I tried looking for the examples of any - ANY - proposal anywhere that would support the claims by Herman Cain in this interview with Jon Stewart that there was ever a chance that work requirements for welfare would be less stringent rather than more stringent. I'm posting part 3 here, of an interview which began on air, and which continued in 2 additional parts on the internet due to time constraints. I would encourage readers to view all 3, which can be found through this same link above.
I can't find any, and I suspect Herman Cain here is talking through his hat, as he frequently does. I am confident that he cannot produce ANY such example, and that if he DOES have something like this, that Jon Stewart will give it fair and prominent coverage.
That there were so many Republican governors, INCLUDING MITT ROMNEY, INCLUDING MIKE HUCKABEE, HALEY BARBOUR, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, our own TIM PAWLENTY , RICK PERRY, JOHN HUNTSMAN and JEB BUSH who sought and received such waivers is an argument AGAINST the claims made by Herman Cain ------- unless he is asserting that all those REPUBLICAN / ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE governors were the ones trying to weaken that work requirement in welfare.
Here is what a New York Times article had to say about the stringent requirements for a waiver:
As talking point memo noted here:
Here are the names on that letter, which you can see also here below, the text of that letter making it quite clear that there is NO weakening of work requirements being sought by a waiver. The letter is written on Republican Governors Association letterhead, and notes that it is paid for by the Republican Governor's Association:
Kenny C. Guinn, Governor of Nevada Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts
Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California
Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi
George E. Pataki, Governor of New York Linda Lingle, Governor of Hawaii
Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr, Governor of Maryland Dirk Kempthorne, Governor of Idaho
Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia
Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota Dave Heineman, Governor of Nebraska
John Hoeven, Governor of North Dakota M. Michael Rounds, Governor of South Dakota
John Huntsman, Jr., Governor of Utah James Douglas, Governor of Vermont
Ernie Fletcher, Governor of Kentucky Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina
Frank H. Murkowski, Governor of Alaska Bob Taft, Governor of Ohio
M. Jodi Rell, Governor of Connecticut Bill Owens, Governor of Colorado
Bob Riley, Governor of Alabama the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, (whose signature I cannot read)
Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana Matt Blunt, Governor of Missouri
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
I haven't found ANY requests from Democratic or Independent Governors seeking significantly different or more lenient work requirements for welfare than this. If any readers find such a request or inquiry, please bring it to my attention. I am thorough in my research, but I don't claim to be infallible. However, I'm pretty confident that there is no such weakening request ANYWHERE, by ANYONE, granted by ANY president, and certainly NOT BY OBAMA.
However, the Republicans are just wrong, in some cases, like Cain here, who comes off as a goofy, sometimes charming, sometimes obnoxious, (and often generally just very ver strange), but sincere man in this interview. But there are others who are clearly, calculatingly, deliberately simply LYING on the right in this election -- and more so than ususal. I have to applaud Stewart for his exceptionally deft and skillful interviewing technique. He knows how to keep a light touch while still being meticulously fair and factual.
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive - Herman Cain Extended Interview Pt. 3 | ||||
| ||||
I can't find any, and I suspect Herman Cain here is talking through his hat, as he frequently does. I am confident that he cannot produce ANY such example, and that if he DOES have something like this, that Jon Stewart will give it fair and prominent coverage.
That there were so many Republican governors, INCLUDING MITT ROMNEY, INCLUDING MIKE HUCKABEE, HALEY BARBOUR, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, our own TIM PAWLENTY , RICK PERRY, JOHN HUNTSMAN and JEB BUSH who sought and received such waivers is an argument AGAINST the claims made by Herman Cain ------- unless he is asserting that all those REPUBLICAN / ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE governors were the ones trying to weaken that work requirement in welfare.
Here is what a New York Times article had to say about the stringent requirements for a waiver:
Reacting to these kinds of requests, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a memo last month granting states some flexibility. If states can find better ways to get welfare recipients into jobs, they can extend training periods or grant certain kinds of exceptions. The department “is only interested in approving waivers if the state can explain in a compelling fashion why the proposed approach may be a more efficient or effective means to promote employment entry, retention, advancement, or access to jobs,” according to the memo. Kathleen Sebelius, the health secretary, said all waivers would have to move 20 percent more people from welfare to work.
As talking point memo noted here:
States have long sought relief from the 1996 measure’s strict workforce participation requirements and time limits for welfare recipients. In 2005, Romney was one of 29 Republican governors wrote a letter to Congress seeking even more leniency in waiver authority from the welfare law than the Obama administration granted last month.
Here are the names on that letter, which you can see also here below, the text of that letter making it quite clear that there is NO weakening of work requirements being sought by a waiver. The letter is written on Republican Governors Association letterhead, and notes that it is paid for by the Republican Governor's Association:
Kenny C. Guinn, Governor of Nevada Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts
Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California
Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi
George E. Pataki, Governor of New York Linda Lingle, Governor of Hawaii
Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr, Governor of Maryland Dirk Kempthorne, Governor of Idaho
Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia
Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota Dave Heineman, Governor of Nebraska
John Hoeven, Governor of North Dakota M. Michael Rounds, Governor of South Dakota
John Huntsman, Jr., Governor of Utah James Douglas, Governor of Vermont
Ernie Fletcher, Governor of Kentucky Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina
Frank H. Murkowski, Governor of Alaska Bob Taft, Governor of Ohio
M. Jodi Rell, Governor of Connecticut Bill Owens, Governor of Colorado
Bob Riley, Governor of Alabama the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, (whose signature I cannot read)
Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana Matt Blunt, Governor of Missouri
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
I haven't found ANY requests from Democratic or Independent Governors seeking significantly different or more lenient work requirements for welfare than this. If any readers find such a request or inquiry, please bring it to my attention. I am thorough in my research, but I don't claim to be infallible. However, I'm pretty confident that there is no such weakening request ANYWHERE, by ANYONE, granted by ANY president, and certainly NOT BY OBAMA.
However, the Republicans are just wrong, in some cases, like Cain here, who comes off as a goofy, sometimes charming, sometimes obnoxious, (and often generally just very ver strange), but sincere man in this interview. But there are others who are clearly, calculatingly, deliberately simply LYING on the right in this election -- and more so than ususal. I have to applaud Stewart for his exceptionally deft and skillful interviewing technique. He knows how to keep a light touch while still being meticulously fair and factual.
Dog- Good piece. But even Ms. Sebelius admitted in the link that Democratic and Republican Governors has sought some relief from this act.
ReplyDeleteYes, both Republican and Democratic Governors sought more flexibility.
ReplyDeleteHowever when there are 29 Republican Governors out of 50 states, (and apparently the Northern Marianas Islands)it is clear there were more Republicans doing this than Democrats, unless you go by Republican math which makes numbers subordinate to ideology (as in they no longer seem to have actual numerical value, and < less than or > greater than no longer has meaning.
The central claim here is that Obama's administration is GUTTING work requirements.
Making work requirements more flexible so as to put more people to work is hardly GUTTING, nor is it, as Cain insists in all 3 parts of his interview with Stewart making that flexibility in any way less a requirement of working for benefits.
Putting 20% MORE people to work is not in any way shape or form reducing work requirements. One could actually argue it is expanding those work requirements.
More to the point is proves that there is NO WAY that Herman here could have seen proposals that were approved rather than rejected that would do so. It is like the women can't get pregnant from rape claim; it is simply untrue.
So why are we seeing it made? And clearly, Romney, a a signator along with other Republican presidential candidate contenders, ALL know this is untrue. It's not an oops or a mistake. They clearly KNOW.
I'm sure there ARE some Democratic governors who have sought a waiver, which sounds more likea what we would think of as a variance if this were a matter for a local municipality, instead of between state and federal governent.
ReplyDeleteWhoever makes the requests, they still have to conform to stricter, not lesser requirements for putting people to work, not skipping out on work requirements.
I can't say with certainty there were no Democratic requests made in 2005; there might have been, or made in other years since the sunny, profitable, days of the Clinton administration prior to the catastophic failures of the Bush era.
A Romney presidence would hve all the failures of a Bush presidency, only more so.
Is this seriously your thing? You just follow people around, quote a comment here and there. Then make some blanket statement, offering no facts, trying to pass your agenda.
ReplyDeleteMy agenda is to help pass legislation, that will make health care free for the mentally impaired. You my man, are on the poster.
JOB, Democommie - please, may we focus more on the topics and less on personal confrontation. Democommie, please tone down the f-bombs; JOB, you were also provocative.
ReplyDeleteMy concern is not that you aren't both big boys who can take it as well as dish it. My concern is that the tone takes us away from substance, and that as we have been adding followers and new commenters and readers, it tends to discourage them from participating as well, because of an expectation of similar response.
I appreciate the exchange of views, but lets keep making that inclusive rather than exclusionary.
dog gone:
ReplyDeleteFor so long as J.O.B. and similar commenters are not held to backing up their bullshit, I'm done here.
Calling for commenters to back up their assertions is just one of the reasons why I appreciate your participation here, Democommie.
ReplyDeleteBut when it comes to the f-bomb, a term for that vulgarity which is actually making it into serious dictionaries, I am sometimes called to account as well.
As Pen has pointed out to me, his kids read this blog, other people's teenagers also read this blog, and his business colleagues read this blog. It is very difficult to assert this isn't acceptable speech to anyone when we use it too freely, and I agree with Pen that it diminishes in some respects the more important content of what we have to say as well.
So, I sincerely hope you won't abandon us over such a trivial issue, please.
Just this past weekend, I had an exchange, and a number of readers, who came from a pro-gun blog belonging to a blogger who writes under the blog-nomen of Sebastian. Sebastian had some critical things to say, although said politely. He seemed to have substantive, although I believe wrong, disagreements as well with our friend Japete.
I left a comment, correcting his observations, AND invited both Sebastian and his readers to continue the discussion here as well.
They took issue with my assertion that someone shooting should have to be able to see to have a gun, and should be able to see well before firing at someone, including around and behind them, that it was not ONLY a matter of hitting te target person at whom one aimed.
So, don't go now Democommie; the conversations where your calling out those who should substantiate their claims may just be heating up!
I don't know what Laci's schedule might be, but I know Pen's will likely be very busy for a time, so I'd appreciate not feeling too outnumbered, LOL!
DemCom,
ReplyDeleteFirst, we can't make people back-up their comments. Your demands are likely to be the most compelling point, but where we can try, we try.
J.O.B. - I have to concur with DG here. The Democratic Governors sought certain relief, from what I understand it was on the margins. Regardless, the outrageous claims of people like Herman Cain foment and further the hatred so palpable on the right among their core constituency. If this "red meat" didn't play, people like Cain wouldn't say it. I assume you agree that Cain's comments were vapid at best, insidious and dishonest at worst?
Cain's tax plan was, if it had been enacted, a financially ruinous plan for the country. He's twice as dangerous as he is ill-informed about economics. He seems to get his information from Limbaugh or the Drudge Report, and simply is the Dominoes Pizza variant of Sarah Palin. He's got more cheese than sauce. Whether a handful of Democratic Governors supported relaxation of these requirements was never the point (JOB) the point was this talking point of the right is a lie and is wrong. The even worse part is that it has been repeated time and again in attack ads funded by the Republican leadership. They should be ashamed of their base inability to speak to issues.