SC Lt. Governor has compared giving people government assistance to "feeding stray animals"

[alteredstate]

He's running for Governor this year:

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer: "My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a
small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they
breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a
person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that
don't think too much further..."

http://www.thesunnews.com/575/story/1276292.html?storylink=addthis?storylink=addthis

[Tim01]

1. Typical political divide and conquor B.S. nt

[eShirl]

2. So... either let them starve to death or capture, neuter and re-release into the wild?

And let me guess, he's "pro life," right?

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Grandma should have taught her daughter about birth control....

[Ian David]

4. See also: SC Lt. Gov. compares government assistance to "feeding stray animals."

SC Lt. Gov. compares government assistance to "feeding stray animals."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x147271

[peekaloo]

5. grandma should have cut off teat access years earlier.

[Botany]

6. South Carolina is a lovely state w/ some great people but .....

.... what the f*** is the matter down there.

Jim Demint ..... Health Care will be Obama's Waterloo

Sanford ....... I was hiking the A.T.

Rep. Wilson ........ No

Sen. Grahamn ...... the great blow job hunter

And now Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer ..... comparing kids getting a school lunch to feeding animals?

[madrchsod]

9. i would`t leave my kids around that creep.....

[Joe Bacon]

23. Especially since Mike Rogers outed him.

According to Mike Rogers of Blog Active, seems Andre spends a lot of time tucked away in the closet of his little ol Log Cabin

http://www.blogactive.com/2009/12/keeping-gay-guy-out-of-governors.html

[alteredstate]

56. Those rumors have been circulating for years.

I couldn't care less if he's gay --- it would be nice if he supported gay rights.

[Rectangle]

48. And, I bet all the so called "Christians" won't peep a word about this!

:crazy:

[madrchsod]

7. andre....is`t that a surrender monkey name? ...

wow what a nice guy.. down and out kids are stray animals.

[pinto]

8. Ah geez. And he digs the hole deeper with his further comments.

:eyes:

[tom_paine]

11. In this Empire? In the heart of the NeoRebfederacy, also known as Dumbfuckistan by some?

(though to be fair, the delusional and Corporate anti-Americanism that drives our National Dialogue is certainly NOT limited to one state or geographic area - we are ALL Dumbfuckistan NOW)

Some faux outrage at that, just the minimu to provide a little Plausible Deniability, but don't kid yourself, this comment should actually HELP him, and he knows it

How creepily far this nation has fallen, and yet it still has so much further to go before we see what Final Solutions our Corporate masters have for the rest of us.

[Botany]

13. And not only that he is dead wrong

Later in his speech, Bauer said, "I can show you a bar graph where free and reduced lunch has the worst test scores in the
state of South Carolina," adding, "You show me the school that has the highest free and reduced lunch, and I'll show you the
worst test scores, folks. It's there, period.

yes you have low test scores where you have poverty but study after study show that students do better when they
go to school w/ a full belly.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. A Social Darwinist. A very popular viewpoint now among Tea Baggers and the like

Re-iterates the Scrooge philosphy of decreasing the surplus population.

See, people say stuff like that in the open now just like back in the Victorian England we are trying so hard to re-create.

[LeftishBrit]

33. Yes, he sounds exactly like a villain from Dickens

E.g. the unreformed Scrooge, or Mr. Bumble who ran the infamous workhouse in 'Oliver Twist'.

[earthboundmisfit]

37. Funny how the fans of Social Darwinism

are usually Creationists!

[alteredstate]

12. We have to keep this guy out of the Governor's seat

We have several strong Democrats in the gubernatorial primary race. I hope these comments get national media attention, and motivate voters to work toward a Democratic victory this year.

[USA_1]

14. What did she say about corporate wefare?

bailouts? subsidies??

[panzerfaust]

15. Suggesting, once again, that the Civil War was a mistake.

Should have just let those stray-dog Southerners go ...

[WestSeattle2]

24. I have so often thought the same thing. Seriously. n/t

[panzerfaust]

47. Slavery would have been eventually abolished in any event

and that is the only actual good that I can see that came from the war.

[iamjoy]

16. Your Grandmother Wasn't Educated

What's your excuse?

[Are_grits_groceries]

17. This is why the state legislature

was dragging their heels about impeaching Sanford. This loon would be in charge. He had already done some really stupid things.

I am writing the Dept. of Health & Environmental Control to ask them to check the water that goes into the government buildings. Too much lead or something.

[alteredstate]

26. You're right

Bauer would be worse than Sanford. He knows his way around the State House, and he probably would have been able to get a few bad bills passed.

[GoCubsGo]

27. He could've smacked his head when he crashed his airplane a while back

Of course, was stupid before that... He sure is a piece of work.

[tammywammy]

43. That's exactly what my friend that lives in SC said

Sanford is bad, but the Lt Gov is worse.

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. You watch. He has opened the door to more public comments about this.

The meme of the "have and have nots" is getting louder of late.
"the poor" have been used for hundreds of years as a cudgel to beat fear into the minds of the
electorate.

However, I find it interesting in that he also said this:
"Instead, he said, the government should place incentives in its welfare programs, such as providing child care so parents can work or receive education so they can break the welfare cycle".

What he may not realize is that before Reagan, there WERE those incentives in the welfare programs.

but, he is using welfare and "the poor" as a gimmick, because currently, the welfare program has a 3 year lifetime limit on benefits. The old stereotype of women on welfare having kids in order to get money cannot exist on a 3 year lifetime benefit limit.

[alteredstate]

55. I'm sure his approval ratings will soar in SC.

:-(

[stellad]

19. Like Jesus said, "It is harder for the poor to enter heaven... Let them starve"

[leveymg]

20. Your statement, Mr. Bauer, suggests we round them up, and those that aren't soon adopted get gassed.

Some American conservatives are but one small smidgeon of a degree from being Nazis.

[alteredstate]

40. I agree

His comments are truly scary and I'm sure they'll be well-received by the majority of residents of my state. Ugh.

[a la izquierda]

21. oh boy, what a twit...i love SC

but man alive, the politicians there are maroons. it must be something in the water.

[Are_grits_groceries]

22. Dear Lt. Governor Bauer,

I read your remarks about feeding the poor. I have a question for you. You claim to be a Christiam soul so I would like for you to tell me where the verse about stray cats and the poor is located.

I was churched and for the life of me, I cannot bring that chapter to mind. Was there a chapter called "Pets" or one called "Screw Everybody Because I've Got Mine?" I have worn a Bible out looking for that saying.

Maybe you ought to stick with the Golden Rule. And no, you don't get it at Home Depot.

You are said to be a God-fearing man. I'd be afraid if I were you. Very afraid.

grits

[RainDog]

25. well, grandma was a fucking bitch who raised assholes, apparently

because anyone who can compare feeding children whose parents have lost their jobs to animals is not moral enough to hold public office.

they're not moral enough to make any claims to Christianity.

this rhetoric reminds me of the ways Nazis starved Jews. Feeding them would only allow them to reproduce, you see.

[mitchum]

28. Some cokeheads are real assholes...Bauer is one of them

[d_r]

29. my letter to Mr. Bauer

Dear Lt. Gov. Bauer,
I recently read your comments in which you described you grandmother's prohibition against feeding stray animals, and then compared poor human beings to stray animals that should not be fed. I want to applaud you for these comments and thank you for having the courage to say these things, as politically incorrect as they may be. It takes a lot of guts for a politician to make such comments in a state in which over half of the school-age children qualify for free or reduced lunch, and in which about one-quarter of students will drop out before achieving a high school degree.

You were quoted as describing a bar chart that demonstrated that schools with the highest rates of free and reduced-price lunches were also the schools that performed most poorly. I am sure that some liberal smarty-pants will try to explain that the schools that enroll the highest number of children in poverty - and therefore the highest percentages of children qualifying for free and reduced lunch - also receive the lowest levels of funding because of the lower tax revenues in these areas. They will probably also point out that in addition to this difference in equity of school funding, schools serving higher percentages of children in poverty also face obstacles such as a higher percentage of children with special needs. I say balderdash to that kind of liberal claptrap, and assert that recognizing that correlation does not equal causation is some sort of intellectual mind-game that only eggheads play. Those liberals might also point out that a healthy school lunch is associated with higher levels of school success. I say let kids go hungry because hunger is a good motivator for the poor.

Moreover, I wanted to let you know about a bar chart that I saw that demonstrated that the higher the number of fire fighters that are called to a fire the larger the amount of monetary damage that a fire causes - that's right, the more fire fighters, the more damage. Clearly, fire fighters are causing this damage. This is likely because lazy people (probably poor people, who are probably minority people and illegal aliens) are too complacent expecting fire fighters to come and put out fires for them. I think that the number of fire fighters and fire trucks should be reduced, and that in the event of a fire citizens should be required to attach fire hoses to the hydrants themselves. This will result in those people being more careful and avoid having fires in the first place.

I also want to commend you for your courage in coming right out and comparing poor people to stray animals. If you are elected as governor of South Carolina, I implore you to follow this line of reasoning to its logical conclusions and reduce the spread of poverty by treating poor people as we would stray animals, through spaying, neutering, and euthanasia. Also, I think it would be possible to establish a system like the humane society, were poor people could be "adopted" in to good homes. I am sure that there are large land owners and factory owners in South Carolina that could put these people to good use through productive work, and provide them with nutritious food and comfortable shelter in return. It would be important to give these adoptive families the legal ability to restrict the movement of these people, because the ornery poor people would just try to run away if they could. However, if good families were allowed to keep them, they could help them learn rules for good living through strict disciplinary practices. This sort of program would eliminate the need for the USDA and the federal government to pay for children to have a free lunch, while still supporting food prices for large farm owners because the food is still being eaten. In this way you could eliminate poverty and hunger in South Carolina, and get those worthless poor people out there working for their meals. They are probably all minorities and single mothers having babies anyway. As you know, these animal-like "people" can't control their impulses, but if they were placed under the care of good people they could be raised right.

Good luck in these important endeavors.

[alteredstate]

30. Wow

This is really good.

[dgibby]

44. This is brilliant.

Unfortunately, it won't even part his hair as it whizzes by. He is TSTL (too stupid to live), not to mention sarcasm impaired. He'll actually think you're supporting his position.

[Quantess]

31. Somebody get him started on Haiti

I am dying to know what he has to say about the international relief effort to help the Hatians.

[LeftishBrit]

32. AAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

That is so sickening.

If I lived in SC, I would be tempted to say, 'Come back Governor Sanford, all is forgiven!'

How does such a person EVER get into power?

I suppose he calls himself a Christian. Unbelievable.

[mwb970]

49. He sounds about as "Christian" as Pat Robertson.

Namely, not at all.

[alteredstate]

54. He's worse than Sanford

Trust me on this.

[bulloney]

34. So, when will we be reading about this numbnut "taking a hike on the Appalachian Trail?"

[alteredstate]

41. There are a lot of rumors about his private life

And they're juicier than Sanford's.

[alteredstate]

35. Sen. Vincent Sheheen, Democratic candidate for Governor, demands Bauer's apology!

http://vincentsheheen.com/blog/demand-lt-gov-bauer-apologize

[Cleita]

36. That's a terrible sentiment whether directed at starving animals, who most

likely went stray because of human negligence or even cruelty. People who slip between the safety nets of society are also there because of the failures of other humans. We have an obligation to right these inequities, injustices and stupid erroneous thinking. That guy really needs lessons in compassion and his grandmother too. I believe she could also be an ignorant bible thumper as well as uneducated.

[devilgrrl]

38. Banking, multi-national corporations, Wall Street and defense contractors are like stray animals?

Last I checked, they're the ones getting all the government assistance.

[alteredstate]

39. Yep!

Sad, isn't it?

[AlinPA]

42. The Democrats in DC will keep this hushed up, wouldn't want to embarrass the republicans.

In the interests of bipartisanship of course.

[alteredstate]

51. We're doing everything we can to make this a national news story.

Hopefully Bauer will be defeated in the primary. I don't want this guy to be our Governor.

[zonkers]

45. Bad Move.

[alteredstate]

46. Bauer responds to the outrage.....

http://sc.statehouseblogs.com/2010/01/24/press-release-andre-bauer-offers-additional-comments-on-breeding-a-culture-of-dependency/

[RainDog]

50. it's still the same old "welfare cadilliac" rhetoric (which is old racism dog whistling) nt

[Botany]

57. Dept. of digging the hole deeper

"However, there’s a big difference between being truly needy and truly lazy." Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer
(You see if those kids were out working instead of slacking off in 3rd grade then they wouldn't need government help.)

[DemoTex]

52. Nothing date-lined "South Carolina" surprises me. It's the most atavistic state in the Union.

That's my South Carolina!

[alteredstate]

53. Please nominate Andre Bauer for Olbermann's "Worst Person"!

[e-mail]