Congressman Steven Fincher: Jesus would oppose food stamps. Food stamps are theft

[Douglas Carpenter]

Last edited Tue Sep 24, 2013, 03:12 AM - Edit history (2)

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Rep. Steven Fincher Gorges on Farm Subsidies While Telling Poor Families They Can't Eat Because of the Government

By Matthew Yglesias

Surrounded by corn and soybean farms—including one owned by the local Republican congressman, Representative Stephen Fincher—Dyersburg, about 75 miles north of Memphis, provides an eye-opening view into Washington’s food stamp debate. Mr. Fincher, who was elected in 2010 on a Tea Party wave and collected nearly $3.5 million in farm subsidies from the government from 1999 to 2012, recently voted for a farm bill that omitted food stamps.


“The role of citizens, of Christianity, of humanity, is to take care of each other, not for Washington to steal from those in the country and give to others in the country,” Mr. Fincher, whose office did not respond to interview requests, said after his vote in May. In response to a Democrat who invoked the Bible during the food stamp debate in Congress, Mr. Fincher cited his own biblical phrase. “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat,” he said.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/05/fincher_governmnet_printing_press.html

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And here is a video clip of the Congressman explaining his views on Christian compassion

[lunasun]

1. seperation of C&S

Many dont care WWJD Mr. repug

[winter is coming]

2. +1. Icing on the facepalm cake: that's not even what Jesus would do. n/t

[Rectangle]

62. I wonder, does that apply to the ultra-idly rich, who don't work also?? I mean they don't really

"work" they just get big checks from Wall Street.
hmmmmm...........

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Jesus would oppose you Fincher

You're a modern day Pharisee.

[Brigid]

4. Fincher is complete fool and a hypocrite.

He needs to take a good hard look at Matthew 23 sometime.

[jsr]

5. Jesus wouldn't let anyone come near the five loaves of bread and two fish

without a full background check and a urine and blood test.

[defacto7]

29. and a hard day's work!

[mysuzuki2]

6. Yep. Old JC was efinitely against feeding poor people.

[Rex]

7. Jesus would oppose food stamps, because all food should be completely free.

Just like healthcare.

[cui bono]

8. Wow.

[madrchsod]

9. just liked....thanks

[longship]

10. Gee! I thought Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple.

:scratches head:

Hmm! I don't think I have my Bible wrong.

Ah! I got it. GOP Congress critter Stephen Fincher is... (wait for it)...

Full of shit!

Ahhhh! That's better. That's much, much better.

Now, make this guy eat his words.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

11. Give me a link to this. I want a news story please.

[jsr]

13. Here's a video clip

[Douglas Carpenter]

67. thanks for that.. I now included it in the OP

[Douglas Carpenter]

14. it took about 10 seconds to google it - anyone can do it

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/05/fincher_governmnet_printing_press.html

[jtuck004]

19. Maybe not in Suzhou, China. Their Internet access is somewhat different. n/t

[Douglas Carpenter]

37. if that's the case.. then I guess it is a reasonable request

[Douglas Carpenter]

38. sorry, I guess that was a reasonable request - so I added both an article and a video to the OP

[blkmusclmachine]

12. bible-beaters use jesus as a prop only

[WCGreen]

15. There was an old Jewish tradition called gleaning...

Which allowed those in need to "...collect (grain, grapes, etc.) left behind after the main harvest or gathering."

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/glean

And it's in the BIBLE...

[Art_from_Ark]

28. Today that would be called "dumpster diving"

[Niceguy1]

40. we still have groups that do

That in the us.

[lunasun]

65. Yes gleaners clear the fields after harvest and bringthe left overs to the people

Usually just too much of one or 2 things that grew or pumpkins after halloween
gleaners will bring them by the crate a day or two after that weekend

Gleaner's goods introduced me to fairy tale pumpkins - boy are they tasty compared to the jack o lantern type and kombucha squash a new one on me thats a long winter keeper it turns out

I saved the seeds from both and grow them now - look how far that offering went.........I always leave a donation for their good deeds I know they need gas$$ and do hard work getting the food to people too

[golfguru]

16. Robin-hood wood call it -- BRAVO!

[azurnoir]

17. Honestly I don't understand what kind of mean-spiritedness drives people like this

to deny anyone food is wrong just plain wrong no matter what the reason

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. They are of the opinion that ANYONE can be a success....

They get this from personal experience.

The way they look at it, they KNOW that they are stone fucking stupid and they're doing fine so ANYBODY should be able to do the same. It's EASY to be rich and the ONLY reason you aren't is because you are LAZY. Therefore if you FORCE these lazy people off the couch they will discover to their surprise that they can actually do GREAT. All they have to do is TRY.

It's like Romney telling everyone to stop making excuses and go start a business like normal people by borrowing the money from their folks.

[Douglas Carpenter]

35. for the sake of argument - let's say the Congressmen is a sincere right-wing libertarian

who sincerely believes that the removal of all government intervention will serve the greater good in the long run. What are they doing taking millions of dollars in government farm subsidies all for themselves?

[mindwalker_i]

18. This is an effort to cast the argument in a moral way

And, of course, the morals apply to the poor who need food stamps in an effort to get them to voluntarily give up a benefit that is keeping them alive. And the good congress-critter is banking on the poor being dumb enough not question his analysis.

Why do poor people vote Republican?

[jtuck004]

20. >Why do poor people vote Republican? < Generally they don't. Vote that is. The less education

and income, the less likely one is to vote, at all.

Voting is generally something done by everyone else to them.

[YoungDemCA]

24. Yup. Of the poor who do vote, a strong majority vote Democratic...

Of course, you have some poor whites who vote Republican (and that's a whole 'nother can of worms-the roles of racism and class resentment are very complex her), but by and large, poor people either vote Democratic or don't vote at all.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

27. "Why do poor people vote Republican?"

Some do it because they think it will impress someone who's rich and they'll shower them with riches.

[Art_from_Ark]

30. And some do it because of one issue

like abortion or gunz

[YoungDemCA]

31. And some do it because of condescending attitudes from liberals

Who think that poor people are too dumb to know what their best interests are.

[Fumesucker]

41. Thereby showing that liberals in fact are correct about them n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

33. A big one is racism and immigration....

Some people are in a panic that the White Trash Race is going extinct.

[YoungDemCA]

44. "White Trash Race"....

I didn't know that this kind of classism and bigotry was tolerated on DU.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

45. Seen this guy?

[YoungDemCA]

46. You think that guy is bad...

...I'm willing to bet that he's done nowhere near as much damage to the global economy as this guy:

[Spitfire of ATJ]

48. Larry Summers is a typical Clinton Era "Third Way" guy.

[Arkansas Granny]

42. Yes, I know several single issue voters.

They all vote Republican.

[SammyWinstonJack]

58. Or gawd.

[gopiscrap]

21. Fincher must know a different Jesus than I do but even so

who cares what Jesus would do..this is not a theocracy!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. Typical for a rural district....

You'll find a guy receiving hundreds of thousands in farm subsidies to buy a harvester railing about some mom in the city getting money to buy her kid shoes.

[Scootaloo]

23. The men who speak for Jesus most often, are generally the least qualified to do so

Nice rule of thumb, and applies to religions beyond Christianity as well!

Now I admit, my ability to quote scripture has decayed quite a bit since my de-conversion some twenty years ago. But it seems to me, from my understanding of Jesus, that he would be more opposed to the systems and individuals who are responsible for the poverty and shortness that makes welfare programs necessary.

Individuals like congressmen who lobby to fill their own pocket out of federal coffers.

And since my comparative religion study is a little more recent I can say with certainty that jeus isn't alone on this... Mohammed and Siddhartha were both real big on helping out the poor and feeding the hungry, and implored their followers to follow that course - of course those followers are no better or worse than Jesus' when it comes ot living up to that, but you know, people are people.

But if you're going to invoke your religion, you might want to actually get it right.

[RedSpartan]

26. Matthew 25:31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

[Skittles]

32. what do you suppose he thinks about money wasted on senseless war?

hmmmmmmmmmmm

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

34. Oh here we go again with Right Wing Jesus.

[LaPera]

36. This republican asshole stole 3.5 million form OUR tax dollars....

That these republican pigs call subsidies (welfare for the rich)....these hypocritical republican pigs are thieves we would ALL prefer that the 3.5 million dollars he stole free money from our taxes to go to people who are hungry not to anther greedy lying selfish compassion-less cold-heated rich republican asshole!!!

[Deep13]

39. Matthew 19:16-24 niv

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes:

Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20
Matthew 19:19 Lev. 19:18

[quaker bill]

43. Mr. Fincher has not read much of the Bible

because it is pretty clear that God will burn down your cities, sell the women into slavery, and banish you to the desert for failing to care for the stranger, the poor, the widowed, the sick, and the orphaned. This happens over and over again in the OT. Interestingly it is not about personal morality but civic morality as a community, thus dead on target.

[Shrike47]

54. Women don't have to care for anybody, thank goodness. Just be sold like the chattel they are.

[quaker bill]

66. This is not significantly less true there today,

unfortunate as that is. You can be pretty sure that at least those aspects of the historical accounts are reasonably correct. Of course you are aware that Quakers never accepted any of that. It is part of why the leaders of the Woman's suffrage movement included many Quakers... It is why the much storied Puritan Pilgrims hung Quaker women ministers in Boston Commons... (because we had women ministers in the 1650s, otherwise they would have only been hanging men...)

[Douglas Carpenter]

47. knr

[indepat]

50. My Dear Congressman Fincher: please cram your brand of Christianity up your

own ass as you refund the $3.5 million largess you have received in farm subsidies. Thanks.

[SomethingFishy]

51. So when I come knocking on his Christian fucking Door

looking for food he'll be happy to help right?

Jesus loves you dude, everyone else thinks you are an asshole.

[liberal N proud]

52. He's right - Jesus would oppose food stamps, Jesus would feed the poor and hungary

He wouldn't hand them some stamp that could be traded in the market. He would have taken the food directly to the people.

These people have no scruples, they will twist anything to further their agenda.

[notadmblnd]

53. Like my mother always said "it takes one to know one"

[PA Democrat]

55. Fincher is the biggest welfare king in congress.

Of the 15 members of congress who collect farm subsidy WELFARE, Fincher was number one last year with a total of $70,574 in subsidies.

Representative Stephen Fincher, a Tennessee Republican and member of the House Agriculture Committee that has approved a rewrite of farm programs, was the biggest recipient of the subsidies last year, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group, a group that seeks lower farm subsidies. Fincher and his wife, Lynn, own 50 percent of a farm and received $70,574 in direct farm subsidies last year, the group said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-03/lawmakers-benefit-from-farm-subsidies-congress-seeks-to-overhaul.html

Sweet work if you can get it, huh? Collect a taxpayer funded salary and sit on the committe to award yourself MORE taxpayer money in the form of farm subsidies.

And the PIG begrudges the working poor, the elderly, the disabled and children a few measly bucks in food stamps. In Fincher's state of Tennesse the average SNAP payment is about $130 per person per month. Fincher collects almost $6,000 a month in farm subsidies on top of his taxpayer funded salary of more than $14,000 a month plus benefits. And by the looks of it, the only work Mr. Fincher is doing in the house is that of lining his own pockets.

http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/avg-monthly-food-stamp-benefits/

[Douglas Carpenter]

60. mind boggling, isn't it?

[HockeyMom]

56. Multiplying the loaves and fishes

so all could eat. Remember that from Catholic School. Why give them anything at all? Go bake your own bread and do your own fishing and bring it with you, you stupid people?

[MineralMan]

57. Don't Tempt Fate, Fincher.

Speaking for Jesus is not a Christian good. I heard He doesn't like it when people take His name in vain.

Fortunately for you, it doesn't matter, though. Jesus doesn't seem to be in the building any longer, so you'll skate.

[Initech]

59. The taker class screwing the poor yet again.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

61. I think everyone here is forgetting the miracle of the feeding of the multitudes.

Where, after Jesus had preached to a crowd of thousands and they had nothing to eat, a boy came forth with a mere five loaves of barley bread and two small fish.

He then took the bread and fish, said a prayer over it, and it was multiplied by the thousands, enough to feed everyone in the crowd. He then sent his disciples into the crowd with baskets of food and credit card scanners to ensure prompt and full payment.

[Douglas Carpenter]

63. knr

[Douglas Carpenter]

64. knr