Paul Begala is a frequently seen face on CNN. Okay, what I meant was that if one watches CNN, Paul Begala is frequently seen. After all, aside from people waiting for their plane in airports or sitting in bars where the TV is playing but the sound is off, there are only a few people who still watch CNN. Let me put it this way: there are probably more people who successfully signed up for insurance on the Obamacare exchange than who are watching CNN at this moment. But I digress. Let's get back to poor Paul Begala.
Begala wrote a column today headlined "With Food Stamp Cuts, GOP Turns Its Back on the Hungry". In case the headline is not enough to understand Begala's point, his basic position is that the heartless Republicans in Congress have cut food stamps so that millions of hungry Americans can no longer qualify for the program and are starving as a result. In Begala's column Republicans are evil and Democrats are the forces of good. At stake in this epic battle of good vs. evil are the lives of millions who will otherwise die of starvation.
Now let's look at the facts:
1. The food stamp program has not been changed this year. It remains exactly where it has been for the last three years.
2. The size of the food stamp program or SNAP as it is more properly known, grew by over 40% in just the first two years of the Obama administration when tens of millions of recipients were added to the program. The limits of coverage were set by the Democrats, so if there are Americans starving due to lack of food stamps, they are starving because they fall outside the limits of Obama and those who Begala idolizes.
3. There are two plans in Congress to reduce the size of the food stamp program now that the economy is no longer in total crisis. The first plan to cut the program is that of the Democrats in the Senate. Gasp!!! Let me say that again so that someone can tell Begala. One of the two plans to cut food stamps is being pushed by the DEMOCRATS in the Senate. (I hope Begala does not pass out on hearing this.) The other plan is put forward by the Republicans in the House.
4. The difference between the Democrat plan and the Republican plan is that the Democrats want to spend two percent more over the next decade on this program. That was not a typo. The difference is TWO PERCENT of ten years.
So what do these facts mean? The answer is simple. There is very little difference between the plan of the Democrats to cut food stamps and the Republican plan to do the same. Begala make the claim that only 57% of hungry Americans will qualify for the program under the Republican plan. He omits the corresponding point that using his logic, only about 57.5% of hungry Americans will qualify for the program under the Democrat plan.
There are certain issues about how the food stamp program will be run which divide the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress. Like most of the liberals in the media, however, Begala cannot be bothered to debate the actual issues. Instead, he perverts the argument into one where Republicans are in favor of starvation for the poor and Democrats are their saviors. Like most of these perverted arguments, Begala's reasoning is actually just a pack of lies. With this kind of conduct, however, Begala is doing his best to make sure that the real issues are never considered. We just continue with gridlock. No improvements are made because few folks even know what the real issues are.
Oh well, at least Begala is on CNN. I suppose he figures that if he has to suffer he might as well try to make the rest of us join him.
Begala wrote a column today headlined "With Food Stamp Cuts, GOP Turns Its Back on the Hungry". In case the headline is not enough to understand Begala's point, his basic position is that the heartless Republicans in Congress have cut food stamps so that millions of hungry Americans can no longer qualify for the program and are starving as a result. In Begala's column Republicans are evil and Democrats are the forces of good. At stake in this epic battle of good vs. evil are the lives of millions who will otherwise die of starvation.
Now let's look at the facts:
1. The food stamp program has not been changed this year. It remains exactly where it has been for the last three years.
2. The size of the food stamp program or SNAP as it is more properly known, grew by over 40% in just the first two years of the Obama administration when tens of millions of recipients were added to the program. The limits of coverage were set by the Democrats, so if there are Americans starving due to lack of food stamps, they are starving because they fall outside the limits of Obama and those who Begala idolizes.
3. There are two plans in Congress to reduce the size of the food stamp program now that the economy is no longer in total crisis. The first plan to cut the program is that of the Democrats in the Senate. Gasp!!! Let me say that again so that someone can tell Begala. One of the two plans to cut food stamps is being pushed by the DEMOCRATS in the Senate. (I hope Begala does not pass out on hearing this.) The other plan is put forward by the Republicans in the House.
4. The difference between the Democrat plan and the Republican plan is that the Democrats want to spend two percent more over the next decade on this program. That was not a typo. The difference is TWO PERCENT of ten years.
So what do these facts mean? The answer is simple. There is very little difference between the plan of the Democrats to cut food stamps and the Republican plan to do the same. Begala make the claim that only 57% of hungry Americans will qualify for the program under the Republican plan. He omits the corresponding point that using his logic, only about 57.5% of hungry Americans will qualify for the program under the Democrat plan.
There are certain issues about how the food stamp program will be run which divide the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress. Like most of the liberals in the media, however, Begala cannot be bothered to debate the actual issues. Instead, he perverts the argument into one where Republicans are in favor of starvation for the poor and Democrats are their saviors. Like most of these perverted arguments, Begala's reasoning is actually just a pack of lies. With this kind of conduct, however, Begala is doing his best to make sure that the real issues are never considered. We just continue with gridlock. No improvements are made because few folks even know what the real issues are.
Oh well, at least Begala is on CNN. I suppose he figures that if he has to suffer he might as well try to make the rest of us join him.
No comments:
Post a Comment