During an interview preceding St. Patrick’s Day, Wisconsin Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-District 6) opted to wear a green hat in the spirit of the holiday.
Despite the seemingly cheerful hat, Grothman’s interview hit some controversial talking points, as he argued against a provision in the bill that expands the earned income tax credit for single people, a move he says penalizes marriage.
“One thing that hasn’t been mentioned in here, the increase in the earned income tax credit for single people has a marriage penalty,” Grothman said. “I bring it up because I know the strength that Black Lives Matter had in this last election. I know it’s a group that it doesn’t like the old-fashioned family — I am disturbed that we have another program here in which we’re increasing the marriage penalty.”
Grothman’s decision to bring Black Lives Matter into a discussion about the earned income tax credit — a form of basic income in the U.S. — was strange to say the least.
He also managed to bring Marxism into the conversation, claiming the founders of BLM “were trained in Marxist ideology.”
After being asked to respond to critics who believe his comments are racist and should not be tolerated, Grothman said “There was nothing racist about my comments at all. Black Lives Matter is not a group that I think speaks for Black people. So there’s nothing racist about the comments.”
In other words, Grothman’s cheery green hat did not match the tone of his interview, a sign of the partisan divide over the earned income tax credit and the Black Lives Matter movement in Washington.
