Rick Santorum Talks Welfare & Black People (VIDEO)

Rick Santorum targeted black people at a campaign stop in Iowa on Sunday, saying he doesn't want to make their lives better by giving them welfare.

According to CBS News, Santorum told a mostly white audience in Sioux City:

"It just keeps expanding - I was in Indianola a few months ago and I was talking to someone who works in the department of public welfare here, and she told me that the state of Iowa is going to get fined if they don't sign up more people under the Medicaid program," Santorum said. "They're just pushing harder and harder to get more and more of you dependent upon them so they can get your vote. That's what the bottom line is."

He added: "I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money; I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money."

"Right," responded one audience member, as another woman can be seen nodding.

"And provide for themselves and their families," Santorum added, to applause. "The best way to do that is to get the manufacturing sector of the economy rolling again."

While his reasoning about entitlement spending is normal by conservative standards, the fact that he singled out black people as the recipients of welfare is sure to raise eyebrows. According to CBS News, only 9 percent of food stamp recipients in Iowa are black.

This was not the first time racial remarks have rocked Santorum's campaign. Over the weekend a 2011 video surfaced showing Santorum criticizing Obama's abortion record on the basis of his race.

"I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say 'now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people,'" Santorum said.

Comments

[Bibiana Ramos Carvajal]

11:34 AM on 09/05/2012

To reduce welfare in South Florida for Cubans.. what a dream!!!.. they receive food stamps, medical assistance, rent assistance, cash assistance and permanent residency just a year and a day after they arrive..
Try to apply for assistance after being unemployed for 2 years and eating your 401k ..to be approved $27 a month on food stamps vs. up to $2500 a month they may receive.

[commonsense9]

04:34 PM on 02/25/2012

I betcha Rick Santorum wouldn't say that bull in front of a sista!

[dsfsaf]

01:43 AM on 09/06/2012

shut up

[msoverall]

03:05 PM on 02/13/2012

In order to demonize welfare and its recipients, people like Santorum try to make it into a black thing ( cause, you know, we're all lazy) instead of people thing. How many of those people nodding their head are receiving some kind of assistance and refuse to acknowledge that? I wonder....

[Oliver Steele Symons]

06:21 PM on 01/15/2012

Anyone notice that the only black guy in the room is working?

[Eugi]

09:40 AM on 02/25/2012

Oh my lord....... o_O The irony is killing me!

[sirhc rama]

07:02 PM on 01/14/2012

The real question is, what is the percentage of Blah people in Iowa and the nation. And how much federal and state moneys are they sucking up for food stamps and medicaid programs? And, what is the skin color of the Blah people anyway?

This just shows another total failure of the public school system throughout this country. I am a product of this system, and yet I don't remember any teaching in the history books of the Blah people; where they came from, where they live (I suppose some are in Iowa), etc.

I suppose Rick Santorum's home schooling curriculum must have information about these people that the rest of us unfortunate state schooled citizens weren't privy to.

[Robbert Bricker]

09:47 AM on 01/10/2012

see, and the gays thought they were the special ones. rick hates blacks just as much. ;)

[shamsky24]

11:39 AM on 01/06/2012

Some of Rick's best friends are blah people...not to mention miggers, wigaboos and torch flunkies.

[tradewinns]

10:09 AM on 01/06/2012

first, he didn't say the word black, whatever was stated was a mumble, and CBS knows that is true. that tape has been analysized by pros. regardless, 9% of food stamp receipients in iowa are black. what is the percent of blacks to total population in iowa?

[Truthsayer44]

11:12 AM on 01/06/2012

2.9%

[petuniafish]

06:39 PM on 01/07/2012

Not the point.
If 9% of Iowa food stamp recipients are black Americans, then 91% are white.
If Santorum wanted to press the point why did he not leave it at "food stamp/medicaid recipients" and not add people's skin color?
(We know why.)

[soldiergirl]

01:10 AM on 01/09/2012

Thanks for clearing that up for tradewinns. Evidently, simple mathematics eludes him/her.

f&f

[Hank Xavier]

01:00 AM on 01/06/2012

So Rick Santorum says black people are on welfare, get's a free pass. Ron Paul says, black people and minorities are disproportionately prosecuted in the drug war, he gets smeared for a month as a racist. Something wrong with this picture?

[Jamaicalover1]

12:48 PM on 01/05/2012

Rick Santorum says he doesn't want Iowans to pay for Medicaid for black people. Really? Iowa is 91% White.

http://healthinsuranceinfo.net/getinsured/iowa/financial-assistance/medicaid/

People who qualify for medicaid are the aged, blind or disabled, retired with low income and children.

http://medicaid.gov/index.html

Medicaid Information by Population
http://medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/Medicaid-and CHIP-Program-Information.html

[Kimberly Lynn Steinmetz]

08:38 AM on 04/01/2012

Actually, you're thinking of Medicare that primarily serves the aged (over 65 usually) and disabled. Medicaid typically assists low income people of any age - it's important to understand this difference because Medicaid is more likely to come under attack than Medicare because of this.

[Bitternut]

12:00 PM on 01/05/2012

"Black" ... what a lying SOB

[HelloDere]

11:56 AM on 01/05/2012

It sounds like the teeny smart part of his brain knew that "black people's lives better" was a remarkably poor choice of words, but the much larger dumb part of his brain won out.

That's the "stumble" if you wish to call it one.

[David Keith]

11:37 AM on 01/05/2012

He's said black people. There's no question.

[Truthsayer44]

03:46 PM on 01/05/2012

"He's said black people."

In extended form: He is said black people.

I'm glad you are so certain about what he said. How certain are you that you expressed it in proper English?

[SDog]

08:38 PM on 01/05/2012

Can you argue the point, or must you resort to utilizing Ad Hominem?

[brt929]

08:56 PM on 01/05/2012

People make typos.   Nice of you to stop by and point them out.  Is that all you have to offer?

[3699]

03:33 PM on 01/30/2012

Yet again, another person who judges on political party and not by actual reasoning. You would think the average human would be smater

[OilBaron]

10:44 AM on 01/05/2012

He clearly said Black, why would you say "blah" peoples' and not just peoples. Of course the narrative is that welfare is just for black people ignoring the fact that people of all skin color use it.

[notsostimulated]

10:16 AM on 01/05/2012

He obviously does not say "black" if you actually listen to it. He stumbles on the word "lives," almost saying "better" (the word that directly follows). What you get is "bli--". (Listen to the vowel sound that follows "bl" - it's not even close to "ack.") Everyone does this kind of thing - especially speaking in public. This isn't news, and it's only racism on the part of the media.

[Greybeard53]

10:30 AM on 01/05/2012

Don't take this the wrong way, but you are a liar and you know it: therefore you are a Republican, as ALL Republicans lie this way.
The sound IS "ack", played thru my excellent sound card and excellent headphones. He said "black, he KNEW he was saying "black" as he said it but just couldn't help himself.

[Truthsayer44]

08:22 PM on 01/06/2012

Based on your comments, it is obvious you are not going to offer anything close to an objective analysis. Thank you for showing me and everyone else your extremely biased viewpoint. Now we will know to completely disregard any future comments you make.

[ron ray]

10:53 AM on 01/05/2012

don't be silly. there's no even a pause, which happens when you do a blah or an um or some other stumble. sheesh.