via AlterNet:
Posted by Joshua Holland at 11:36 am
July 8, 2010
Michele Bachmann: Another Ayn Rand-Worshipping Welfare QueenPosted by Joshua Holland on @ 11:36 am
A couple weeks back, I brought you the tale of the farmer who railed against “parasites” suckling on the public teat while pulling in millions in government subsidies.
Apparently, Tea Party darlin’ Michele Bachmann (R-Wingnuttia) shares that awesome hypocrisy.
Although she repeatedly decries “Big Government,” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has found a way to get three sources of income from the very government she despises.
First, there’s a paycheck from her job as Congressional representative in Minnesota’s 6th district – remember, she hatesbig government but chooses to be a part of it.
Second, she collects over $200k in farm subsidies for her family’s agriculture operation – again, please remember how much she hates the way government takes care of people (she’s a big proponent of “repealing” the health care bill).
Third, in yet another family business – Bachmann and Associates, Inc., a Christian counseling service – Bachmann has claimed nearly another $30k in “big government”payouts. And never mind that annoying separation of church-and-state detail; that doesn’t apply to the Bachmanns. The representative’s husband, Dr. Marcus Bachmann, has announced publicly on several occasions that the counseling facility is strongly Christian-centered and that “Jesus Christ is the Almighty Counselor.” Counselors employed by the facility are also members of the clergy.
Let me wrap up with my go-to Dean Baker quote on this:
That’s the stereotype — that conservatives are willing to take the hard knocks when they come — but… what the conservatives have done is they’ve rigged the deck. They’ve made sure that certain people come out ahead, that income flows upward, and that other people are put at a disadvantage — and these things are built into the rules of the system. And then what they want to do — in talking about “free markets” — is they want to kick back and say, “No, no, no; those are the rules, and we can’t talk about them.” They don’t want to talk about how the deck is rigged; they want us to fight over the small scraps.
http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/07/08/michele-bachmann-another-ayn-rand-worshipping-welfare-queen/