wild card and theirs, however, is truthiness (thanks Colbert - wink). Sanders isn't saying anything new. He isn't trying to build a following by denouncing the majority of the country. He isn't building a following by trying to convince us that we are superior to the 'others.' Bernie Sanders respects his constituents. He wants us to know what is really going on. And he wants us to know that he really knows what is going on. The most amazing part of the whole thing is, he actually has ideas about how to fix what is going on.

Sanders won't find many billionaires to back him. Unlike the CEOs and fat cats comfortably eased into this economy they've demanded, many of Sanders' supporters won't have a lot of money to offer his campaign. However, the beauty of an Internet that can create and perpetuate a political movement solely based on hate is that it can also do the opposite. Bernie has had the largest turnouts by far of any politician of this season. He has had no empty rooms nor has he had to pay actors $50/each to attend a kick off and wear shitty t-shirts. Bernie has not had anyone screaming absurd demands of their chosen presidential candidate to rewrite the Constitution to mirror the Bible, promote discrimination or begging for protection from the Muslim tyrant known in sane circles as President Obama. All of these distinctions will make it easier for a solid and well organized team to inform America about this new candidate they keep not quite hearing about. And they will need to hear about him as soon as possible because hundreds of millions of people takes a long time to contact.

I hope the Koch maids are working overtime scrubbing stained underwear because this shit is getting real.

Hey David and Charles, don't feel too bad. Off of the top of my head I can think of at least 50 legitimate American charities which don't bear your names who could sincerely make positive use of your $889 million. If you want a list I would be glad to fax it to your private secretary's personal assistant's admin. Just let me know.

Kiss kiss.
The Mean Progressive

UPDATE: I leave this post on my website because it is important for the Sanders supporters to realize how excited I was about his campaign. Before I vetted him. I am 100% supportive of Secretary Clinton and am ashamed and disgusted by the negative campaign Sanders has decided to run. I could write a fucking book. 

I found a piece that encapsulates everything I would want to say if I could think straight when I try to write about how furious Sanders makes me. The writer suffers an even more profound verbosity than my own, but please take the time to read it. No thinking person who makes it to the end would support his toxic campaign. Kiss Kiss...

This is where I am now after thoughtful reflection.