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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPaul Ryan says men in 'inner cities' aren't 'even thinking about working'
Rep. Paul Ryan's effort to brand himself as a Republican anti-poverty crusader continues. The House Budget Committee chair and former Republican vice-presidential nominee went on Bill Bennett's radio show to talk about his ongoing desire to address poverty by eviscerating most of America's existing anti-poverty programs. That means doubling down on the damage of the 1996 welfare reform and, of course, a lot of racist dog whistles masquerading as talk about "the dignity of work" and "the culture of work."
Ryan told Bennett:
We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning to value the culture of work, so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.
Got that? In case your ears don't catch the frequency Ryan is speaking at, let me translate: The problem is "in our inner cities" (where the black people live) where men (black men) are "not even thinking about working." It's a "real culture problem" (black culture). Blow, blow, blow into that dog whistle, Paul. In case he wasn't being clear enough, though, Ryan cited Charles Murray, a conservative political scientist who has argued that race and IQ are genetically linked and "a lot of poor people are born lazy."
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/12/1284076/-Ryan-says-men-in-inner-cities-aren-t-even-thinking-about-working?detail=emailclassic
Joe Turner
(930 posts)manufacturing jobs overseas, gutting our cities into ruins, there are no jobs to think about. This is just more inane contradictory babble from the leading lights of the republican party. I have an idea Ryan: how about getting some of those jobs back through policies that encourage domestic employment instead of continuing to punish the poor and downtrodden so your buddies on Wall Street can keep on lining their pockets.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)I don't see how the Republicans can win the presidency in the foreseeable future.
We need to figure out how to take control of Congress, too.
0rganism
(23,856 posts)in midterms, when Democrats decide to stay home, Republicans still do quite well
to amplify this effect, Republican state governments will allocate far fewer resources to support voting in inner cities than they do for rural voters, so you have huge lines of people waiting at inner city precincts to vote using broken, undermaintained, worn out machines
and of course, they're always inventing new & improved draconian voter ID requirements to combat a nonexistent problem of "voter fraud".
hatrack
(59,446 posts)We all remember just how well your running mate's outreach to black voters went last time . . .
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,280 posts)The expressions on the faces of the two women - pretty obvious what they're thinking. And the people in the bottom photo aren't having any of it either. The GOP's "minority outreach" does not seem to have gone anywhere since.
ck4829
(34,977 posts)Conservatives will never do this.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)which both depend deeply upon the moral roles of personal actualization and personal accountability.
It's a big part of the reason Ben Carson and his story of how he overcame his environment to become a brain surgeon resonates so deeply with conservatives.
Ryan's explanation of cause of poverty emerges directly from his very deeply held notion that self is always the source of accountability.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)Ironic,RT TV just did a Documentary about this with their focus on Milwaukee and how the City lost their manufacturing clout to Mexico and China,and the focus was on how the City is divided North and South along racial and economic boundaries. Again,we have a foreign media source doing a great job of reporting a story and it does not bode well for the City Council of Milwaukee and County Commissioners. Race issues and dog whistles are alive and well in Paul Ryan's backyard.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)are not looking. Why should they. And it has not one damn thing to do with color of their skin. It is that there are NO JOBS.
City Lights
(25,171 posts)KentuckyWoman
(6,666 posts)He's an immoral cretin who will actively destroy people and families for a few measly bucks.
Toss in the fact inner city people trend toward the brown and that's just an added bonus as far as he's concerned.
It's extremely rare to find a "proud republican" who is much different than that.
Iggo
(47,489 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)You know that Paul is very down in the neighborhood. His jive is so complete, it is directly out of Janesville. Mean streets. And avenues. The boulevards are particularly disagreeable. You had better be vigilant about your speech, or you may be paid a visit by the prideful fellows of Janesville.
Iggo
(47,489 posts)Can't get any more street than that, right?
Faux pas
(14,585 posts)The only thing that comes out of his un christian, bigoted mouth is plenty of BS and double talk. Sheesh
exboyfil
(17,857 posts)Unemployment Rate - 7.6%
African American Percentage - 3.4%
Alaska
Unemployment Rate - 6.6%
African American Percentage - 3.3%