Pass the Popcorn, Nahanni: HuffPo Readers Try to Blame Everyone But the Left for the Collapse of the Modern Welfare State

There's nothing more entertaining than watching the rabid denizens of PuffMo froth over the collapse of the modern welfare state. In this case, Arianna's tepid tout sheet features eight states that are slashing services due to immense budget deficits.

KlinzBoy: "This is all the result of 30 years of conservative policies. We bought in and here we are. This is all part of the plan folks."

Sean6399: "Illegal immigration has destroyed California's budget. Schools are full of the children of the illegals. California's prison population is 20% illegal immigrant. Hospitals are full of these impoverished economic refugees who can't pay for the government services they suck up... But observation of these facts is clearly motivated by racism."

The dense ball of cement that is DSOTM's brain: "The Costs of Illegal Immigration vs. State Budget Deficits: a Chart"

DSOTM: "I find it so ridiculous that the people of Arizona want to spend the millions defending the immigration bill and lay off teachers at the same time... Way to go Arizona, you're all white future looks mighty bright"

Winston120: "The States have to align with the realities of the current economy. Printing money in DC to prop up budgets in states can't go on forever. The entire civil servant population needs an overhaul. In my state, CA, the civil servant salaries and pensions are outrageous and unsustainable. These leeches still want to retire at 50 while people in the private sector will see retirement raised to 70 and maybe more. A 20-25 year retirement gap alone is outrageous. "

Gee, and all this time I thought America had thrived because of the Constitution that the "right wing" founders created, which led to the most prosperous society on the face of the Earth? My mistake.

Procrustes13: "Let's play how low can your wages go. Down, down, down they go. A permanently-lower standard of living is the right wing utopian future. "

Robinhood1: "Do you expect Democratic politicians to turn against their union masters? That leaves the Republicans, who are more interested in keeping gays in their place. The average resident is screwed."

Racoon1: "The old, the sick, the children.......do with less or do without. This is civilization?"

I love it when the deepest of blue states blame Republicans for the giant turds their Democrat masters left in the punch bowl. Cali, NY, Illinois -- heartless Republican leaders!

BiseeOrNotBisbee: " It is in the Republican world. :( "

MissingAmerica: " We need an overhaul in government. To cut budgets in education and yet continue to fund war and penal institutions is simply assuring that we will have no shortage of ignorant warriors in the future, especially since no one will be educated well enough to teach anything else. How I miss the days when we expended our efforts on the young people and the living, rather than depleting funds for the common good in order to fund death, destruction, ignorance and chaos. How far we have sunk since I was a child! "

BannorHill: "Since when did State budgets fund the war? States do not finance death and destruction yet they have unbalanced budgets. The state proplem is not war funding but over spending in wrong areas. A typical problem of big government. "

TruelyFedUp: "Please see my petiton entitled Unemployment Solution USA ... to help the 44.25 million unemployed in America have a solution like you have seen here... Our alternative is to have massive numbers of hungry, angry people with the right to bear arms in our neighborhoods seeking any means to survive.

Gee, putting the unemployed in 'compounds'. Sounds familiar. Like 1930s Germany.

MissingAmerica: " While parts of petitions ideas are good, it has one basic flaw. If funds are removed to assist the unemployed who are not a part of the community, it requires them to relocate to what is effectively a compound... What we do need is a government that encourages corporations to return to us. I could see the government funding the building and/or retrofitting of factories for corporations who agree to return to the land of their industrial birth. They could fund the building of housing around those industries."

RobinHood1: "Too bad so many Republicans distracted the voters with the bogus issue of gay marriage. The right wingers should have sponsored an initiative to roll back government pensions instead."

Firstep: " Meanwhile we are paying for a big vacation in Sapin "

That 4.6% unemployment was a bitch!

Welib: " And George Bush didn't even bother to show up for work for more than 3 years of the 8 years he was supposed to be working for us. He took a 3 year vacation! 1020 days! "

AyeChart: "The states (run in the main by left-wing Democrats) liberal states and cities for the most part, have been cutting NECESSARY and BENEFICIAL services while funding left-wing liberal boondoggles like opera houses and art museums and other items that COULD BE CUT WITHOUT ENDANGERING the citizens. But NO! They continue to fund the icing on the political cake while cutting back police and firemen, etc."

This rant by "Welib" has it all: Bush lied. Borrowing from our grandkids' to fund 99 weeks of unemployment makes sense when the government's got record-setting debt. Talk radio is inciting people to violence. And Valerie Plame is a hero. The guy apparently never heard of the Democrat creations called Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Come to think of it, a more terrifying example of the typical drone mentality you'd be hard-pressed to find. This guy needs to be in a laboratory so scientists can figure out how and when his brains leaked out of his ear-holes. My guess is it was sometime during his AFT-approved education.

Welib: "You're full of *hit! Talk about endangering citizens? You are trying to hang that stink on liberals? Get out of here. Republicans sent this country to war FOR LIES. That's not just 'endangering' our citizens lives, it's making them give up their lives so Republicans can make money.

...Republicans refused and still refuse to sign off on benefits for the American people and rebuild this country, but they don't mind spending billions and billions rebuilding other countries.

...Republicans incite violence against Mr. Obama and other minority Americans, al la Glenn Beck, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Obama gets 400 times the threats GWB got and the Repubs even show up to Obama's town halls with not just guns, BUT LONG GUNS, ASSAULT RIFLES.

...The Repubs would have shot anyone on site if they had come like to within 2 miles of Bush! There wasn't even free speech back then. Like Valerie Plame found out, you tell the truth, your career is over!

...IS IT AN ACCIDENT THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE BANKRUPTED US TWICE AND PUT A 7.5 TRILLION DOLLAR HOLE IN OUR ECONOMY? "

MarkAndre: " Wow a psychotic rant from a liberal, what are the odds, it is all Bush’s, and the Republican fault: after 19 months of Obama and a Democratic majority only a fool could not see the truth! "

Gee, I feel all sparkly clean now!