Shocker: Tea Party Congress members take tons of farm subsidies [View All]

[tpsbmam]

Shocker:

Anti-government activists are all welfare queens! But they accept the "wealthy white person" version of welfare,which is "farm subsidies." (The "wealthy white person" version of welfare is also lots of other subsidies and tax credits and government spending.)

According to ABC, "at least 23 current members of congress or their families have received government money for their farms." Some of them received a lot of money...

No one would agree to stop taking subsidies -- which is sensible, because if the money's available, why not take it -- but more amusingly some of these Tea Partiers wouldn't even explicitly say they'd vote to end the subsidies, which are almost universally acknowledged as wasteful spending by experts across the ideological spectrum. Rep. Vicky Hartzler just said "everything should be on the table" and she was open to "starting the discussion," which is just how lawmakers talk when they refuse to admit that they won't vote for something they should vote for.

"Anti-government Republicans take lots of free government money" is basically an evergreen story. Chuck Grassley, Sam Brownback, and Michele Bachmann have also benefited from wasteful farm subsidies, even though they all hate the socialism so much. It's enough to make you sympathize with libertarians, until you watch John Stossel talk about seasteading or something.

The worst of the offenders? According to ABC:

The biggest recipient was Rep. Stephen Fincher, a Republican from Frog Jump, Tenn.

While the self-described Tea Party patriot lists his occupation as "farmer" and "gospel singer" in the Congressional Directory, he doesn't mention that his family has received more than $3 million in farm subsidies from 1995 to 2009, according to the Environmental Working Group.

When asked whether he would be willing to see all his subsidies go away, Fincher would not directly say he would no longer take any more subsidies.

"We need a good, better, we need a better farm program and we need to streamline it," he said. "We need to look at many many options. And that's a long way off."

Okay, WTF does that mean? Oh, I see.....no, he ain't losing HIS government money.

The article also names Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo ($774,489) and Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind ($180,000). They note that the most U.S. farmers don't get farm subsidies and report that since 1995, Rethuglicans in Congress have taken in excess of $12 million in farm subsidies.

I can't think of one Rethuglican in office over the last 12+ years who isn't a hypocritical, lying sack of shit.


(Oh, and PS...the "shocker" part was in the Salon title....for me it's posted with a healthy dose of :sarcasm:)