Head of the GOP, Michael Steele, with Republican Tim Pawlenty, (right) heartless governor who takes food from the chronically ill, appearing on their favorite media.
If you think Republicans couldn’t get any more cruel, think again. The Republican governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, has cut food aid for the chronically sick in Minnesota. Those with serious illnesses who are poor in my state have been told they must apply to ‘other agencies’ and charities for their dietary requirements. But the food shelves are nearly empty and the charitable donations are down, and when did you ever see a food shelf that carried healthy food in the first place? Go donate to one and see what’s on their shelves.
“The [MN] program’s clients are being directed to various low-income assistance programs, and social workers are steering them to 211 crisis hot line and area food shelves, [Tom Pingatore, human services program manager] said.
But food shelves don’t reliably stock the foods needed by those on special diets.
“We are left scratching our heads sometimes, trying to find people help,” Pingatore said.”
Adding to the nastiness of the situation is the fact that Tim Pawlenty has begun to campaign for president, so Minnesota citizens are funding his “governor’s business” trips, which are really campaign events. He is flying all over the country and even taking overseas trips using taxpayer money, while the sick who need help with food are told, “You’re on your own”. Pawlenty has been to Virginia alone about 10 times this year. But for very sick poor people in his own state — tough luck. They aren’t even worth the price of a plane ticket to Tim.
As Congressman Alan Greyson sarcastically announced this fall, the Republican health plan is: “Don’t get sick. And if you do get sick, die quickly.” Pawlenty’s health care plan is, “Don’t get sick, and if you’re already sick, starve to death.”
In 2009, during his campaign travels, Pawlenty has traveled to nearly every state in the country and is on track to visit them all by 2010. He has also traveled to China and Mexico. The people of Minnesota, including myself, are forced to pay for many of these trips, (the exact $$ amount is unknown) as he combines some of them with something that sounds official. Yet Pawlenty is against public money being used for the public. He’s against adequately funding public education, so our property taxes go up every year as a result of education levies, (which is a big tax increase). He’s even against food for the chronically ill and yes, universal health care.
What he is for is the public footing his travel bills while he campaigns for president. Does he even have a chance at that? No. By my estimation he has about 1 in 100 odds to be the Republican nominee in 2012, (if that) so all this money and all this travel is for nothing. It’s not benefiting the state. It’s not benefiting the poor or the sick. It’s hardly even benefiting Tim Pawlenty, unless you count the joy of tourism and fine dining on the taxpayer’s dime. Here’s a map of Pawlenty’s U.S. travel up until last September.
Meanwhile, the chronically ill in Minnesota have to fend for themselves.
Darlene Bullock, of Aitken County, is diabetic, had a stroke in 1993, heart bypass surgery in 2005 and a stent placed in her heart this year. She receives food stamps and got $119 a month from the state to pay for her doctor-ordered dietary needs.
Not anymore. The money is gone, even a paltry $119 a month. “Oh, are you hungry?” says Governor Pawlenty. “Too bad. I don’t have time to worry about your problems, I’m off to campaign to be your president.”
What would the point of Pawlenty becoming president be? So he could take food away from the chronically ill in the entire country?
In a related story, Pawlenty is being sued, by Democrats, and by the sick people Republicans are trying to kill off.
In a 34-page brief filed Friday, lawyers for the Minnesota House spelled out why Gov. Tim Pawlenty misused a state law to enact budget cuts without legislative consent. You see, he did this all by himself. Illegally.
“The brief filed Friday supports a lawsuit challenging some of the $2.7 billion in cuts made by Pawlenty. Specifically, six plaintiffs want a court to restore money for food assistance and property tax credits for the poor.
The brief was authorized on a party-line vote by a Democratic-controlled committee and written by non-artisan staff. It warms that allowing the cuts to stand would give governors “unfettered discretion” to invoke a rarely used budget-cutting authority intended for fiscal emergencies. A judge is currently considering whether to stop the cuts while the case moves forward.”
(Associated Press)
Naturally, Pawlenty is denying he abused his authority, something Republicans are very very good at. It’s why they scream so loudly when Democrats exercise any of their legal authority, at all.
Pawlenty’s also become more right-wing in the last year, changing for the worse to appeal to the Republican base. If he had more time in office, I’d suggest a campaign to impeach him. Minnesota Democrats are instead trying to sue him, along with those whose food aid this selfish Republican governor has stolen.
Even when Republicans and right-wingers aren’t complaining about their own nightmares versus something called reality (their guns being taken away, for instance, a total fantasy) they are taking food from the poor. Literally. It would be better for society as a whole if they stuck to writing whiny books on fantasy. At least that stimulates a small, fringey section of the economy.
I remember when even Republican governors weren’t chronically greedy and hateful towards the poor.
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Remember what Jesse Ventura is supposed to have said to a woman who talked about her not being able to make it financially when or around the time he became governor of Minnesota? ‘That’s not government’s responsibility’ or something like that. I’d wager ST knows this quote and can clarify. Why not make these wonderful neo-cons put their money where their mouths are? All this crap about socialism and how bad it is to help anyone in need because those who don’t work should not eat. Why do these people take their social security and Medicare? It doesn’t matter if they ‘paid into it’ for so many years. They are worth 5 years and will draw it for 20. That’s socialism, but don’t expect them to cut themselves off. They don’t care if any of you ever receive a penny, however. These kinds of people will blame you for not having a job. When you gave NAFTA and the factory closed down, that job went away. It was difficult to pay for college on factory wages. Student loans or grants? More Socialism! Socialism! If these free-loaders who think the world owes them a living just because they lost their job at the textile mill had been into the right family like me they wouldn’t be in this mess. Why can’t they go out and inherit something like I did??!!! Dumb Republikans have no sense of logic. Back in 1993 when the military budget was cut tremendously and shipyard workers were being cut off from their $25 an hour jobs, kkkonservatives were crying about how bad it was for this to happen. They would rather they stay employed at $25 an hour jobs making unneeded ships than for them to go out and get a real job like most of the people who have to struggle to live. In Republikkkans’ minds (oxymoron), it’s better to have someone make 10 times more than to let them ‘collect welfare’ if they can’t find real and useful work. Fiscal responsibility, anyone? Tell a republikkkan how much of the budget was spent on military and the meme ‘We need a good defense’ is automatically prompted. 30% of the people are supposed to be sociopaths. It seems a report from the mid-80s said 50% or thereabouts of the populace were mentally ill. The details are vague after all this time. That was in the early days of Dumsfailed’s aspartame inclusion into just about everything on the grocer’s shelves. There are other mitigating factors in the world of today, but that might be even worse. Trying to make some people see the fact that nowadays people are poor because of bad economy is useless. They don’t care because they have their own gravy train and maybe retired before the economy crumbled. They will blame you for choosing unwisely in your career path. Are they cruel and heartless? Yes, but they don’t think they are because they are snug and comfy in their little world.
@Bugga: I don’t remember Ventura saying something like that, but he probably did. I don’t consider him a Neocon though, he was more of a libertarian.
As for Republicans/right-wingers/Neocons being cruel and heartless, they are. They are also hypocrites because there is no possible way they can be Christian and stick it to the poor like they do. Their motto is, “I got mine, now piss off.” Worse than that, they justify murder and every other horrid crime that exists, because their minds are twisted with greed and power.
Stay tuned for an article on socialism.
‘Republikkkan’ — that almost sums it up. I’d add a couple of $’s on the end — Republikkkan$$