Republicans Only Care About Children Before They’re Born

When it comes to children, Republicans are hypocrites.

They go on and on about how “pro-life” they are, but they really only care about humans before they’re born. After that, they couldn't care less.

Case in point: the so-called “Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016,” the brainchild of Indiana Congressman Todd Rokita that would decimate a key part of the federal free lunch program.

This bill is about as mean-spirited as it gets, and to understand why, you first need to understand something about how the federal free lunch program works.

Thanks to something called “community eligibility,” students at certain schools automatically qualify to get a free lunch if 40 percent of their classmates live in poverty.

Although it may not sound like much, this is a really big deal.

Under community eligibility, high poverty schools no longer have to fill out the mountains of paperwork they’d normally have to fill out to get individual students enrolled in the free lunch program.

Everyone is enrolled, and as a result, these high poverty school are now free to focus on other problems like, you know, educating their students.

Sounds like pretty good idea, right? Not only are you keeping kids healthy, you’re also cutting a lot of red tape.

That’s something everyone can get behind.

Everyone that is, except for Congressman Todd Rokita.

Rokita’s “Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016” would raise the poverty threshold necessary to participate in community eligibility to 60 percent.

Again this might not sound like much, but in the context of how the free lunch program actually functions, it’s a really, really, big deal.

If Congressman Rokita’s bill becomes law, over 7,000 schools serving almost 3.5 million students would be affected.

Those schools would no longer get to use community eligibility to automatically enroll all students in the free lunch program and would instead have to go back to the old application system, student by student, and its mountains and mountains of paperwork.

This isn’t quite a death sentence, but for high poverty schools that are already struggling to deal with things like violence, drugs, and broken homes, it’s just another thing to deal with, and an unnecessary one at that.

Obviously, there’s a certain amount of irony in the fact that Todd Rokita, a Republican, is pushing a bill that would create even more red tape.

But then again, Republicans have always been fine with “big government” if it means demonizing poor people.

So that’s not that shocking.

No, the really shocking thing here is the fact that this is the same Todd Rokita who is 100 percent on board with House Republicans’ kangaroo court investigation of Planned Parenthood.

That investigation, of course, is based on a total lie, and it’s cost taxpayers’ so much money that House Republicans have had to dip into Congress’ reserve fund to help pay for it.

You really couldn’t ask for a better example of the screwed-up priorities of so-called “pro-life” Republicans like Todd Rokita.

They’ll go out of their way to protect a mass of cells that is only philosophically a child, but once it comes to real, live, breathing children, suddenly there’s no money, suddenly cost is an issue, suddenly we need to talk about cutting spending.

And here’s the thing: Republicans don’t even really care about “unborn children” -- the whole “pro-life” thing just a front.

Sure, some of them probably believe that abortion is the next Holocaust, but in the grand scheme of things, most of them know that all the outrage about Roe v. Wade is just a way to keep the suckers in line.

How do you know? Well, if Republicans really cared about kids they’d stop their blockade of Medicaid expansion.

They’d also stop supporting the War on Drugs that creates the school-to-prison pipeline; they'd stop turning our schools into profit-making engines for the billionaire class; and they'd stop trying to cut Head Start, food stamps and welfare for single moms.

They’d also pass federal funding for Flint, Michigan.

The list goes on.

When it comes down to it, most Republicans don't give a rat’s ass about American children.

They’re only “pro-life” when it helps them get votes; otherwise, they couldn't care less about our kids.

Comments

PatrickJH's picture
PatrickJH 6 years 46 weeks ago
#1

There was a lot on your show today about Trump.

1. Like Bernie is not a "Democrat", Trump is not a "Republican". Has he ever participated in Republican Party functions? No.

2. Trump is not interested in the Republican Party. He has run his campaign without them. Trump thinks they are stupid and useless. The party leaders have no idea what to do. This is unprecedented.

3. Trump is interested in Trump; period.

4. Here's the kicker: being President of the United States is a real job with real obligations. It is a very hard job; if done right. (Aparently #43 read his way through 8 years.) Trump would have never thought at the beginning of the campaign that he would survive to the end. Trump may not want the job.

5. Trump may want to throw the election to Hilary (or Bernie).

6. If Trump doesn't win a general election, will he be "fired"?

7. Trump has been successful so far by being completely "over the top" in every way. Everything he says is for effect only. If his numbers go up he sticks with it. He has been acting a reality show part. He probably does a lot of that in business. Could he really think that will "play" in a general election? Can he really think that could play as the POTUS?

8. There is a crisis coming. It will be fun to see when and where it happens.

9. Could Trump win the election, be sworn in, and then quit the job the first time he gets really pissed off?

Pat Hunter

cccccttttt 6 years 46 weeks ago
#2

In listening to Trumps online interviews, he comes across as reasonable, measured, and intelligent.

His bombastic public persona must be for political theater.

Agree with previous post that he is not a Republican.

Anybody but Hillary.

ct

Hephaestus's picture
Hephaestus 6 years 46 weeks ago
#3

Only in america

rlthrockmorton 6 years 46 weeks ago
#4

We tried stupid with GWB, and we all know how that turned out, trillions spent on Iraq and Afghanistan, war without end, pardon (in effect) for Osama bin Laden, economy on the verge of another Republican led depression and the financial system in collapse. After 8 years of intelligence are we ready to try out stupid again? I hope not.

stecoop01's picture
stecoop01 6 years 46 weeks ago
#5

I'm so glad someone finally pointed out the Republicans hatred for the living and their rallying around the unborn. If only we could get mainstream media to publicize it, the republicans would be finished, like the dinosaurs.

OrgDevGuy's picture
OrgDevGuy 6 years 46 weeks ago
#6

Repugnicans also just love solving fictitious, nonexistent problems wihle ignoring real ones.

2950-10K's picture
2950-10K 6 years 46 weeks ago
#7

Only a Republican/Teabagger would consider lunch programs for impoverished youth a problem. Must be the super rich still don't have enough wealth for it to trickle down to lunch programs. Better break up some more unions and ship jobs to Mexico.

If only the poor would get out and vote against the billionaire party! ...If only?

2950-10K's picture
2950-10K 6 years 46 weeks ago
#8

Don't you just love how the Teapublican's shamelessly build lies into the titles of their legislation?????....." Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act", " The Right to Work" , "Informed Consent Law" , The Protect Life Act", "Stand Your Ground Law" , "Free Trade' etc. What else should we expect from a political party owned and controlled by Fascists? Control of and propagandizing the message is key to maintaining power. Welcome to the Soviet Union. Thank you "Fox News"!

Kilosqrd's picture
Kilosqrd 6 years 46 weeks ago
#9

Republicans only care about children before they are born.

I find that title ironic because the Democrats don't even care if they aren't born. They are willing to kill them while still in the womb.

mjolnir's picture
mjolnir 6 years 46 weeks ago
#10
Quote Kilosqrd:

Republicans only care about children before they are born.

I find that title ironic because the Democrats don't even care if they aren't born. They are willing to kill them while still in the womb.

+1

Suze O's picture
Suze O 6 years 46 weeks ago
#11

No, Republicans really don't care about unborn children OR the already born ones. This is about being against women. They don't want women making decisions that they can't control. They don't want women who are free enough from their traditional role as childbearers and housewives that they can (horrors!) get into business, government and community activities and quite possibly "interfere" with men's need for dominance. There have always been men afraid of women they can't make subservient and who can wield power. Saddle them first with what is effectively mandatory pregnancy, then shortchange their ability to raise children (which explains the GOP refusal to support equal pay) and presto, keep them from challenging men's power.

Kilosqrd's picture
Kilosqrd 6 years 46 weeks ago
#12

This is not about anyone being against women. It's about liberal women being against the unborn. The power to terminate the child in the womb takes precident over all other things. Too bad you can't see that or admit to it.

Thom's Blog Is On the Move

Hello All

Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.

Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.

From Screwed:
"Thom Hartmann’s book explains in simple language and with concrete research the details of the Neo-con’s war against the American middle class. It proves what many have intuited and serves to remind us that without a healthy, employed, and vital middle class, America is no more than the richest Third World country on the planet."
Peter Coyote, Actor and author of Sleeping Where I Fall
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Never one to shy away from the truth, Thom Hartmann’s collected works are inspiring, wise, and compelling. His work lights the way to a better America."
Van Jones, cofounder of RebuildTheDream.com and author of The Green Collar Economy
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann channels the best of the American Founders with voice and pen. His deep attachment to a democratic civil society is just the medicine America needs."
Tom Hayden, author of The Long Sixties and director, Peace and Justice Resource Center.