I am officially out of patience with the bullsh*t this cynical piece of garbage administration is trying to pass off as budget policy. One hundred percent done.
In six different places today I've seen Mick Mulvaney claim he's just protecting the precious pennies of coal miners, steelworkers, and single moms. We know that's a sack of lies. The only truth is that certain taxpayers are being protected from the terrible idea that they live in a damn society where people are in need. Those taxpayers are the Charlie and Dave Kochs of the world, the DeVos family, the Anschutz family, and a lot of oily billionaires down in Texas.
That's it. But watch Mulvaney explain that they need to cut Meals on Wheels, and after school programs because they simply cannot bear to take one penny out of that coal miner's pocket.
Bullsh*t times a million.
First we get this spin: There is "no evidence" that after school programs and school lunch programs actually help children learn. (They do, but go with the BS here) Also, as Digby said, school lunch programs feed hungry children. So that works, whether it helps them learn or not.
"We can't spend money on programs just because they sound good," Mulvaney says.
But we CAN spend money on a damn WALL we don't need? We can spend MILLIONS so Donald Trump and our First Lady don't have to live in the same house or ever talk to one another? Those are all just fine and dandy.
So a reporter dared to put Mulvaney's feet in the fire by asking him what he will tell the steel worker with an elderly parent who benefits from Meals on Wheels, or has kids in Head Start, or the single mom with kids in after-school programs so she can work.
Oh. My. God. I kept waiting for his head to spin off his shoulders from pure evil force.
"I think it's fairly compassionate to go to them and say, look, we're not going to ask you for your hard-earned money anymore, single mom of two in Detroit," Mulvaney oozed. "We're not going to do that anymore unless we can -- please let me finish. unless we can guarantee that money will be used in a proper function. That's about as compassionate as you can get."
Jeebus. That single mom of two in Detroit depends on Head Start to help her kids get a leg up for school. She probably also depends on the school lunch program to make sure they get a proper meal so they can actually focus on learning instead of their hunger. And it's even more likely that she depends upon Medicaid dollars to keep her and her family healthy.
Because that's what civilized societies do. They don't cast their sick and poor out into the cold. They help them find a place to be warm, to be safe, to raise their children, to aspire to a better life.
So to recap here. Mulvaney wants to ask taxpayers to pay for a BIG BEAUTIFUL WALL.
He wants us to pay for nukes.
He wants us to pay for wars and big warships.
He wants us to pay to house Melania Trump in New York where she barely functions as First Lady.
He wants us to pay for Donald Trump's weekly golf junkets to Mar-a-Lago.
But no food for seniors or hungry children.
And he calls that COMPASSIONATE?
