The term “welfare queens” was coined by Lee Atwater, a close advisor to both President Reagan and the first President Bush, and a mentor to Karl Rove. In Atwater’s hands, “welfare queens” became a means of graphically highlighting people who were taking advantage of the welfare system. By using such a blatantly provocative phrase, Atwater not only shed a negative light on abusers but on the system itself, linguistically paving the way for fundamental welfare reform.
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