What Is Wrong with These People?

House Republicans released their ag budget this week (you know, the one where last year they kept subsidies for big-ag and cut food stamps) and, once again, it reminds us that we have an entire political party filled with evil idiots.

Idiots, because their preferred policies do real damage to our economy (see: Depression, Great; S&L Crisis; 2008 Financial Collapse), and I just don't know that they are smart enough to understand cause and effect (well beyond the immediate I vote for big business, they give me sweet campaign cash and cushy job once I leave my current gig):

House Republicans proposed a $20.9 billion budget for agriculture and food safety programs Monday, an 82-page bill that challenges the White House on nutrition rules and denies major new funding sought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to better regulate the rich derivatives market. 

The CFTC fares better than in the past in that the GOP allows for a modest $3 million increase for information technology investments. But the $218 million budget is still $62 million less than President Barack Obama’s request and continues a pattern that has frustrated the administration’s ability to implement Wall Street reforms called for under the Dodd-Frank law enacted in July 2010.

Goodness knows we wouldn't want to actually know what's going on in the derivatives market. Might step on some Galtian's toes, were we able to enforce regulations that rein in rampant speculation, and we cannot have that.

Evil idiots because, well, just read for yourself:

And in a surprising twist, the bill language specifies that only rural areas are to benefit in the future from funding requested by the administration this year to continue a modest summer demonstration program to help children from low-income households — both urban and rural — during those months when school meals are not available. 

Since 2010, the program has operated from an initial appropriation of $85 million, and the goal has been to test alternative approaches to distribute aid when schools are not in session. The White House asked for an additional $30 million to continue the effort, but the House bill provides $27 million for what’s described as an entirely new pilot program focused on rural areas only. 

Democrats were surprised to see urban children were excluded. And the GOP had some trouble explaining the history itself. But a spokeswoman confirmed that the intent of the bill is a pilot project in “rural areas” only.

Hmmmmmm. I wonder what the children in the "urban areas" being cut from meal programs, and the inner-city men "not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work" that Paul Ryan warned us about have in common (at least in the eyes of the GOP). 

They aren't even trying to hide the racism anymore.  I guess their base demands it these days, but the rest of us should be rightly calling them out on this garbage. It is despicable. It is the Republican Party. And you do not get to think of yourself as a middle-of-the-road centrist if you vote to enable these people. The Eisenhower/Rockefeller/Romney Sr. Republican party of your imagination no longer exists, and pretending otherwise just aids and abets the reactionaries who are truly at the helm.