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The GOP Plan to Help the Poor Is Only Missing All of Its Details
PHILIP BUMP
Congressional Republicans, fingers to the wind, are ready to do something about poverty and the income gap. Not extending unemployment insurance or raising the minimum wage, probably, but something. TBD. So far, the party hasn't united around much besides "the Democrats are wrong."
The Washington Post outlines the GOP's new focus on the subject, even if there's no clarity on where it's headed. High-profile members of Congress will spend the week unveiling their plans.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (who is probably going to run for president) will give a speech on Wednesday with his plan for curtailing poverty.
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (who is probably going to run for president) will go on NBC on Thursday to discuss poverty, as he'd been pledging to do.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (who is probably going to run for president) recently traveled to Detroit to help the Michigan Republican Party open its African-American voter outreach center, suggesting in a speech that the city introduce "economic freedom zones" to create jobs.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (not likely to run!) will give a speech Wednesday pitching school choice — read, vouchers — as a solution to poverty.
Each of the 2016ers obviously hopes to step into a leadership role on the issue. In the absence of a party leader — or, on the House side, a relatively weak one — it's an open position. The Post story was co-written by Robert Costa, the reporter who became famous for his insights into the House GOP during the shutdown. On Twitter, Costa was more blunt about the proposals. "The challenge" for Republicans, he wrote, " is that as they ramp up antipoverty message, they remain inconclusive on next legislative steps." That's at least four different, likely overlapping plans above. It's hard not to compare this to the party's immigration push in the beginning of 2013. Republicans recognized that they needed to have a plan, but party factionalism ultimately meant that nothing got done.
more
http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/01/gop-plan-help-poor-only-missing-all-its-details/356766/
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