Do you live in "healthy poverty" as defined by founder of John Birch society? [View all]

[madfloridian]

Healthy Poverty -- the Radical Right's Fantasy

The words of Claire Conner on her Facebook page in January 2014.

"A lot of folks tell me that the John Birch Society is irrelevant: their ideas are dead and they have no real influence today."

But, here are the facts, folks. The radical right (which is running the House of Representatives) has embraced so many John Birch policies that I can hardly keep count. Slashing food stamps and gutting unemployment compensation--harken back to the views of Robert Welch, founder of the John Birch Society.

..... Listen to Welch's description of the first decade of the 1900s. "The spirit of growth, of adventure, and of opportunity permeated the very atmosphere which everybody breathed."

"There was still plenty of poverty in many areas, of course. But it was a HEALTHY KIND OF POVERTY, where every man took for granted that relief from dire want was entirely his own problem and responsibility. . .. And even the poverty was thus offset by the enormous blessing of freedom." (John Birch Society Bulletin, July 1976).

This same Welch called Social Security "a gigantic embezzlement."
He also opined, in 1964, about the necessities of life. Listen to this: "While food, shelter and clothing are necessities for an individual in a civilized community, the guarantee that he will always have them is not."

If you've been paying attention to drumbeat against food stamps and unemployment, you're hearing Robert Welch in a new suit. He's Paul Ryan, Steve Stockman, Tim Heulskamp, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell.

More at at the link.

Claire Conner said in her book she did not believe her mother when she said the Birchers would be ready when the liberals failed.