Why are Republicans so cruel to the poor? Paul Ryans profound hypocrisy stands for a deeper problem

[workinclasszero]

Why are Republicans so cruel to the poor? Paul Ryan’s profound hypocrisy stands for a deeper problem
Paul Ryan has dreamed of slashing Medicaid since his keg-party days — and that blithe hostility is widespread
Chauncey DeVega Thursday, Mar 23, 2017 04:00 AM CST

Republican Paul Ryan, like most other members of the United States Congress, is a millionaire.

Christa Patton is 68 years old. She is frail and no longer able to leave her home. She lives on a fixed income. Patton told Van Jones on a recent episode of his CNN show “The Messy Truth” that she would not be able to eat without the Meals on Wheels program.

Paul Ryan is the speaker of the United States House of Representatives. By his own account, in college he used to hang out with his friends and drink beer while sharing his dreams of cutting Medicaid. When Ryan was 15 years old, his father died from a heart attack caused by alcoholism. Ryan and his family then received his father’s Social Security survivor’s benefits. Ryan used that money to attend college. This was not the only money that Paul Ryan received from federal government. His family built its wealth from receiving government contracts.

Like his idol Ayn Rand (who argued against the very idea of government and the commons yet received social security and Medicare). Paul Ryan has combined meanness, cruelty and callousness towards the weak and the vulnerable with gross and unapologetic hypocrisy.

Republicans like Ryan — along with the millionaires and billionaires who comprise Donald Trump’s Cabinet and inner circle — literally want to take food, shelter and health care away from poor people like Christa Patton. Today’s Republicans view these Americans as useless eaters to be disposed of by means both passive and active.

It is normal to feel aghast at and disgusted by the Republican Party’s war on the poor. The more challenging and perhaps even more disturbing task is to ask why today’s conservatives feel such antipathy, disregard and hostility towards poor and other vulnerable Americans. Certainly greed and a slavish devotion to a revanchist right-wing ideology are part of the answer. But they may not be sufficient


http://www.salon.com/2017/03/23/why-are-republicans-so-cruel-to-the-poor-paul-ryans-profound-hypocrisy-stands-for-a-deeper-problem/

[Corgigal]

1. Because they don't fear them.

You would think, if you've read any history from anywhere, that this may be dangerous. Guess not, so keep your head ducked cause the rich have to understand again, that gated communities isn't enough to protect you.
The faster people understand that we live in this same place and time. The better we all are, including them. This is the stuff Putin has nightmares over. He's been stealing from the average person for too long. Since the kleptocracy got all of Russian funds, they are on the way to steal ours.

[RKP5637]

3. There are way more of us than them!!!!! Sometimes the balance has to be reset. If millions would

wake the F up and vote, that balance could be achieved, but they let the republicans take over the political system.

[workinclasszero]

5. Why do the common people keep electing these monsters that promise to kill them?

The republicans don't fear the people because they keep electing them!

[RKP5637]

7. It would make an interesting psychological study ... probably already done. I often think it's

a combination of the Stockholm Syndrome and Survival of the Fittest, plus Authoritarianism. It is a primordial instinct, greater in some individuals IMO, of course related to the studies on increased right amygdala size ... in short, some might be so predisposed to fear and hence the republican rhetoric they can not help themselves. That, is a frightening scenario, because no matter how logical discussions might be, they well might be incapable of changing their minds. ... The Lemmings over the cliff scenario.

[workinclasszero]

18. I think its tribalism reinforced 24/7 by hate radio/fox and many former Christian churches

Racism is at the bottom of it I think.

[RKP5637]

19. Yes, definitely agree! Racism is the driving force, the glue that holds it together, hence

also as you say, tribalism reinforced 24/7, etc. There are huge profits in spewing hatred 7x24. I often wonder how we will get out of this downward spiral.

[workinclasszero]

22. I really don't know anymore what it will take to wake up America

WW3? A nuclear holocaust? Another great depression?

A rich 1%er that is famous for fucking over the little guy convinced millions of Americans that he would help them and be their champion.

They bought it hook line and sinker. Just like Rayguns, just like Bush its groundhog day for America...again...it never ends!

And now Trump and the republicans begin the vicious assault against the very people that elected them!

Again!!!

[RKP5637]

25. It might take a societal collapse to wake people up they have become so dumbed-down,

but it's hard to tell WTF we would end up with. Most civilizations eventually collapse/change drastically, nothing lasts forever. Too bad education of the masses is so woefully lacking, they are brain washed so severely. ... and so many people are so severely prejudiced about so many things.

[Mariana]

17. I think it's mostly due to religion. nt.

[RKP5637]

20. Religion is often so absolutely hateful with cult behavior IMO. n/t

[alterfurz]

23. Lyin' Ryan is a self-professed Randian Satanist

[meow2u3]

24. I prefer to call Lyin' Ryan a crypto-Satanist

...because he hides his Satanism behind a twisted, terroristic interpretation of Catholic social teachings--which actually reads like Satanic (anti)social teachings.

All he needs to do is start attending black masses instead of real Masses so as not to be a hyprocrite.

[AtheistCrusader]

36. What's sad is, you don't even know anything about Satanists.

Paul Ryan would be a better human if he was a practicing Satanist.

Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires! Real leaders are determined by their actions and accomplishments, not their titles, and real power and responsibility should be given to those who can wield it, not to those who simply demand it.

[beam me up scottie]

35. Um, no. Ryan is a Catholic, not a Satanist.

Being a fan of Rand doesn't make him a Satanist and it certainly doesn't prove he's not a Christian.

As one of the most prominent Catholics in Washington, Ryan has faced theological pushback for citing Catholic teaching to explain elements of his economic views. He once quoted Pope Benedict XVI to warn about the national debt, and he has exchanged friendly letters about the budget with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. He gives substantive speeches at Catholic universities, and praises Pope Francis for “breathing new life into the fight against poverty.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/06/07/as-a-catholic-paul-ryan-should-be-ashamed-of-himself-for-endorsing-donald-trump/

Christians cite different parts of the bible to back up their opinions, if you're a liberal you probably prefer to cite the New Testament while conservatives use the Old to justify their political ideology.

That's because Holy books are the Schrödinger's cat of moral guides: they can be used to advocate slavery and honour killings as well as kindness and generosity.

So Christians don't get to disown people like Ryan because they want to pretend their religious affiliation makes them morally superior to non-Christians.

The Satanists I know wouldn't want anything to do with Ryan - but I do know plenty of Christians who agree with his politics.

[AtheistCrusader]

37. And Paul Ryan, typical catholic with unshakeable principles, abandoned Ayn Rand at high speed

during the primary.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2012/0814/Paul-Ryan-does-an-about-face-on-Ayn-Rand

[beam me up scottie]

40. Of course.

It's amazing how people fall all over themselves to criticize a Catholic who once admired Rand even though it's Catholic hospitals that are currently refusing to properly treat women. The Vatican regularly uses hate speech against gay and lesbian parents and trangender people but no - it's the Satanists and atheists who are the bad guys.

Not to mention the Vatican and Catholic hospitals aren't promoting Satanist ideology or atheism - they're promoting 'traditional Christian values'.

And their particular brand of misogyny and homophobia isn't strictly limited to Catholicism either, on the contrary it's accepted and taught to millions of Christians all over the world.

[RKP5637]

2. I've often said there is a sadistic streak in many republicans. It just makes them feel damn good

to watch others suffer and even more so if they've been able to impose that suffering and anguish. Also, their solution is to kill off people through healthcare and poverty. ... but none want to talk to that ... but that is the bottom line of what could happen, millions dead! The writing is on the wall, but many cover their eyes.

[bdamomma]

4. they are conducting their own

kind of ethic cleansing, but those billionaires and millionaires are not safe either.....I am not saying anymore.

[oberliner]

9. Not all rich people are nasty Republicans

Some are actually very liberal and very generous and kind.

[RKP5637]

21. Yes, that is definitely quite true! n/t

[crazycatlady]

6. I don't use this term lightly

But the correct term is sociopath.

[RKP5637]

8. Yes! n/t

[dalton99a]

15. It's a basic requirement for GOP membership

[Bengus81]

10. It always comes down to buckets of CASH.....

The more you GUT programs to help those who truly need it the more CASH the wealthy can stick in their pockets. Look no furthur than DUMPING the ACA.

HUGE tax cuts for the wealthy if ACA is repealed and that's just a precursor to the INSANE tax cuts Trump wants to give himself and his ilk later in the so called "Tax reform bill". Watch what those in the middle class get--a couple of bucks a week....maybe.

Just like when Bush.idiot did his big tax cut the Dems had a muffler and a Lexus in a news conference. That muffler was what the middle class could buy in a year with a Bush tax cut and a new Lexus for the wealthy.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

11. I think it's more interesting how many Americans go along with it...

and my conjecture is that many of those Americans believe what they WANT to believe.

Acting on faith, many of them like to believe in God and a heavenly afterlife. So much so, that they convince themselves it's true. To be honest, I'd LIKE to believe it too because I enjoy my consciousness as much as the next person, but I'd rather not perform a kind of self-brainwashing on myself to reduce anxiety about it.

Believing that people control their own economic outcomes in life, with little luck involved, is another fantasy that I don't care to entertain in light of contrary evidence. I can understand how some people might consider the "self determination" outlook to be the optimistic one, but if they thoroughly convince themselves that it's true, they might also look for scapegoats when it doesn't pan out for them. (I'm white, and I believe that my fellow whites have been far more willing to accept the self determination myth more readily than many minorities.)

[hatrack]

12. Same old prosperity gospel/Calvinistic bullshit that's poisoned this country from the get-go

If you're poor, you're unworthy, obviously. God decided to smite you for your evil ways/liberalism/libertine lifestyle/failure to conform/lack of obedience.

If so, then you're worthy of being fucked over by those whom God has favored - it's divinely ordained - and you probably don't vote, anyway.

Go back a little further in time and it's "Thag, you have many cattle! Gormok the Mighty holds you high in His favor!!"

[milestogo]

14. Calvinism is more often interpreted as austerity.

The prosperity gospel is a relatively new perversion of Christianity.

[Equinox Moon]

13. predator and prey

[RKP5637]

26. Yep, spot on. n/t

[Equinox Moon]

43. I have been meaning to ask someone, you got picked.

What is "n/t" ?

Thanks!

[RKP5637]

45. It just means "no text" other than the subject line, no text in the body of the post.

It's just a courtesy so if someone is looking at a bunch of headlines/subject lines, they will know there is no text in the body of the message and it was just a comment, so they won't bother taking time looking in the body of the post for more text.

[Equinox Moon]

46. Thanks!

Now I know. It must have come out of the journalism world.

[Squinch]

16. Used to be if you were an able bodied white man, it was very unlikely that you would be

poor. You had no competition from women or people of color for jobs that allowed a decent life.

Used to be if you were an able bodied white man, you had no understanding of what it meant to lack opportunity. You thought everyone had it the same as you. White men were much less susceptible to the ills that often come with despair - like addiction - because financially, at least, they were much less likely to be in a desperate situation. When they saw those ills in other segments of society it reinforced their belief that they were somehow more sturdy, more able, better, than those other segments.

All this allowed them to form a belief system in which they were superior and those who they saw around them were lesser beings, needing to be toughened up, undeserving of resources, worthy of being ignored.

Nowadays, though they have more opportunity than women and people of color, they are not the only ones that have opportunity. They have competition. They often do find themselves unable to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." And we are seeing them fall prey to all those things they used to have a much better immunity to, like addiction, poverty and despair.

Perhaps in a generation, they will develop some ethics with respect to the people they have treated so badly up till now.

[tazkcmo]

27. so not just GOPee-ers

All white men. Got it.

[Squinch]

39. Did only Republicans benefit from the lack of competition from women and people of color?

Or did Democratic men benefit also?

And who is the most loyal demographic in the Republican base? White men.

[tazkcmo]

41. Right. So, all white men. Got it.

[Squinch]

42. Poor you. Facts are so insulting.

[beachbum bob]

28. they view those who aren't rich to be leeches on society and failures and they should not be given

a free lunch....


of course this attitude doesn't reconcile why wealthy and businesses are given handouts at the expense of the taxpayer....

[workinclasszero]

30. Yes republicans are all for socialism

for the 1%.

Everyone else can go to hell though.

[beachbum bob]

31. exactly right...socialize the losses and privatize the profits...always

so the 1% and corporations never have to pay for their fair share of the cost to society or to our country. Assholes like trump who had years of no taxes going to federal govt but still had the benefit of out laws and protections and our military....not paying a penny to any soldier's paycheck or a veterans healthcare....

they are the definition of PIGS...trump and his kind

[workinclasszero]

32. Yes indeed

That's the shell game alright.

[meow2u3]

33. They want to take everything for themselves

and they call us the leeches? The 1% are the damn leeches!!

[raccoon]

29. When I was a kid, my father died from a heart attack caused by alcoholism. My sibs and I

then received our father’s Social Security survivor’s benefits. We used that money to attend college.

Strangely, cutting Medicaid never entered my mind. No, I was going to save the world. LOL.

[Marthe48]

34. kill off millions

give permission for a society that hunts people to kill off millions more. Right now, we are killing each other a few at a time, but the way things are going, there are going to be more mass murders on American soil, not less. Results: the 1% are vastly entertained from their barricaded towers and there are way fewer humans to share what is left of resources.

[coco22]

38. The only thing you have to say to a lot of these people is..

"LIBERAL" and they get excited when most of them are more liberal than the people who they profess to hate. In other words they hate themselves.

[ailsagirl]

44. Because they think those who are sick or poor or need any kind of aid are freeloaders...

out to bankrupt the country. That they don't deserve to survive. In other words, IT'S THEIR FAULT they're in dire straits and none of them should be given handouts.

At least, that's the impression I got after reading one of George Lakoff's books about the repukes.

[Orsino]

47. They merely reflect the cruelty of their donors/owners.

The ones who have presided over a huge transfer of wealth away for the poor and middle classes.

It's not possible to win national office as a benevolent Republican. If these exist at all, they are unfunded.