On Thursday's PoliticsNation on MSNBC, during a discussion of Republican resistance to extending unemployment benefits, MSNBC political analyst Goldie Taylor charged that the GOP "almost single-handedly blew up this economy," and that it was "as if" they "blew up" the "bridge" and then "dared people to cross to the other side of the canyon on their own."
After host Al Sharpton played several soundbites of Republican elected officials and complained that they "act as though" the unemployed are "dependents, that they're some kind of beggars," he turned to Taylor who responded:
After host Al Sharpton played several soundbites of Republican elected officials and complained that they "act as though" the unemployed are "dependents, that they're some kind of beggars," he turned to Taylor who responded:
You know, this is a party who almost single-handedly blew up this economy. You know, it's as if they stuck dynamite on the bridge, blew it up and then dared people to cross to the other side of the canyon on their own. And so, at the end of the day, this is going to hurt them in 2014. It's going to hurt them in 2016 because you don't know who your next door neighbor happens to be who might be receiving benefits from the Department of Labor.
A bit earlier, Taylor served as a reminder that when conservatives discuss the disproportionate poverty or unemployment rate of the black population in the context of trying to help, that they are attacked as having a racist motivation just for noticing, but when liberals do the same, it is considered a perfectly reasonable topic of conversation. As she tried to make Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul seem insensitive to the needs of the black population, Taylor recalled that "African-Americans have a higher disproportionate unemployment rate than the rest of the country."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Thursday, December 26, PoliticsNation on MSNBC:
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Thursday, December 26, PoliticsNation on MSNBC:
AL SHARPTON: Goldie, you know, Senator Rand Paul is standing behind his comments that extending jobless benefits does a disservice to the workers. Listen to this.
SENATOR RAND PAUL (R-KY): And so really, when I said it's a disservice, I mean this. I am worried about the workers. Not that I think they become bad people by being unemployed longer, but that the longer they're unemployed, the less likely they are ever to get a job again.
SHARPTON: Now, Goldie, keep in mind in Senator Paul's home state of Kentucky, about 53,000 people will lose benefits if Congress fails to act. But this is his position.
TAYLOR: Yeah, I've got to agree with Governor Rendell here. You know, you've got to force them to vote because if they do have to vote, then they're going to turn around to the people in their district, the people who are receiving SNAP benefits that they wanted to cut, the people receiving unemployment benefits that they refuse to extend. Now, the people who want to sign up for the Affordable Care Act when they refuse to create these exchanges.
You know, we need to force them to vote on not extending this unemployment benefits package so that the 53,000 people of Kentucky who are going to lose those benefits can see exactly where Rand Paul stands and all of the rest of them. That's what this is really about.
I heard Rand Paul say that he was using this as a part of this mission to attract more African-American voters. Well, African-Americans have a higher disproportionate unemployment rate than the rest of the country. And so, certainly, this is not the constituency you want to talk to about cutting unemployment benefits that people earn who have lost their jobs through no fault, clearly, of their own.
Via: NewsbustersSENATOR RAND PAUL (R-KY): And so really, when I said it's a disservice, I mean this. I am worried about the workers. Not that I think they become bad people by being unemployed longer, but that the longer they're unemployed, the less likely they are ever to get a job again.
SHARPTON: Now, Goldie, keep in mind in Senator Paul's home state of Kentucky, about 53,000 people will lose benefits if Congress fails to act. But this is his position.
TAYLOR: Yeah, I've got to agree with Governor Rendell here. You know, you've got to force them to vote because if they do have to vote, then they're going to turn around to the people in their district, the people who are receiving SNAP benefits that they wanted to cut, the people receiving unemployment benefits that they refuse to extend. Now, the people who want to sign up for the Affordable Care Act when they refuse to create these exchanges.
You know, we need to force them to vote on not extending this unemployment benefits package so that the 53,000 people of Kentucky who are going to lose those benefits can see exactly where Rand Paul stands and all of the rest of them. That's what this is really about.
I heard Rand Paul say that he was using this as a part of this mission to attract more African-American voters. Well, African-Americans have a higher disproportionate unemployment rate than the rest of the country. And so, certainly, this is not the constituency you want to talk to about cutting unemployment benefits that people earn who have lost their jobs through no fault, clearly, of their own.
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