Michelle Bachman cashed in on $250,000 on welfare

[Christa]

This article was first published by TruthDig (truthdig.com)

Michele Bachmann has become known as the Queen of the anti-government Tea Baggers, protesting health care reform and slamming every other government handout as “socialism.” But what her followers don’t know is that Rep. Bachmann is also a queen of another kind—a welfare queen. That’s right, the anti-government insurrectionist has taken more than a quarter-million dollars in government handouts thanks to corrupt farming subsidies she has been collecting for at least a decade.

And she’s not the only one who has been padding her bank account with taxpayer money.

Bachmann, of Minnesota, has spent much of this year agitating against health care reform, whipping up the tea-baggers with stories of death panels and rationed health care. She has called for a revolution against what she sees as Barack Obama’s attempted socialist takeover of America, saying presidential policy is “reaching down the throat and ripping the guts out of freedom.”

But data compiled from federal records by Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit watchdog that tracks the recipients of agricultural subsidies in the United States, shows that Bachmann has an inner Marxist that is perfectly at ease with living on the government dole. According to the organization’s records, Bachmann’s family farm received $251,973 in federal subsidies between 1995 and 2006. The farm had been managed by Bachmann’s recently deceased father-in-law and took in roughly $20,000 in 2006 and $28,000 in 2005, with the bulk of the subsidies going to dairy and corn. Both dairy and corn are heavily subsidized—or “socialized”—businesses in America (in 2005 alone, Washington spent $4.8 billion propping up corn prices) and are subject to strict government price controls. These subsidies are at the heart of America’s bizarre planned agricultural economy and as far away from Michele Bachmann’s free-market dream world as Cuba’s free medical system. If American farms such as hers were forced to compete in the global free market, they would collapse.

However, Bachmann doesn’t think other Americans should benefit from such protection and assistance. She voted against every foreclosure relief bill aimed at helping average homeowners (despite the fact that her district had the highest foreclosure rate in Minnesota), saying that bailing out homeowners would be “rewarding the irresponsible while punishing those who have been playing by the rules.” That’s right, the subsidy queen wants the rest of us to be responsible.

http://exiledonline.com/teabagger-queen-michele-bachmann-cashed-in-on-250000-in-welfare/

[progressoid]

1. Sadly, this goes right over the heads of her teabaggin' buddies.

[Towlie]

25. Probably goes over her own head as well.

[happygoluckytoyou]

26. HERE IS HOW TO TAKE A STAND---->

copy the story, and the link.....

send it to HER various mail addresses---- you know she does not answer her own mail... so her workers will read the story
sent it to HER organizations as well----

if she is in the right, she can explain it to THEM
if she is wrong, they will read and understand (hopefully)

IT ONLY TAKES ABOUT 5 MINUTES

http://bachmann.house.gov/ ANOKA COUNTY 56376 56375 56377 56379 56387 55042 55011 55014 55005 55003 55082 ZIP CODES

[FSogol]

2. K&R. n/t

[Blue Owl]

3. the batshit hypocrite strikes again

The shamelessness is mind-boggling...

[Bitwit1234]

4. Know how the drop propoganda leaflets over the areas

in foreign countries. They notify them of things happening. Well maybe we should hire a helicopter and drop those leaflets about her getting all that welfare money. Go to the areas where there are tea bags and let them gag on the truth.

[lib_wit_it]

17. I actually think the Dems and the left ought to have employed this technique on a number of issues

recently. Nothing could be worse than their current messaging techniques.

[marmar]

5. Welfare and Drama Queen.....

[Zomby Woof]

6. Par for the course

The heavily Republican western states like Wyoming, Alaska, etc., have populations which largely parrot the "we hate big government" party line, but the Republican ranchers, oil execs, miners, etc, rake in large federal subsidies. Uncle Sam's fat titties are for THEM, not for you elitist coastal city folks and non-white working poor. Watch the blank stares you get when you try explaning all of this to the poor sonofabitch working at a convenience store in Casper or Fairbanks, or wherever, whose mind is numbed by listening to Rush Limbaugh on he radio at work all day. He gets minimum wage and yet is frothed up in a lather because some factory worker in Illinois gets laid off and will have to use food stamps to feed his children and SCHIP to provide them health care. Meanwhile, just 10 miles from his crappy job, an oil field is pumping dead dinosaur goo with the help of the taxes just recently paid by the laid-off Illinois worker. So as the revenue deficit mounts, no one dares propose either ending the subsidies or taxing the ever-living shit out of the rich. Oh no! THAT'S SOCIALISM! RUSH SAID SO!

The system isn't broken. It works like a wet dream for fecal blobs like Bachmann who are skimming that federal cream off the top. And what lubes the asses of the teabagging masses? Fake populism. Get teabaggers all worked up over the bank bailouts and what-have-you - even as they want to vote for the very people who would LOVE to de-regulate banks even MORE and even further line their pockets with our tax dollars. These scumsuckers are the most cynical pieces of shit to ever pollute the landscape, and the teabaggers are the biggest schmucks in the history of the fading republic.

[Tsar_Bomba]

23. You hit the nail on the head Zomby

Their is a group of individuals who enjoy too many breaks yet complain all the time. The I've got mine screw you crowd of not just Bachmann but her gerrymandered district citizens. Sure they pay taxes, but the taxes they pay for give them overwhelming attention and representation at the expense of all others.

[liberalhistorian]

28. A-FREAKING-MEN!

You couldn't have described it better. I'm living that attitude every single day here in South Dakota. Yet, SD is number ELEVEN among states in the amount of federal money it receives. It couldn't survive without federal money, or, as you say, the taxes of the very middle-and-lower income "east coast elitists" Joe Blows they love to denigrate. Then again, they're from REAL American, whereas Joe Blow isn't, so that makes it okay in their eyes. Federal farm and ranch subsidies that keep so many farmers and ranchers alive, and federal maintenance of roads that help them get their produce to the rest of the world (i.e., NOT "real America") don't count because they're not real tax money. It's just money the government pulls from the cherry trees by the Washington Monument.

The "West River" side of the state, especially Rapid City and the Black Hills areas, are especially bad and hypocritical with this. They love to rant and rave and bloviate and pontificate against the eeeevil fedrul' gubmint and pound themselves on the chest about how "independent" and "self-reliant" they are, blahblah yakkayakka. They don't need no stinkin' fedrul' gubmint, and to hell with any lazy useless good-for-nuthin' who does. But what's this? What do they have there in their midst? Ahh, yes, the penultimate patriot's altar, Mt. Rushmore. And of what economic benefit is it to the Black Hills region? To the tune of tens of millions of dollars annually, if not even more. And who is responsible for operating and maintaining it? Why, the National Park Service. And what is said National Park Service a part of and what runs it? That's right, the eeeeevil fedrul' gubmint. And could the state and region afford to operate and maintain it on their own? Uh, let's see now, uh.......HELL. TO. THE. NO. But try telling them that. No, that doesn't count, because it's not really tax money, it's, again, money pulled off the cherry trees by the Washington Monument.

And I haven't even mentioned yet the federal maintenance and operation of I-90 and other major interstates that are used by travelers to the state and by farmers and ranchers. Or any of the other gazillion ways they benefit from federal money, ways they simply refuse to acknowledge. They'd rather get angry at the poor working schlubs who can't find jobs after getting laid off and who have the nerve to try to survive through unemployment and food stamps, and the gubmint for "causing it" than the banksters, megabucks CEO's (who lay off thousands then increase their pay by millions) and Wall Street hucksters who've stolen the jobs and their retirement and investments, who are really at fault. I could go on and on, but I'd like to keep my blood pressure at a somewhat even keel today.

[bahrbearian]

7. I love her picture at the link, "crack is wack"

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. Not only are farm subsisdies in the US a pretty clear control economy (i.e., socialism)

They are also fairly effective in destroying the free market in agriculture for growers worldwide, and especially in developing countries, who simply cannot compete on a FREE MARKET with US growers (with the result being poverty, starvation, and even widespread famine).

[anonymous171]

15. They would raise tarrifs, but when they do that bad things tend to happen to their governments.

[nilram]

9. k&r

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. K&R

[B Calm]

11. I have a bunch of these welfare farmers living around me too. Most

vote republican..

[Divine Discontent]

12. what a disgusting excuse for flesh she is, and,

She's allowed to take a gov't welfare check to prop up her business, but it's not okay to secure guaranteed health care for someone who is denied coverage as having a 'pre-existing condition' because they are pregnant or have Asthma? Okay... I see.

For someone so anti-gov't spending - you'd think this newly-found welfare queen would be against gov't taxpayer money going to prop up a failed industry... Oh, wait, that only applies to GM which employees hundreds of thousands, not when it's for her own good.

Hypocrisy.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

13. Hypocrisy - the defining characteristic of the CONservaTURDS

and Bachmann is their princess spokesperson.

[Qutzupalotl]

14. She even votes against her OWN self-interest.

That is crazy. House members should know better.

[jillan]

16. This needs to get out into the MSM...Keith? Rachel?? Ed??

[Hubert Flottz]

18. She prolly just forgot about her handouts...

She's a total airhead...

[KrazyinKS]

19. Seen it all my life

My husband grew up in western Kansas. He has been talking all his life (or as long as I have known him) about farmer welfare. These guys are clueless. They rant on about socialism but take the subsidy checks every year. A lot of them, when he was growing up, always had more money and better cars than he did because of the checks. At one point (I can't remember the exact year 70's perhaps) wheat prices were really high and they were swimming in dough, still taking checks. They are the worlds biggest hypocrites.

[Hubert Flottz]

20. Welcome to DU...

The Reich wingers should put an (H) for hypocrite in front their names instead of that (R)

[dotymed]

22. My previous landlord, who treated me very well,

was a teabagger and we lived on one of his cattle farms. He also grew corn and soy beans. He prospered greatly off of the subsidies. He is also a pastor at a evangelical church. He has more money than most. I have "fight the right" and pro-union bumper stickers on my truck.....we got along fine. We did not discuss politics though...

[SteveM]

21. Bachmann is another example of auto-induced gas-huffing (nt)

[peacetalksforall]

24. Each of us who bring up Bachman must add all the others who are getting the money. Framing will be

essential here. Framie farming and all other subsidies so tea baggers can understand and know that their protest and hate game is over.

Bachmann PLUS everyone else who approves of farm subsidies and who rant against health reform and chant along with her.

GFCR? - Government Farm Check Recipient Tea Baggers - who can't stand to see fair health reform for political purposes. Recipinets who can't think clearly to see the hypocrisy.

What is a good name? Think time. Idea time.

We can't expect Durbin to help with this - he just recommended Bernanke.

We can't expect Pawlenty to help with this - he has to back up Bachman

We can't expect Bachus to help with this - he is for the pharmas and insurance companies.

So we need a name and when we use it we need to use it against ALL OF HER AUDIENCE AND THE PEOPLE WHO USE HER TO GET ATTENTION IN A MOST UNFLATTERING WAY. (Unflattering because she comes off as cracy - she doesn't mind being made into a fool and by being her own fool - courth jester - who is really smart if she is getting all that money).

Some things we have to do for us on our own - and education is a non-long winded way is the way.

We need the equivalent of a looooonnnnnng pig with many tits showing all the ways the government is socialist to these mind shaping money lusters who might be helped to see the light with a visual and the right words.

Whatever you do - don't just point at Bachman. Don't single her out. Demand reform of the subsidy and the police and everything else that is done through the government. Get them to specify everything that the government shouldn't handle. Notice her words when she speaks - it's so broad and full of air that it means nothing, but it is working to spread hate.

[BeyondGeography]

27. Only a matter of time before the MSM breathlessly reports this

:sarcasm:

[liberalhistorian]

30. LOL! I'd wait with

bated breath, but I think I'd turn blue and die, so I'm not gonna do that.

[WileEcoyote]

29. I want to apply for some of that aid

The only land Wiley owns is a 40 acre parcel in the dry hot Southern California Desert. Not irrigated, no buildings, no scars on the land. Basically a wilderness parcel I intend to keep for my later years.

My ex wife always said: "All you want to do is move to the desert and watch the Coyotes come down the mountain". To which I intend to prove the biacth right.

However with this bat shit crazy Bachmann receiving all that bailout money why don't I apply for the federal monies? Would they even bother coming out to see that I;m only growing cactus, Burroweed and Ocotillo?

Please help advise me.