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| May 5, 1997 |
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(Vol. Ten; No. 9) |
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Many of the quotes in the second half of the edition, under the Volunteering for Liberals Upset by Imaginary Budget Cuts, claim that not only will welfare reform mean program cuts but that America has long ago abandoned the safety net. The numbers show otherwise. In a report for the Cato Institute, Stephen Moore detailed how social spending is rocketing upward. In constant 1995 dollars, AFDC soared 31 percent between 1989 and 1995. Food stamps jumped 53 percent, housing assistance expanded by 67 percent and Medicaid skyrocketed 110 percent. (To read Moore's report, go to: http://www.cato.org/dailys/1-24-97.html) The only people really being hurt are the
taxpayers who are funding this extravagance only to have millionaire TV
anchors lecture them on how greedy they are instead of focusing on the never
satisfied welfare bureaucracy. The Liberal Advocacy Operation that Calls Itself, Quote, "CBS News""The head of the Republican political
lobbying group that calls itself, quote, 'the Christian Coalition' said today
he's leaving to start a political consulting business. Ralph Reed's group took
a beating on some of its hard-right agenda in the last election." Bob Dole: Bail Bondsman for Newt Gingrich"Dole's a charter member of the GOP
establishment. He was the establishment once again bailing out the young
upstarts who had gone too far, just like in the government shutdowns." "Bob Dole is not a lobbyist, but he's
about to work for one of the biggest, most high-powered lobbying firms in
town, including one that's representing tobacco interests in these
negotiations. Do we really want a Speaker of the House who owes $300,000 to a
guy who's a principal in a major lobbying firm? Also, I do think that he
reminded me a little bit of Bill Clinton frankly in his talk. He says I'm
taking responsibility, but really it was my lawyer's fault. Grow up, Newt.
Take responsibility. Don't put it off on other people." "It's not so much that it's bad for
Gingrich, but it's weird for, I mean Bob Dole, look at, Bob Dole fails to
become President of the United States, leader of the free world, continue his
life of service. Instead he's become an influence peddler so he can post bail
for Newt Gingrich." So We Are Clinton Suck-Ups, But We Don't Mean to Be"So a couple of White House aides helped
Webster Hubbell find work, and he did find work, some of it with Democratic
donors. It may not look good, but is there any proof anything was done
wrong?...All right, similar kind of question about Jorge Cabrera, a convicted
drug smuggler who gave $20,000 to the DNC, wound up at a fancy dinner with Al
Gore, wound up at a White House Christmas party with Hillary Clinton. But they
gave the money back when they found out about his background. It may not look
good, but is there any proof that anything was done wrong?" If Lanny Davis Quits, Larry King's Available"All right. So what if we made this case
-- OK, he's pretty tough with fundraising. But there's no proof that the
Chinese had any in, except they gave money. He did a bad deal for you. And he
has turned on his friends maybe a little. But nobody made big money in
Whitewater. It was years ago. He was in Arkansas. He's a good President. I am
happy. No boy is dying overseas. Country seems to be coming around. Supreme
Court is pretty good. Are you better off than you were four years ago? Yes.
What I if I made that case?" "Let's run some things down: the travel
office, was that an example of your saying 'I'm unhappy,' and then people
taking it further than that? Was that an example of what you spoke about
earlier, you have to think of everything you say. What did happen?...Have you
felt, like with grand juries and the like, beleaguered, put upon?...You may be
too close to the forest for the trees, but with all the attacks that have
occurred, how do you explain the popularity of Bill Clinton?....Mr. Hubbell,
were you just being a friend?" Volunteering for Liberals Upset by Imaginary Budget Cuts"Are some current policies in Washington,
however, exacerbating the problem? For example, the new welfare reform bill is
going to put about a million kids on the street without a safety net beneath
them. We're also now pulling back from the benefits that we've provided in the
past to legal immigrants in this country and it's putting a big burden on a
lot of the states out there. You come from an immigrant experience yourself.
Do you think that the welfare reform bill went too far in just those two
areas?" "The Presidents involved in today's
summit are the very same people who are being blamed for the crisis that's
facing the nation's children. Opponents say that a few days of good will will
not make up for years of neglect. Critics are calling it Clinton's cutback
summit....Advocates for the poor report homelessness is increasing since
President Clinton signed a bill last year to cut welfare by $55 billion
dollars over six years." "Some of the things though have to also
be done by the government. I mean, you know the criticism, it's the cutbacks
in government programs that's now bringing this big call for volunteerism
about. Are there some areas where the government really has to do more?" "Seventy-four percent of the respondents
in a recent poll think young Americans without education or job prospects is
the greatest threat facing the country. If that's the case, if that many
people think this is such a serious problem, shouldn't government be
increasing its role rather than decreasing it? Many people think that your
signing the welfare bill only exacerbated the situation of poor kids at
risk." "But 15 years after the government first
began retreating from social programs, some volunteers say they have been
strained to their limits, especially when it comes to solving the most time
consuming, difficult societal problems." "There are also some protesters here this
weekend who say that you're asking people to volunteer to do what the
government is not doing. You're asking them to help the people that the
government has, sort of, turned its back on by closing down some of the
projects that are helping the people you're asking volunteers to help. Is
there an element of truth to that?" "And yet, I would think, I mean I could
raise some notions here to a sometimes liberal Democrat like yourself on
social issues that says this sort of volunteerism becomes more necessary at
precisely the times when people start cutting social programs, and I'm not
sure that you would want to participate in something that helps make it easier
to cut those social programs." "What do you say to people who say we
need volunteerism because we have abandoned the safety net which we used to
have under welfare?" Reality Check: Arms Control Idolatry"What happened here is that the hard
right thought they could make this a big mail, kind of money raising issue and
they failed to do that, number one. And number two, the entire Republican
presidential establishment lined up against them and they began to look like
extremists and Trent Lott, in the end, decided not to do something that would
have been damaging to the country."
L. Brent Bozell III, Publisher
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