MO GOP rep compares Medicaid recipients to zoo animals

[proud2BlibKansan]

Buried in a CBS St. Louis story on the local impact of the Federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is a rather bizarre quote from Representative Paul Fitzwater, a Republican from Potosi, which is coming under fire.

Fitzwater was being interviewed about a study which found that 525,000 Missourians will be eligible for healthcare premium tax credits when some of the biggest provisions included in the Affordable Care Act go into effect in January 2014. The article prefaces his comments by saying that Fitzwater is not opposed to tax credits, but thinks that Obamacare as a whole is bad for the country.

And then he made a little analogy which...he might want to clarify.

Fitzwater particularly opposes the expansion of Medicaid as laid out in the federal law, saying it ought to be reformed rather than expanded. Then he gave this little gem of a quote:

Fitzwater said Americans can become too dependent on government funds.
"When you go to the zoo, there's a sign that says please don't feed the animals," Fitzwater said. "There's a reason, because they keep coming back."

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2013/04/paul_fitzwater_health_care_zoo_animals_comment.php

[HockeyMom]

1. Developmentally Disabled People,

who are totally dependent on Medicaid for the basic necessities of life, are not zoo animals, and neither are the people who care for them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Well we know that.

But we aren't stupid hateful rethuglicans.

[DonB]

3. There is tremendous justication

in labeling these sorry excuses for human beings as CONservatives, rethugliCONs, teabaggers, and libercarelessians and that justification is inherent in their inbred trait of ragism.

1. Ragism - as defined in the Urban Dictionary - LINK

Definition
The vitriolic anger, hate, and rage expressed by CONservatives, rethugliCONs, teabaggers, and libercarelessians towards any progressive, liberal, or moderate person, idea, or policy initiative, especially if elected, to office, expressed in the "liberal" media, or enacted into law. . . . . . .

Example
eric erickson, an ex CNN right wing blowhard and now a Faux Noise right wing blowhard, boted as his last act of CNN commentary that the GOP has become known for it's ragism towards gun safety, women's rights, immigrants, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, President Obama, birth control, abortion, Lilly Ledbetter, Susan Rice, Obamacare, Benghazi, the Violence Against Women Act, public education, voting rights, health care, victims of rape, Planned Parenthood, blacks, Latinos, unemployment compensation, food stamps, ACORN, the 47%, liberals, workers, unions, science, teachers, the poor, sex education, green energy, climate change, . . . . . .

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. +1

[nobodyspecial]

5. Talk about stupidity

The logic doesn't even hold. The signs are not to keep the zoo animals from coming back (They are in pens. How would that even work?) Visitors are asked not to feed the animals because they are on specific, calorie-controlled diets.

I am so sick of them referring to poor people as animals. Talk about dehumanizing. But I guess that makes it easier when you deny them life necessities.