SC Lt. Gov. compares people getting gov’t help to ‘stray animals

[rusty quoin]

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/23/bauer-stray/

SC Lt. Gov. compares people getting gov’t help to ‘stray animals’ who ‘breed’ because they don’t know better.


South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, held a town hall meeting yesterday where he argued government should be tougher on families whose children receive free and reduced-price lunches. Bauer said that parents should be required to “pass drug tests or attend parent-teacher conferences or PTA meetings.” To make this argument, however, he compared people receiving government assistance to stray animals:

“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 than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better,” Bauer said. <...>

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.“

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. As he sucks off the Government teat

[ccharles000]

2. what an asshole

[dkf]

3. His cause and effect is all messed up.

It doesn't make sense to think that getting rid of free lunches will cause grades to go up. Weird.

His thought that families who are low income need extra assistance may be valid but why make it sound so draconian and punitive. So counter productive. Besides what are you going to do if they are on drugs? Jail em all? Then what happens to kids?

To be truthful if parents aren't helping the student, this is where stronger role models and more attention from concerned teachers would be beneficial. It takes a village...

[alteredstate]

4. Andre Bauer is running for Governor

Lots of South Carolinians are in agreement with his awful comments. Democratic SC Senator Vincent Sheeheen, who is running in the Democratic Gubernatorial primary, is demanding that Bauer apologize for his (Bauer's) remarks. You can send a message to Bauer here:

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

[Johnny Harpo]

5. If You Keep Giving A Politician An Ample 'Food Supply'.....

they will also continue to 'reproduce' and not think any further than that.

The 'Peter Priciple' is alive and well and working in South Carolina politics.

This guy is a living, breathing example of the bigger problem....

Elected officials who are not smart enough to think before they speak.

Elected officials whose only concern is getting re-elected.

Elected officials who have been in politics so long that they forget what its like to live in the real world.

This guy needs to have his 'food supply' taken away by the voters in South Carolins.

We can only hope and pray that the SC voters are are smarter then this guy is.

I wonder if they are.

[dajoki]

6. And yet they still get elected, its beyond me n/t

[G_j]

7. sounds like Klan talk

nt

[Taitertots]

8. They are not stray animals, they are people reacting to incentives

Maybe we should make people do socially beneficial behavior before we give them handouts. This is probably not the best example of this policy.

As opposed to doing nothing but rewarding socially destructive behavior, like we do now.

[cali]

9. "A Modest Proposal" comes to mind.

and Andre, your grandmother sounds like a disgusting piece of shit. you obviously take after the hellhound.

I can only hope that this story has legs and comes back to fuck him good.

[sakabatou]

10. Fuck you, Andre

You remind me of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgpa7wEAz7I

[d_r]

11. there is another thread about this also

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7552402

[Fire1]

12. I'll never set foot in that state. Thanks for the heads up, Andre. n/t