The mentality of a Republican.

I have a neighbor. She's Catholic. Devout. And the other day, to impress her, I recounted my recent visit to the Vatican. Where I saw Pope Benedict himself. In St. Peter's Square. I wasn't impressed by him. Instead, the impression I had wasn't a good one. It was of the opulence of the Vatican. The extravagance. The elegance. The richness of the place. But just outside the Vatican, I saw beggars. Destitute. Even a crippled old lady. Asking for alms. And I thought, what a contrast. I mentioned that to my neighbor. And her reaction was that the beggars weren't really beggars. But people ripping off the tourists. Freeloaders. I momentarily thought maybe she was joking. But she wasn't. She was serious. But the neighbor isn't only Catholic. She's also a Republican. Very conservative. A Michele Bachmann Republican. And that's their mentality. Beggars are fakes. They need to go out and get a job. --Jim Broede