Let Them Eat Popsicles and Honeycomb! . . . .

Another superb example of why The Gadfly has such a visceral hatred of right wing Republicans:

Donny Ferguson, an aide to outspoken right-wing congressman Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) claims that people who say that the Special Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, isn’t enough to live on are lying and that the program should be cut even further. Think Progress flagged a Stockman press release in which Ferguson said he believed that the weekly allotment of food for one person of $31.50 is too generous because he claims was able to purchase a week’s worth of food for $27.58.

“I wanted to personally experience the effects of the proposed cuts to food stamps. I didn’t plan ahead or buy strategically, I just saw the publicity stunt and made a snap decision to drive down the street and try it myself,” Ferguson said in the release. “I put my money where my mouth is, and the proposed food stamp cuts are still quite filling.”

Ferguson was reacting to the “SNAP Challenge,” in which Democratic legislators and activists are protesting proposed cuts to the newest Farm Bill, which would slash benefits to people on SNAP. To protest the cuts, people taking the challenge will attempt to live for a week on the amount of food money allotted to people who receive SNAP benefits, $31.50 a week, or $4.50 per day.

Stockman’s office called the challenge “a left-wing publicity stunt” and claimed “Democrats have been intentionally buying overpriced food and shopping at high-priced chains to make it appear the cuts go too far.”

With his $27.58, Ferguson purchased:

Two boxes of Honeycomb cereal

Three cans of red beans and rice

Jar of peanut butter

Bottle of grape jelly

Loaf of whole wheat bread

Two cans of refried beans

Box of spaghetti

Large can of pasta sauce

Two liters of root beer

Large box of popsicles

24 servings of Wyler’s fruit drink mix

Eight cups of applesauce

Bag of pinto beans

Bag of rice

Bag of cookies

Gallon milk

Box of instant oatmeal

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/19/right-wing-aide-food-stamp-cuts-are-ok-because-i-saved-money-living-on-them/


So basically, in order to prove to all of the brain-dead teabaggers that $31.50 a week for food is way too much goldurn money for a human being to survive on and ,some wingnut Congressman's lackey by the name of Donny Ferguson, goes to his local grocer, buys $27.58 cents worth of "food" which he claims he himself could live off of for a week and voila! - case closed (and stated so with the smuggest of disdainful smirks).

The Gadfly would ask of you dear readers though -- anyone notice the one critically important item missing from Mr. Ferguson's shopping list there above? If you said - FUCKING NUTRITION! - give yourself a bright, yellow smiley sticker. ☺

Because yeah -- who the fuck doesn't want to fast track their health into the shitter by eating popsicles, jelly, peanut butter, Honeycomb, cookies and refried beans, and washing it all down with .99 cent liter bottles of plain label root beer and powdered drink mix week in and week out?

And also, The Gadfly discovered via another news site that Ferguson did not actually take up the challenge of living for a whole week off of his grocery list like the other Congress critters did -- oh no -- after purchasing his sundries, he dropped them off at a food bank.  So in all truthfulness, it appears the only point he ever meant to make was that he himself is a flaming fucking dick.

The Gadfly truly has to laugh at cowards like this.  And more so because these are the people who lead the teabagging, right wing faction of the Republican party these days - and they are the same losers who are being a thorn in John Boehner's fat, pasty white ass right now and are the number one reason why nothing in Congress is getting accomplished.

Listening to the Tea fuckheads is the Republican Party suicide decision.  Pure and simple.  The demographics and numbers do not lie.  They are a dying party, and the few sane members of their caucus know it, yet they are powerless to do anything about it.

Think about it --- arguing to deny poor people a couple of extra weeks of that lovely grocery list above is more fucking important than maybe raising the tax rate 1% on the cocksuckingly obscenely wealthy bastards who are already employing legions of attorneys to dodge every goddamn tax law that was ever legislated.  If that's not suicide by cave man politics, what is?

So yeah - Mr. Republican - pretend that you made a valid point with your little shopping list.  Thankfully there are still enough sane people in this country to know what a prick move that was and it simply validates the view of us dirty hippies that the right wing in this country is just one goose step away from tyranny by assholery should they ever gain total power.


----TFG