i think they are the necessary defining issues of our time. let me ask you about one of those issues, house and senate negotiators agreed on the new five-year farm bill yesterday. it also cuts about $8 billion from the food stamp program over the next decade. twice as much from food stamps as senators approved in may, and as i understand could trim as much as $90 a month from families getting food stamps. you remember the agriculture committee, you worked on this deal, so what do you say to those potential 850,000 food stamp recipients? i think people need to look at how those cuts were done. those cuts were done in a smart and humane way, because the issue here is the house was acting for $40 billion in food stamp cuts, but the senate as you know and pointed out was $4 billion. we did a different way. we went to economists and said how can we fix this program without hurting the bulk of the american people, they said there s a loophole, certain
once again touting this whole thing about economic and social justice. but, what we have to be concerned about is that they are just seeking to expand the welfare nanny state, the dependency society instead of coming up with policies that are going to promote the economic growth of the united states of america and the individual. they were rather see the enslavement of the individual as part of a collective to government. and this is a very dangerous premise that we are on when you are trying to get more people to be wedded to government either by subsistence check or by employment check. and you see that with the rise of poverty in america. you see that with the rise of the food stamp recipients in america. so, this is a very dangerous tipping point in which we find ourselves in our country. but isn t it also tempting for people? there are a lot of all ofly poor people are hurting. certainly outside the coastal enclaves of wealth in this country, a lot of people are much poorer th
chaplain, let me ask you to stand by for a second because harry reid, senate majority leader, is holding a press conference now on the steps of the capitol. republican governor of nevada yesterday, brian sandoval, said something that was very alarming to everyone in nevada. he said nevada is in danger of catastrophic consequences if the republican shutdown lasts longer. now, brian sandoval is a conservative republican governor. he said he may need to call a special session because nevada is already running out of money. as mark warner will explain maybe later, because he s certainly explained to me having been a governor, the pass-throughs are extremely important to a state. and obviously the state of nevada is a good example of that. if this republican shutdown continues in nevada, 365,000 food stamp recipients will see
benefits off from. yeah, martha. we ve become food stamps nation. when you said that the benefits have been slashed, let me just correct you on that. they were, they were trimmed. this, it is true $40 billion over the next 10 years. martha that is out of 8 hundred-billion dollar program. so about a 5% reduction. the debate yesterday on capitol hill was as intense and heated as anyone that i have seen in a long time. you saw some of the clips. democrats literally saying that republicans were taking food out of mouths of hungry children. it is interesting, martha. the three reforms that republicans are talking about in this bill, that caused so much ire among democrats. number one, to require food stamp recipients who are able-bodied, who do not have children to either go to work or go into a work-training program. i think most americans would say that makes a lot of sense. number two, to basically make sure that the people who are getting food stamps are
it s a rough business. there are allegations that are thrown around. it makes it a little more interesting, let s admit it, than having this wonkish discussion. but fox news, rush limbaugh, those people go so far over the line. it s sort of nonstop demonization if you re talking about obama. it s sort of a cultive personality. usually that s a person following a leader. they have formed one around hatred of democrats and obama and things like that. so at media matters we talk about this phony outrage machine that the right wing media is a part of. i think part of that is the phony outrage over demonization, hating people. not really just being upset about obama care or crime, but being sort of furious about the people who are behind it and it s the smearing that s nonstop. joe, this last battle between me, if you want to call it that, and bill o reilly was last week he slammed food stamp recipients