REPUBLICAN WIN BECASUE OF A REAGAN MYTH

The Welfare Queen myth plays a bigger part in our politics then most of us really appreciate. It is a simplistic and superficial manifestation of a simple basic fact; humankind, neither Democrat nor Republican, tolerate non-contributors to the common welfare of society. It is the innate concept of “cheaters”. A serious problem arises when we try to define what that means in practical terms. The reference here is to people who are able to work but refuse to so. It is also true that liberal society has a tendency to provide for such people in the form of food stamps, unemployment compensation, and aid to dependent children, etc because some of them really need the help. The pervasive conservative mind set does not tolerate providing such programs—period. Those of this political persuasion have a tendency to link all welfare programs to high taxes; simplistically, the reason taxes are high is welfare programs.

By incorporating the concept of taxes, they play to another universal innate trait, which is greed. Ronald Reagan made the term ‘liberal’ into a pejorative term upon which he based his entire political life. Although he was not the originator of the concept, he successfully championed the “Welfare Queen” concept and made the term ‘liberal’ equate to supporters of all government taxes, your hard-earned money, as going to the cheaters everyone innately despises. The concept worked so well for him as a campaign tool, he won 49 out of fifty states against +Walter Mondale, who made the fatal mistake of telling we all know is the undieable truth; if you want government programs, which all people do, someone has to pay for them. Reagan lied to the people by saying he would provide these programs while cutting taxes; the result was a sky rocketing national debt. The Reagan lie is the lie we live with everyday in our politics. It can be stated so simply that it s a force to be dealt with. They can forcefully promote the simplicity of it even by political ads aired during sports games to a massive politically naïve, hence susceptible audience.   

I believe, the conservative establishment hinges their entire political party existence on this one idea of a Welfare Queen enforced by the Tea Party argument of “no more taxes”—really a theme Republicans stretched to apply to party position after position; among the people who unjustly receive government handouts or “welfare” are black people, immigrants, Latinos, people sleeping on grates in Washington D. C., unwed mothers, women, low-wage workers, public education, people with low IQs, etc. For the “man on the street” type Republicans, it seems, even for some intelligent people, liberals want to throw away “their” money on welfare, which includes everything but war! This is seems to be the basis of the wealth distribution theme they often so loudly decry.

The true divide comes from understanding what “we” liberals mean by the term “welfare”.  Everyone knows there are people who cannot work for a living. This is so obvious that it seems trite even to have to say it. We also know there are “cheaters”. Both liberal and conservative unite in our desire to catch cheaters and even to punish them harshly. Driven by altruism, liberals feel it is better to take care of those in true need knowing there are cheaters, while conservatives, driven by greed, would rather save the money by denying the needs of the needy because there are cheaters.

I engaged in an enjoyable argument with a grandson, he is intelligent young man but reflexively fell back to saying nonsensical things as, “Why help people who do not want to be helped?” His said his reference was to government financed low rent housing projects, which the tenants demolish in a short time. He did not use the expression “Welfare Queen” but weather he knew it or not that was reference. The Ronald Reagan concept is to give tax money for welfare is to throw it away. The claim is that everyuo9ne has seen her at the check out counter buying expensive steaks with food stamps while her pink Cadillac was parked illegally at the curb in front of the supermarket; the message, food stamps help no one and are a way to promote crime. Of course, no one has ever seen her; there are intended racial overtones to these politically motivated utterances, even though the people who say such things vehemently deny they are racist as did Reagan. You know he announced his plans to run for reelection in Philadelphia Mississippi, the site of the KKK murder of three young people working to register black people.  

My question is, how do we, as liberals, overcome this distortion. It seems so ingrained that it is part of our being. I will never give up my desire to help people who need help just as those who are greedy want to keep their hard-earned money in their grubby little hands.     

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