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* Congressman Joe Walsh…
“’I am scared. I really am scared, Patrick, that we’re past the point — we have so many people now dependent on government, so many people want handouts,” he told constituents.
“The Democratic Party promises groups of people everything. They want the Hispanic vote, they want Hispanics to be dependent on government, just like they got African Americans dependent on government. That’s their game.
“Jesse Jackson would be out of work if they weren’t dependent on government. There’d be no work for him.”
* Video…
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:34 am
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Yeah, next time you’re downtown in stores, restaurants, hotels, etc., just check out all those African-Americans and Hispanics hanging around waiting for their welfare checks.
They might look like they’re working, but they’re not.
Same in the suburbs with the roofers, drywallers, landscapers, cleaning people, etc.
Often, I have to get downtown early and they’re all on the Blue Line with me at 5:30 a.m. I guess the welfare offices open up early.
This “dependency” argument is coming from a guy who sleeps in his Capitol Hill office rather than rent a room.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:45 am
Why didn’t he mention big banks, investment houses, and defense & intelligence contractors when he categorized those “dependent on government”?
Comment by Honestly Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:48 am
The last time I checked, the number of non-Hispanic Caucasians on welfare was roughly EQUAL to the number of blacks, and more than double the number of Latinos.
One in seven non-Hispanic Caucasians in Illinois fails to graduate high school. Which explains how a guy like Joe Walsh ends up in Congress.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:48 am
I think this quote was from 1952, not 2012 …
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:50 am
I bet half of the people in his audience are either on Medicare, Social Security, or have received unemployment or food support in the past few years. But somehow those aren’t the groups of “dependents on government” to be feared.
Comment by mark walker Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:52 am
Mr Walsh, you’ll soon be out of work; will you go on the public dole? Are you ashamed at the thought of being grouped with minorities? Is that the reason for your racist and false attack?
Comment by Wensicia Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:55 am
YDD - if the ratio of people on welfare among the “races” was equally proportional, the number of non-Hispanic caucasians should be much more than the number of A-A or Latinos. The statistice you quote, if accurate, is meaningless. Keep in mind a large majority of low income, non-HS graduates voted for Obama for president. Does this mean the same population regards Joe Walsh and President Obama with the same high or low esteem? Some of what Walsh says has some validity in terms of purposely appealing to segments of the population in order to get their vote. That is how elections are won.
Comment by johhnypizza Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:58 am
Check out the link Rich provides to FOX nation - “A section for people who will not stand for intolerance….”
then has a page full of comments about how brown people and socialists are ruining the country. Nice.
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:04 am
@Johhny: -Some of what Walsh says has some validity in terms of purposely appealing to segments of the population in order to get their vote.-
And what segment of the population is Walsh trying to secure votes from?
Comment by Colossus Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:05 am
===And what segment of the population is Walsh trying to secure votes from? ===
Crackers?
Just kidding.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:06 am
Folks quit picking on Joe Walsh. He’s fully consistent in his positions: he just doesn’t like dependents. Even when they’re his own children.
Comment by ZC Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:08 am
Education is the determining factor here. An education determines weather a person will work for a living, or be dependent on the government welfare system. The races for many reason do not get the same education. Language, parental involvement, and goal setting also determine what a persons educational exprience will be! As in anything in life, there are exceptions.
Comment by Billy Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:10 am
@Johnnypizza -
Walsh is essentially accusing Democrats of using the social safety net to buy votes from blacks and Latinos.
I’m just pointing out the rather obvious fact that we’re obviously “buying” as many votes from whites.
Unless of course:
1) You choose to ignore the fact that tens of millions of white Americans receive food stamps, TANF and Medicaid;
2) You believe white Americans are blessed with some sort of inherent moral superiority that means their vote “isn’t for sale” while blacks and Latinos’ are.
I, for one, think the answer is pretty simple: the GOP is inherently racist, and blacks and Latinos are smart enough to figure that out.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:13 am
The problem is he is only half right. There are two wings of the political party (Dems and Reps), social welfare and corporate welfare. If you attack only one, he must be for the other side. So he must be going for the corporate welfare vote, and they do have most of the money to give him. Surely, that wouldn’t sway his opinions because he is elected to represent his constituency.
Comment by RetiredStateEmployee Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:14 am
Rich - Only the saltines, not the multigrains.
Comment by Colossus Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:15 am
Not even going to try to touch this one.
Though it does sound like Joe Walsh is going to have quite a career on Fox starting early next year.
Comment by J Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:16 am
Since Education is the determining factor (and we all know it is), why are people loathe to pay for it?
Comment by Inactive Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:22 am
The really scary part is that he was elected. We have to pay more attention.
Comment by Anon Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:23 am
And who else is dependent on government?
You will find the names of a few Chicago private equity firms mentioned in this interesting article:
“Republicans Hit Dental Bill That Private Equity Hates”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-31/republicans-target-dental-bill-that-private-equity-hates.html
Comment by vole Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:25 am
Stay classy, Joe.
Comment by soccermom Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:32 am
Well said Joe.
Comment by Anon Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:37 am
And they worry about a cig tax increase ‘harming the brand’
Comment by OneMan Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:39 am
Predictable outrage from the libby crowd.
Comment by Burning Down da House Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:52 am
Joe is a goof and he should definitely also be talking about corporate welfare too. That said the percent of people dependent on government for their check, housing food ID’s ridiculous and cannot be sustained.
Comment by Fed up Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:53 am
Since I am a DHS caseworker, my response to Mr. Walsh would be that many of these people enrich businesses and corporations that he cherishes through low wages and no payment for benefits like health insurance. They help businesses and consumers by keeping down costs. Are they supposed to just die when they get sick or starve when they don’t earn as much?
Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:53 am
Joe Walsh is nothing but an ongoing stream of “Macaca” moments. He is a mistake that we in the new Illinois 8th will correct in November.
Comment by getting too old for this Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 11:54 am
Fed up - Do you drive on government funded roads, fly through government funded airports run by government employees with a government run air traffic control system? Have a parent on Medicare or Social Security? I’m so sick of ths ignorance from the right about government dependency. Of course the best comment maid during the Obamacare debate was, “don’t let the government get its hands on my medicare…”
Comment by Chicago Cynic Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 12:11 pm
Walsh is right.
Comment by Reality Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 12:20 pm
I think this is what you call a Derbyshire conservative.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 12:25 pm
This looks more like an audition reel for Fox “News” than anything else.
Comment by Cheryl44 Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 12:27 pm
@hisgirlfriday
State filtering blocks your link for being “Extreme”.
Comment by Colossus Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 12:39 pm
Maybe Walsh and Bost could get their own talk show on Fox next year. Call it the Elephant Rant.
Comment by reformer Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 1:16 pm
I don’t agree with Walsh on everything but that congressional race really is a true here’s where the 2 parties are at right now showdown. Walsh embodies the out of nowhere grassroots tea party message and duckworth embodies the career insider/hack cook county obama message of lets just stay the course. I think it’s a lot more interesting than the other congressional races and their first debate, a lot of the journalists that have spent the last 20 months trashing walsh actually thought he won it. He can be nuts and he has baggage but Duckworth also represents a status quo that is not working.
Comment by Shore Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 1:17 pm
he reminds me of Glen Beck, the ranting, same thought process, the blackboard….
Comment by 3rd Generation Chicago Native Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 1:34 pm
I don’t agree with Shore on everything but I agree this is an interesting Congressional race.
If character matters to you, it is hard to imagine a bigger gap between squeaky clean war hero Tammy Duckworth and Joe Walsh.
But if you don’t care about character, it is quite an interesting choice.
Want a loyal soldier who will check with Nancy Pelosi and the Obama administration before doing anything? Vote for Duckworth.
Want someone who will speak his mind and explain his positions honestly? Vote for Walsh…but be sure you understand his positions first, as they are awfully extreme.
Comment by Robert Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 1:42 pm
The new Joe McCarthy = Joe Walsh.
Comment by Emily Booth Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 2:02 pm
There seems to be a special flavor in the tea at the party? The folks who are drinking the tea, act as if the tea has a bitter flavor.
Comment by Endangered Moderate Species Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 3:01 pm
Ugh Walsh….isn’t he out of the public eye yet???
Comment by A.B. Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 3:45 pm
===And what segment of the population is Walsh trying to secure votes from? ===
===Crackers?
Just kidding.===
Thats Mr. Ritz to you, hehehe
Comment by evil t Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 3:46 pm
According to Mr Walsh, my nephew is probably half on welfare and is half government-dependent. I wonder how he separates the two out?
I am as liberal as they come, but surely the Republican party can do better than elect such racist morons to Congress?
Comment by aaron singer Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 3:59 pm
wow, Joe Walsh scares me more than ever!
Comment by amalia Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 4:42 pm
I hope that Grover’s people notice that this sort of stuff “damages the brand” for Rs also.
Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 5:10 pm
What about the farmers? The State University Students? The Defense Industry? The hard right Israel lobby? The Space Coast? Who is keeping them dependent?
Comment by Quizzical Thursday, May 31, 12 @ 10:53 pm
–Predictable outrage from the libby crowd.–
No outrage here. He knew what he was doing when he said it. He’s appealing to the “intelligence” of folks like you.
But when you see ignorant racism, you just call it ignorant racism.
There’s nothing more embarrassing than an ignorant suburban man with a victim’s complex.
Just how much easier does life have to get for them before they stop their whining?
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jun 1, 12 @ 7:40 am
–And should we just consider that over half the country needs welfare just “to survive” a good thing? Is that a badge of honor?–
Another badge of shame for the public school system. Clearly a victim of social promotion.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jun 1, 12 @ 7:58 am