McDonald's guy' Julio Osegueda stirs up debate among the Right

[BirminghamExaminer]

But commentators on the right, including Boston radio talker and columnist Howie Carr, had a field day with McDonald's guy yesterday afternoon. With his usual flair for derision and mockery, Carr blasted this young man for daring to ask the president for help. Somehow, even in this economy, asking for help is akin to selling your soul to the devil.

Carr made news last week when he helped to talk a woman down who had called his radio show and began saying she would like to commit suicide. It was a humane and compassionate act that Carr helped this woman through a severe crisis. But Carr's compassion is limited, apparently. When he starts bashing "McDonald's guy" as nothing more than a welfare case looking for a handout, he is overlooking this young man's struggles and his personal virtues. So what if the guy wants some help with better benefits? Don't we all deserve health insurance, even if we work a crap job at a fast food joint?

Update: It seems that right wingers like Rush Limbaugh really don't like the idea that people like Julio want health insurance. After all, that's expensive. Government serves no purpose, no common goal, other than to stay out of the way of business, the argument goes. Government is bad, greed is good.

Here's Rush yesterday, excerpted from his transcript, taking his whacks at Osegueda.

Read the rest of the article here.

[madaboutharry]

1. I have come to the conclusion that

republicans tend to be hateful people. I do think there are some who are just ignorant and know not what they do. But as far as those in control of elected offices and microphones, I think they just hate people.

They are cruel characters out of a Dickens novel.

By the way BirminghamExaminer, welcome to DU. Before you know it, you will have 1,000 posts.

[rhiannon55]

4. They ARE hateful

I just heard Orrin Hatch complain about the money in the stimulus bill that would go to "social welfare" programs. These people don't pay taxes, he said (I think, meaning "fuck them").

Fuck him.

[FiveGoodMen]

8. "republicans tend to be hateful people" -- It's no coincidence; that party attracts hateful people

So there's no mystery as to why they're all like that.

The existence of the puke party shows the US to be a fucked up, hateful place.

In any decent group of people there wouldn't be enough of them to matter.

[SharonAnn]

11. Read the book "The Authoritarians" by Bob Altmeyer. It explains a lot.

It's free at this link: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

"The Authoritarians"

"It’s about what’s happened to the American government lately. It’s about the disastrous decisions that government has made. It’s about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It’s about how the “Religious Right” teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country.
"you’ll begin an easy-ride journey through some relevant scientific studies I have done on authoritarian personalities--one that will take you a heck of a lot less time than the decades it took me. Those studies have a direct bearing on all the topics mentioned above. So if you think the first paragraph is a lot of hokum, or full of half-truths, I invite you to look at the research.

For example, take the following statement: “Once our government leaders and the authorities condemn the dangerous elements in our society, it will be the duty of every patriotic citizen to help stomp out the rot that is poisoning our country from within.” Sounds like something Hitler would say, right? Want to guess how many politicians, how many lawmakers in the United States agreed with it? Want to guess what they had in common?

Or how about a government program that persecutes political parties, or minorities, or journalists the authorities do not like, by putting them in jail, even torturing and killing them. Nobody would approve of that, right? Guess again."

[BlancheSplanchnik]

15. Thank You! This looks fascinating.

Like I keep up with my must read list already!
:crazy:

:hi:

[FiveGoodMen]

9. dupe

[bos1]

14. true enough. but I see a lot of hate around, even on DU -- the f-bombs for Feinstein and

the ugly words for the religious, just two examples. It's as if the fight against Bush, now that it is gone, has left people with a lot of anger with nowhere to put it but on each other, aimed at relative allies.

[Chulanowa]

2. I'd rather not look at a Rush transcript, but I don't think I need to...

The right hasn't had anything original to say since 1981. And even that is kind of pushing it.

Basically whenever they talk about government and business, you can be assured they know nothing about either. The Republicans with a clue are the ones who don't say squat, so as to not upset their bloviating dumbass fellows.

Neither category is much able to comprehend the origins of wealth - it's labor and production, not speculation and redefining the value of zero. Healthy, happy workforce = increased productivity and longer tenure = more money made. It's just that goddamn simple.

[Believing Is Art]

3. Welfare case?

That's a tad hypocritical, wasn't Joe the Fake Plumber on welfare not once, but twice? How does he know Osegueda is even on welfare? I would find it surprising if he was considering that he can afford to go to college. It's not like he was personally asking the president "hey, can you fork over some dough so I have a dental plan," he was raising an issue that affects a lot of Americans.

[ejpoeta]

5. the guy has been working at mcdonalds for almost 5 years

and he said it was because he couldn't find another job. so instead of just quitting a crappy job and waiting around to find something else, it sounds like he continues to work at mcdonalds while going to school to get somewhere in life. is it too much to ask the guy could have some health insurance? what is wrong with these folks!! since when is health insurance considered a free ride or welfare?? wtf.

[4lbs]

12. Also, I believe Julio was on Hardball yesterday and announced that he just been hired to do an

announcing gig with a local Florida minor league baseball team.

So, yeah, that Julio is a freakin' freeloader!

:sarcasm:

[Old and In the Way]

6. Rush ain't getting paid $250MM+ to side with the little guy.

His schtick is to sell his idiot base on ideas that are against their best interests. Obviously, there are a lot of idiots who eat his schtick up.

[randr]

7. I guess Joe the Plumbers free ride was deserved after he

pissed and moaned about some fantasy he had no intention or ability for fulfill.

[kskiska]

10. "Let them eat cake!"

We all know how that turned out.

[depakid]

13. Yet ANOTHER consequence of failure to put the fairness doctrine back in place

This guy deserves free airtime on these stations to defend himself and his position from these creeps.

As the supreme court has long since state free speech doesn't equal private censorship and "freedom" to attack this guy- and lie about him with impunity without si much as allowing a rebuttal.

[treestar]

16. He wasn't looking for a handout, he was looking for a job

Asshole republicans can't even keep their onw rules straight. Aren't they the ones saying the everyone can work?