I was thinking about what a conversation about the story between leading Republicans such as Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, John Boehner, and Eric Cantor might have been like. I can only wonde,r because frankly I\u2019ve never been in a room with conservatives discussing their views on poverty in America.<\/p>\n

Would the conversation go something like this?<\/p>\n

Person A:<\/strong> Here we go again, the damn liberal media believing the crap about how bad things are for the poor.<\/p>\n

Person B:<\/strong> It wouldn\u2019t be so bad if they\u2019d get off their fat asses and get a job.<\/p>\n

Person C:<\/strong> People are poor because businesses can\u2019t hire because of high taxes and all the so-called safety and environmental regulations they are forced to live by.<\/p>\n

Person D:<\/strong> These damn people take their welfare money and go to the liquor store and then sit around drunk all day.<\/p>\n

Person A:<\/strong> I mean it\u2019s true that a lot of these people are poor. But how did they become that way? It\u2019s because they\u2019re so lazy and the government always bails them out.<\/p>\n

Person B:<\/strong> Did you see how dirty they looked in the film? They do have soap and running water. What\u2019s wrong with these people; why can\u2019t they get up, take a shower, and put on clean clothes?<\/p>\n

Person C:<\/strong> Have you ever talked to one of these people? They show you no respect. And the way they talk; most of the time I don\u2019t even know what language they\u2019re speaking.<\/p>\n

Person D:<\/strong> Obama\u2019s going to be speaking about all this stuff we need to do for the unwashed who support him. He\u2019s just trying to foment class warfare. We\u2019 can\u2019t let him and his type fool the American people.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how far off base such a conversation would be. Rick Santorum was speaking in Moline, Ill.,\u00a0 the day before the Illinois primary and said<\/a>, \u201cI don\u2019t care what the unemployment rate’s\u2019going to be. It doesn\u2019t matter. My campaign doesn\u2019t hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates. There\u2019s something more foundational going on here.\u201d He goes on to explain that the \u201csomething foundational\u201d is freedom. So I guess that he finds it acceptable for someone to \u201cenjoy\u201d the freedoms of America even if they don\u2019t have a job or the money with which to purchase the essentials of the family.
\n