wow. just wow.

[josybear]

i just read this mike huckabee quote:

Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care.

did you guys know that? i had no idea! here i thought we were doing pretty well at raising amazing kids, working hard,a nd being fairly awesome people. ok, so yeah, we're broke, but so are people without kids, often, and people who are married. wow, i'm glad he game me some education. seeing as i'm, you know, an ignorant, worthless single parent whose kids would be starving...

ugh. sometimes this crap really gets under my skin.

(the quote is from his appearance on the MIchael Medved show, whatever that is)

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

I thought the same thing when i read that quote (at usmagazine.com btw) and thought the exact same thing.  And you know WHY I thought that?  Because of THIS FORUM in THIS community.  That guy should be put in his place.  WTH!?!?

[Phoenix~Mama]

huh... that is quite interesting... as EVERY Single Mother I know is a HARD worker who is working her rump off providing for her kids, and usually working to further herself to provide even better for her kids.  Most single moms I know have put themselves through schooling and have landed awesome jobs, all the while raising amazing and wonderful children.

Um, sometimes, yeah, we need some assistance, but so do A LOT of people in the current economic climate.  wtf?!

[bananabee]

OMG. Maybe many of us wouldn't be poor if our exes hadn't made all sorts of promises, treated us like crap, drained our life savings, knocked us up, and then kicked us to the curb with our children...

As for uneducated, many of us have degrees and obviously more education than an idiot who would say such things.

[Tilia]

Wow, eff that.  Most single mom's I know are college educated, employed, but still poor.  Like me.

[josybear]

i'm just baffled that he'll spout hate speech like that on one hand, then turn around and try to limit the reproductive choices women can make ont he other hand. which does he want? either he facilitates the right to choose and helps keep the number of single parent families down, or every woman who gets knocked up has to have that baby and we have more single mamas than ever. i'm not trying to start an abortion debate, believe me, (and don't start one, anyone!) but it seems like he and his buddies want conflicting things.

and mike, my friend, you may not know this but we women don't get pregnant on our own. most of us don't dream of having to juggle kids and work and school all on our own when we're little girls. don't you be laying all this on the women.

[mama1803]

Originally Posted by josybear 

i'm just baffled that he'll spout hate speech like that on one hand, then turn around and try to limit the reproductive choices women can make ont he other hand. which does he want? either he facilitates the right to choose and helps keep the number of single parent families down, or every woman who gets knocked up has to have that baby and we have more single mamas than ever. i'm not trying to start an abortion debate, believe me, (and don't start one, anyone!) but it seems like he and his buddies want conflicting things.

and mike, my friend, you may not know this but we women don't get pregnant on our own. most of us don't dream of having to juggle kids and work and school all on our own when we're little girls. don't you be laying all this on the women.

Well, I wouldn't call this hate speech.  You may not agree, but it isn't hateful.  And while it might not be true in the cases of some mothers here, statistically it would be easy to prove or disprove his statement. Statistically, something like 40% of all births in this country are to single women.  Given the fact that at least some of these will have to depend upon public assistance, these births affect us all.

The conversation this quote as taken from was about how Hollywood glamorizes single parenthood.  Single Hollywood starlets are going to be in a better position financially to raise a child alone that would someone who doesn't have unlimited money, nannies, tutors, and hired help.  He knows that women don't get pregnant on their own.  What he is saying is that Hollywood makes it look that way.

[by-the-lake]

Originally Posted by mama1803 

Well, I wouldn't call this hate speech.  You may not agree, but it isn't hateful.  And while it might not be true in the cases of some mothers here, statistically it would be easy to prove or disprove his statement. Statistically, something like 40% of all births in this country are to single women.  Given the fact that at least some of these will have to depend upon public assistance, these births affect us all.

The conversation this quote as taken from was about how Hollywood glamorizes single parenthood.  Single Hollywood starlets are going to be in a better position financially to raise a child alone that would someone who doesn't have unlimited money, nannies, tutors, and hired help.  He knows that women don't get pregnant on their own.  What he is saying is that Hollywood makes it look that way.

He knows women don't get pregnant on their own? His speech did not reflect that. His speech made a sweeping generalization about single moms with no regards to the whole picture, once again putting all the burden on the shoulders of women. Not only that, many married people depend upon public assistance. So do many minorities, white people, obese people, skinny people, and so on. So is it ok to make sweeping about single mothers? Oh yeah, and those single mothers are voters too. Not a great political move. Its hard to defend such a quote made in such poor taste.
 

[mama1803]

Originally Posted by by-the-lake 

He knows women don't get pregnant on their own? His speech did not reflect that. His speech made a sweeping generalization about single moms with no regards to the whole picture, once again putting all the burden on the shoulders of women. Not only that, many married people depend upon public assistance. So do many minorities, white people, obese people, skinny people, and so on. So is it ok to make sweeping about single mothers? Oh yeah, and those single mothers are voters too. Not a great political move. Its hard to defend such a quote made in such poor taste.
 

Did you read his comments in their entirety?

[by-the-lake]

Originally Posted by mama1803 

Did you read his comments in their entirety?

I read the OP. I saw no citations to read further. Those are the comments being circulated. Whether there was great philisophical reasoning behind these excellent statements, they are not being conveyed. And no, I have seen enough, thanks.
 

[mamamoo]

I was disgusted when I read that. I seriously think some of these political figures need to have someone to run things by before they spout off at the mouth. It might help them to keep some supporters.

[blessingscome]

::shaking head::

[Ciennasmom]

Almost every single mother I know does utilize the state childcare assistance program. I live in Oregon. This program has been in place for years and is ending this June. It allows people to pay a "copay" for their childcare and the state subsidizes the rest of whatever the provider charges. I don't see how I would have been able to go back to work without this program. It allows people to work to pay bills and rent instead of working to pay the babysitter. This is a program that, while paid for by state tax dollars (which I pay too!!), contributes to the economy in allowing us to be part of the workforce. We work HARD to be contributing members of society... so.. that being said.. please explain to me why the unemployed by choice, sleeping on a friends couch person is entitled to $200/mo food stamps... This is not the uneducated, poor single mother who is draining the resources.
I just KILLS me that a program as valuable as this is being cut. It will force single parents to quit their jobs because they will no longer be able to afford good child care. All of the work that we have done to become self sufficient is gone. A LOT of us DO rely on government assistance to become stable. Which is what I thought was asked of us! Why are you pulling the rug out!?

[meetoo]

Originally Posted by Ciennasmom 

I just KILLS me that a program as valuable as this is being cut. It will force single parents to quit their jobs because they will no longer be able to afford good child care. All of the work that we have done to become self sufficient is gone. A LOT of us DO rely on government assistance to become stable. Which is what I thought was asked of us! Why are you pulling the rug out!?

That's terrible! Child care programs also helps children tremendously. Children who receive substandard care in their early years are at all kinds of disadvantages. Removing a program like that can also directly put children in danger, by being left alone before they are properly able to care for themselves, being left in unsafe childcare situations because they are cheap. Etc. etc. When will the government realize that cutting programs like that is NOT the way to save a budget! That is going to end up costing them sooooo much more in the long run. :(