Open the Books CEO John Hart accused Democrats of using the government shutdown to push for trillions more in federal handouts, calling their tactics "counterfeit compassion" that traps Americans in dependency instead of lifting them out of poverty.
Appearing Monday on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE," Hart said the left's claims of compassion are political theater designed to grow government, not help those in need.
"There's nothing compassionate about making people dependent on government," Hart told Newsmax. "Democrats are doubling down on demagoguery and this idea of counterfeit compassion — that if only we could spend billions on government programs, we'd solve the country's problems."
Hart said decades of expanding bureaucracy haven't solved healthcare, hunger, or poverty, and he argued that the real solution lies in empowering individuals and communities, not Washington.
"If spending were the answer, we would have solved healthcare long ago. We would have solved food insecurity decades ago," Hart said. "You don't transmit compassion with a government check — you do it by sitting across the table from someone, understanding their story, and helping them build responsibility and life skills."
He also blasted Democrats for what he described as using poor Americans as "human shields" in a political standoff over funding.
"Food insecurity is not a made-up problem. It's a real issue in this country. And you've got, you know, maybe 13%, according to some estimates. But severe food insecurity is maybe 5%," he said.
Hart added, "Every hungry belly is the same color. But you have Democrats discriminating against the poorest people in the country because they're trying to win a political argument that is baseless."
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