"I have to be a Republican. I believe in personal responsibility"...?

[Critters2]

Why do people say that? A friend of mine said this to me tonight. I cannot for the life of me understand why people equate the Repugs with "personal responsibility" but I've heard this from others, too. WTF are they talking about?!!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

1. For the Republicans, "personal responsibility " means they are afraid of tax increases for social

programs.

[bliss_eternal]

6. Well said.

If I may add the translation of "personal responsibility" in "republican"...

The polite way of saying,"...we're against welfare, social programs, affirmative action and any other benefits for brown people, women and the disabled coming out of our pockets." Taken a tad bit further, and far less polite...

"...I've got mine, you get yours."

[Contrary1]

7. My in-laws are all conservatives/oxymorons.

My husband's three siblings...of their seven children, five are on welfare of some sort.

My sister-in-law retired a few months back. Now, she wants to find out if she "qualifies" for disability because she has Morton's Neuroma. That is a painful condition, where benign tumors mess with the nerves in the ball of the foot. Seems like an afterthought, since she "retired" first.

It boggles my mind that it is "take care of your own", until it hits home.

[BR_Parkway]

12. That last line is more like "I got mine, I don't give a fuck about you"

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. That's right!

[Left Is Write]

32. Don't forget children.

God forbid children should benefit from social programs.

[muffin1]

23. Funny

how they are all for corporate welfare and tax breaks for oil companies (already receiving record profits).
But Joe Schmo?
They all make me want to wretch.

[driver8]

29. Bingo!

You hit the nail on the head!

That is the ONLY time that they believe in personal responsibility, too.

They don't think the government should be accountable for their actions, that is obvious...

They are a strange lot.

[lapfog_1]

2. He is a YOYO

But explain to him that repukes are really socialists...

They privatize the profits, but what public handouts (in the form of corporate bailouts) to cover the risks.

[villager]

3. Ask him -- specifically -- what Bush has taken personal responibility for...

n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

4. It's one of the things the GOP repeat, but never do.

Like show compassion.

[Robbien]

5. Hate talk radio has pounded that meme into GOPer's brains

"Don't pay attention to all the fraud and corruption and greed of our party, just be proud you believe in personal responsibility."

Even the little GOPers themselves have no clue as to what it means, except that believing in personal responsibility means they are much much better than those damn DemocRATs.

[salin]

9. bingo!

[Enthusiast]

28. Yup, you gots it.

:) It is the result of well executed propaganda. It is so well executed that these mouthbreathers don't even know they have been programed.

And considering the damage The Bush Administration has done, in the last eight years, we might also consider focusing on 'national responsibility'. Also corporate responsibility. See, the right wing pundits have NEVER expressed even the slightest concern for corporate responsibility.

[melody]

8. Because they don't know what the hell they're talking about

Because they've been pre-loaded with talking points -- they're just human parrots who are repeating something
that emotionally makes them feel good without having the ability (or willingness) to think it through.

[Frank Cannon]

10. They're also for smaller government and fiscal conservatism

In other words, they're completely full of shit.

[magellan]

11. Ask them!

When they say this to you, ask them what they mean. And as they give you examples, draw from the many counter-examples that 8 years of Bush** have given us to show them that Repubs have in no shape, form or manner lived up to the concept of personal responsibility.

[Vinca]

13. It means they don't care if Grandma starves to death on the street

or little kids die without healthcare or poor people remain poor because they can't afford to get an education. They're self centered, hard hearted and beneath contempt. Oh, yeah . . . most of them call themselves "Christians." If you love Jesus, according to them, you'll get a McMansion.

[MaryEllen9399]

15. expect to see this attitude if Gustav hits nt

[Vinca]

22. If Gustav hits, the reverse will happen. Every Republican running

for anything from dogcatcher to president will make their way to the coast to "help." They've probably got the script written on this one.

[MaryEllen9399]

24. I wasn't talking about the politicians

I was talking about freepers and their followers.

[Wednesdays]

27. "Every Republican running...will make their way to the coast to 'help.'"

My thoughts exactly.

While as a whole the Goopers aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, don't ever underestimate their willingness to turn a national tragedy into an opportunity for propaganda. (Think 911.)

It wouldn't surprise me a bit, if Gustav turns into another Katrina-like disaster, for the Repukes to swoop down to the Gulf area, snatch a sort-of-darker-skinned waif, and haul her to the convention. There, she will be featured in McSame's acceptance speech, amid a sea of flags and choruses of "Praise the Lord" while Captain Combover proclaims her "The very symbol of America's heroism and freedom." After the convention, she'll be whisked back to where she came from, dumped off in the waste-filled muck that was once her city, and never seen again.

[HughBeaumont]

14. The book "The Great Risk Shift" explains how this Republican mantra . . .

. . . is nothing more than a wholesale exercise in bullshit.

The "Personal Responsibility" party and their backers; via economic policy, tax cuts for the wealthy and pocketing the cash to pad their own coffers while shifting all of the jobs overseas, were responsible for shifting all of the wealth and fruits to them and all of the risk, burden and loss to US.

This is why we have depleted small towns, dead malls and dead factories that used to employ thousands: because the only "personal responsibility" neoclowns have is to themselves and their handlers.

And the useful idiots (that is, non-rich Repukes) defend the actions of their masters like good little slitherers: "It's called capitalism; if you don't like your lot in life, work harder".

[northernlights]

16. rethug personal responsibility means...

they hold the credit card, you and your kids are personally responsible for paying it off.

they hide their company's profits in the Caymans and declare bankruptcy; you and your kids are personally responsible for for the corporate welfare to bail it out.

their supporters live on welfare, medicare, medicaid; you and your kids can go eat shit.

In other words, you are personaly responsible for cleaning up their messes.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

17. Some possible response to that:

Ask them how they square that with their party's opposition to gay rights - even if you believe that homosexuality is either foolish or sinful, shouldn't it be a personal choice (n.b. that they're almost certain to believe it's a matter of choice) without the state trying to pressure you one way or the other by denying you certain rights?

Ask them how they square that with opposition to inheritance tax - the widely-held Republican believe that the rich are rich and the poor poor wholly or largely as a matter of merit is hard to square with some people getting such a large head start over others.

Ask them how they square it with opposition to legalising marijuana.

All these rely on accepting it and making them look at the consequences. A better approach might be to challenge the basic assumption, but that would take a lot longer and be more difficult.

[mikeytherat]

19. "I don't practice it, and I don't expect from the people I vote for, but I believe in it."

:crazy:

mikey_the_rat

[Az]

20. Because they believe everyone is just like them

They believe that all you have to do is try to succeed. They do not recognize that different people have different hurdles to overcome. They do not recognize adversity other than their own.

So when a liberal attempts to pass legislation that aids those who face adversity they see it as entitlement programs. Hand outs. Because everyone should be as successful as they are if they just try the same as they did.

[seabeyond]

21. pull yourself up by bootstraps even if you dont have boots. they will be the first in line

if they need it. you dont know how many people in this area i know using some sort of welfare and then talk repug and welfare queens. just stupid.

[Generic Other]

25. As Obama said last night time for them to take responsibility

for 8 years of failure!!!

[B Calm]

26. Republicans = Personal Responsibility & Corporate Freedom

Democrats = Corporate Responsibility & Personal Freedom

TELL YOUR FRIEND THAT!

[GTurck]

30. We Democrats...

and liberals mean that because we care about those who have less or are suffering more we don't give them any "personal responsibility" for their situation. Because the Rep. don't help them they are promoting "personal responsibility". Talk about double-speak:eyes:

[harun]

31. The translation of that is "I am against social justice"

I would ask someone who says that if they are then for Corporate Responsibility?

[Odin2005]

33. "Personal Responsibility" = "Poor people deserve to be poor because they are lazy"

I'm sick of Republicans and Libertarians yapping on and on about "personal responsibillity," it reminds me of the Woo-Woos that think you can do anything with "positive thinking." It's kind of hard to "pull yourself up by your boostraps" if you don't have any boots to strap on. One of the purposes of government is to GIVE PEOPLE THOSE BOOTS.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

34. because personal responsibility has become the republican theme

although, it really means lacking in empathy.