The Republican Party is ugly from top to bottom [View all]

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Romney’s Economic Plan Would Throw 13 Million People Off Of Food Stamps

By Pat Garofalo

Back in February, Mitt Romney asserted that he’s “not concerned with the very poor,” because “we have food stamps, we have Medicaid, we have housing vouchers, we have programs to help the poor.” However, according to an analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Romney’s economic plan would throw 13 million people off of food stamps entirely or force him to cut benefits by nearly $2,000 per family per year:

Cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) would throw 13 million low-income people off the benefit rolls, cut benefits deeply — by over $1,800 a year for a family of four — or some combination of the two. These cuts would primarily affect poor families with children, seniors, and people with disabilities.

These deep cuts would be necessary because of the huge tax cuts Romney has proposed, alongside a promise to balance the budget. This estimate assumes that Romney would offset at least some of those tax cuts, even though he has yet to lay out a plan to do so. Thus, it’s entirely possible that even more would have to be cut if Romney were to keep his promise to balance the budget without offsetting his tax cuts.

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http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/22/488079/romney-food-stamps-13/

Iowa’s GOP Platform Endorses Birtherism

By Annie-Rose Strasser

The state’s GOP released its platform on Monday, and the document is full of some of the most far-reaching, Tea Party-inspired policy proposals ever introduced into mainstream politics, including a call to investigate the citizenship of any presidential candidate. Here is a round up of the top five most notably far-right ideas from the document:

1. BIRTHERISM: Under the section entitled ‘Elections,’ the Iowa GOP uses non-specific language to hint at the idea that President Obama was not born in the United States. The section reads:

We insist that a candidate prove that he or she meets all requirements for that office prior to being placed in nomination, including proof of United States citizenship.

2. GETTING RID OF GOVERNMENT: The platform proposes the elimination of 16 federal departments and agencies — despite the fact that throughout the rest of the document they call on these particular agencies to enact or repeal certain policies:

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http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/22/488074/iowa-gop-platform-birther/

‘Young Black Thugs’ Need To Be ‘Put Down Like The Dogs They Are,’ Says Louisiana School Psychologist (Updated)

By Annie-Rose Strasser

Mark Traina, a school psychologist in Louisiana, has been using his twitter account to spew racially-charged accusations about “young black thugs,” and now the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is highlighting his comments in a civil rights complaint against the Jefferson Parish School Board. The complaint alleges that black students and disabled students are sent to “alternative” schools at a significantly higher rate than white students.

Below are Traina’s most damning tweets about black people and Trayvon Martin:

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But Traina’s opinions go even further than personal hatred for black youth. On his Twitter account, he goes into his politics, wondering, “Can President Obama win re-election if almost two-thirds of whites are opposed to him?” He has also voiced strong support for Alabama’s segregationist Governor George Wallace, Colorlines reports:

In another tweet about the Republican presidential primaries in March, Traina wrote, “I grew up in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana – I am a Wallace Man at Heart!”

“It’s particularly alarming to have someone who works for the school system in a position of authority be pro-segregation,” Eden Heilman, a lawyer with the Southern Poverty Law Center told NOLA.com, referring to Traina’s remark about George Wallace, segregationist governor of Alabama.

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http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/22/488506/black-thugs-traina-splc/

Republican Congressman Compares Immigrants to Dogs | Iowa Congressman Steve King (R) used a town hall meeting yesterday to compare immigrants to dogs, saying that the United States should be selective when admitting them by choosing the “pick of the litter.” Video of the comments, uploaded by progressive consulting firm American Bridge, was first published in Salon. King anecdotally likened immigrants to birddogs, and explained to the silent audience that the country should admit “friskier” immigrants, “not the one that’s over there sleeping on the corner.” Amazingly, this is not the first time King has compared immigrants to animals.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/22/488378/republican-congressman-compares-immigrants-to-dogs/