Associated Press
When I saw reports yesterday that Democrats were slamming Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) for opposing school lunches, I assumed Dems had dug up some embarrassing vote the U.S. Senate candidate cast years ago.
But as it turns out, that's not quite right. Akin voiced his position just this week.
Missouri's two U.S. Senate candidates tangled Thursday over whether taxpayers should subsidize school lunches for more than 34 million students across the country.
U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican candidate, said he opposes federal spending for the National School Lunch Program, which provides cash and surplus food for nearly 650,000 school lunches in Missouri each day.
"Is it something the federal government should do?" Akin said. "I answer is no. ... I think the federal government should be out of the education business."
In fairness, I should note that Akin doesn't care if state governments offer school-lunch programs, but he wants Congress to stop making investments in public education altogether.
In other words, for purely ideological reasons, the right-wing GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri feels comfortable saying he wants to take food out of the mouths of poor children. It's OK if the money comes from state or local government, but if federal funds are needed, it's preferable to have the kids go hungry.
This is the same Todd Akin who believes the very existence of the federal student-loan program is a "stage-three cancer of socialism." He's also eager to eliminate the minimum wage, believes liberalism is based on "a hatred of God," believes the Bible should be a "blueprint" for American government; and wants to impeach President Obama because, in his mind, the president is "a complete menace to our civilization."
Why did Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and the DSCC make an aggressive effort to help Akin win his primary? This is why.
And in the bigger picture, one of the trends to watch this campaign season is the differences between Republican candidates who try to put a moderate veneer on their agenda and those who don't see the need to bother.
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The question is whether Akin attended public schools. If so, his argument is supported by his obvious lack of intelligence.
Don't hate on public schools! Some pretty smart cookies came up through the public school system. Just sayin'
Sorry - didn't mean to sound like I was hatin' on public schools. It was only intended to be a commentary on Akin's intellect. If he did attend public schools, he obviously didn't pay any attention to his teachers.
Whatever school(s) he attended, it doesn't sound like he paid much attention:
Seriously? Golly, I sure hope that's a typo/transcription error. Although, now that we've already had a Presidunce who explicitly wondered "Is our children learning?" I know it's not safe to assume such a thing.
;-)
Isn't the school-lunch program also a farm-support program (from whom the government buys the food)? Why does Akin hate farmers?
Akin is another GOTP'er that hasn't sufficiently retained what he learned, is obviously a X-tian in name only - cause he surely isn't working off of those "biblical principles" taught by Jesus, and has enough money courtesy of his "insider trading" that he doesn't give a dayum about any one else's "freedom" - except to go hungry that is.
But it's okay to give huge tax breaks to these false job creators and not feed children. Only feed the children of the wealthy. As a Christian, I learned that Jesus told us that we will always have the poor with us and we are to love them and not to have more respect for a wealthy person than a poor person, but to respect them equally. Why do we bow to the wealthy and step on the poor? some of the very people Jesus came to Earth to give his life for. he came for ll mankind to teach us how to love one another as we love ourselves. The GOP has shown huge amount of disdain for the poor , woman, Immigrants, working poor and the vulnerable. Not one of them is actually interested in you having a job, Where were they in 2006 when the market began is slow but accelerating rate of decline and job losses? where were they speaking out against Bush when we were bleeding jobs? Nearly a million a month but no talk about failed policies then, no talk about Bush's course being extraordinarily foreign, This from the mouth of a man who started his business with foreign money, showed foreign investors how to invest in the United States and get away without paying any taxes (teaching foreigners how to exploit our country for financial gain, while draining money out of our economy.) I wonder how much money he really has in his foreign bank accounts and his foreign cardboard corporations.
I eagerly await his similar condemnation of agriculture subsidies, oil subsidies, and defense subsidies.
In the case of the latter, DOD should bill congress quarterly for their work- and refuse to take on additional tasks, until the bill is stamped Paid in Full.
Yeah, why subsidize poor folk who can't Horatio Alger themselves into wealth!
And as per your observation - once you've become successful as a lobbyist or member of another "corporations are people too my friend" entity then and only then will politicos like Akin listen to your need for mo money!
In the meantime, all others use cash, spit on a cut to hope it stops bleeding, and open that can of cat food for your next meal before you go off to school, honey! -Kevo
what a hateful ass, this man is. I grew up in very rural, very poor Pennsylvania and many of my classmates needed these lunches. I was lucky, I grew up on a farm so we had food fairly easily but other people didn't. If the feds dont' do it, it *will* come from the state or local gov't or the kids go hungry, and then I'm sure priveleged asshats like Akin will whine that those gov't bodies shouldn't help poor people either. So much for his religion that he prates about, helping the "least of these".
I was from a public school. I'd much rather those than charter schools or religious schools that can cherry pick the "best" students and leave the rest to rot.
How did this "aggessive effort" to see that Akin was the nominee take shape. I find it interesting because I think since the Gore/Bush campaign of 2000 when some thought to switch party registrations to vote in GOP primaries for John McCain many of my democratic friends have thought of doing this. I even suspect a lot of Facebook friends and friends on the street of taking positions to make it look like there is support for the GOP that really isn't there. I can't believe some of my friends are so right wing, or so DUMB!!!
The guy is the living demonstration of the term "hillbilly dumbass."
Why is it there is sooooooo much stupidity in the South? Is it something in the water? In the air? The result of all the incest?? (And he's from that part of Missouri that was traitor.)
It's almost as if the Democrats find people to run as super conservative Republicans, say super extreme things, win the primary, and then make the actual contest a joke.
If you don't want this ass in the Senate, send Claire a contribution today. The Kock Brothers and Crossroads are spending untold millions on this race. Obama has written off Missouri so Claire is essentially on her own. Claire might not be one of your favorites, but she is a Democrat and she does care about people. This guy is the nuttiest Senate candidate since Sharon Angle
Having a child that benefits from the school lunch program, I am a bit more than grateful these program exist! This man obviously does not have a clue as to what it is like to be broke or poor. To have to choose between buying food or paying the electric bill.
I voted for Reagan the year I turned 18. It was his second term. It was my first election and I was proud to call myself a Republican.
Now, I am ashamed of the Republican party. I have stepped away from them. I am currently registered as democrat. As a party the Republicans keep getting filled with zealots and extremists. It make me afraid of what will happen if these people get into a place of power. There was a time when they would have been laughed out of the republican party and never take seriously.
Welcome to the light, Audra! It's warm and friendly over here on our side. Glad to have you along.
As I've been saying for a long time now, there doesn't seem to be a Republican party at all any more - seems to me they're now all Rape-Public-CONs. (And, I note with amusement, that the spell checker doesn't flag "Rape-Public-CON" as incorrect - smart software!)
;-)
Are you two precient?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/19/todd-akin-abortion-legitimate-rape_n_1807381.html
This is today's GOP. They take their cues from Fox, who's approach is "say the wildest, most outrageous thing you can think of in the craziest manner you can muster, in order to get people's attention. Doesn't matter if there's any truth or sanity involved, as long as you get people's attention. There are plenty of folks out there who will only pay enough attention to hear what you say and then take it as truth - you only need to get their attention."
i see this as a win-half/win situation, the half win being if mccaskill loses. then, one of two things. first, akin is so looney that even the repub leadership tries to hide him away in the closet, or two, with the likes of lee, demint, mourdock, and flake, the moonbeam crowd finally have enough sway to get their delusions enacted into law and for the first time, that hare brained segment of the electorate that generally decides elections is forced to look reality in the face and admit to themselves that these guys are crazy as outhouse rats and mean absolutely what they say.
School lunch programs
Akin should at least agree to feed (5,000 + 4,000) * 2 or 3 (remember the women and children).
It would be the Christian thing to do.
Adam_Selene
Those kids don't deserve school lunches until they release all of their preschool transcripts! We need to prove that they all claimed to be born in Kenya to get super-welfare, filet, and Cadillac Power Wheels.
Akin represents the worst of MO Republicans who continue to pander to the sanctimonious, paternalistic concept that 'job creators' do everything on their own. Akin's own children were home-schooled (and turned out all right, evidently), but his so very vicious anti-government stance on so much of what the generations now and coming will need from government is simply contrary to everything 'Christian' that he purports to support. Of course, he's sucking up to the rural, white male vote and Claire's own ads demonstrate his neanderthal thinking. Someone once said that MO is really three states: St. Louis on the east, KC on the west, and Arkansas in the middle. That may be true, and therein lies the Akin appeal. He's simply against so much that is necessary in this state, and his 'vision' is so backward. I'd better quit now before another migraine sets in.
His heart ai'nt "Akin" for hungry children is it.Just let'em starve,after all they're just poor people.Remind's me of a Randy Newman song with a little different title.Poor people got no reason to live.That's the republican way.
I recently watched the movie "Captain America" in which the very willing Steve Rogers attempted to join the military to fight the Nazis. He was repeatedly rejected because he suffered from multiple chronic illnesses. This was pretty close to the historical truth, though. The military had to turn away many enlistees because they showed evidence of chronic illness and developmental delay partially attributable to poor nutrition. From bad teeth, poor bone density, mental retardation, poor eyesight and low muscle mass, these willing men were not fit to serve because they did not have adequate nutrition during critical childhood growth stages.
Partly in response to this, president Truman signed a school lunch bill as a national defense preparedness act. By ensuring that children would grow up healthy and strong, not held back by poor food in childhood, the school lunch program helps maintain a fighting-ready adult population.
Why does the congressman want to leave America vulnerable to attack? Is he part of some kind of fifth column?
More candidates on right do not run to help their country & work with opposite members , they run so they can vote no & even brag about it. Those like this total idiot & Joe Walsh make me physically ill. The chances that common sense will still prevail seem to get smaller every election. I hope the right wakes up before they succeed in the path they are on to destroy the country.
This whole public education thing is no skin off his nose. He home schooled his kids. He of course was born to privilege as the son of the CEO of a steel mill. He had a great public school education in one of the richest regions of Missouri. I don't know how or when he became a religious whack job, but he is. He has run in an affluent suburban district which is about 75% red and they like him for his fiscal insanity more than his social insanity. But he is deep red on all sides and we will see how that plays as he runs statewide for the first time. He is almost certain in my mind to lose the St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia votes because liberals and progressives dominate there. But out in the boonies he may score well, (Hallelujah, not).
Nothing says concern for your constiuents like saying their children should be hungry in school. Stay classy, Akin.
The school food program, like any program, has pluses and minuses. On the plus side, is the assurance that children are receiving worthy nutritional value during a day where, at home the child may well not be fed well. Another plus is that the child is exposed to some foods that they may, otherwise, never taste - expanding their appreciation as well as nutrition. The US (and farmers) gain from an excellent outlet for food surpluses.
Biggest negative is the waste. Far too much end up being thrown away. Another problem is that too many parents gradually make, the school meals, the only meals that their children get. Many Districts use the Federal program, but fail to follow through, with instruction on nutrition.
All in all, I think that opposing the school food programs is stupid, though, looking for methods to make it more efficient and valuable to the kids, is logical.
So you spoke with a majority of Missourians who told you they made the school lunch program the main meal of the day for their children , because " (I'm really not sure what reason you could fill in here ") ?
Your comment sounds alot like something the delusional romney campaign would come up with , if you do not work for them , you might consider it
Patango, here, in Oklahoma, the programs cover breakfast and lunch. There are issues about whether some children get any other meals (1. parents feed a junk food supper because that is all they can afford, 2. the children do not get supper and come into school, the next day, beyond starving and complaining about not eating since the prior day's lunch). My comment was totally in support of the programs and only wanting to see them improved. Since the predominate GOP position is to remove the Federal role from schools, including the meals program, your last sentence obviously has my post confused with someone else's.
Mr Benen , pretending these people would support their state funding these programs is a complete joke , and every time I watch the media allowing these gop haters to make such claims , with out calling them on it , makes me want to puke , gop members on the state level in Missouri who support such funding would be run out of office , just as fast as the ones in kansas have been
LOL Think we should tell him that the leaders in the Bible from Moses to Kings David, Solomon and Josiah to Jesus all practiced socialism? Jesus fed 5,000 people and didn't ask for 5 bucks for the meal. GOP are nutcases, and they don't even read the Bible they claim to be supporting! Maybe the study of the Bible should be put back in schools so these so-called "Christians" learn what it really says. Akin is so far from reality as a GOPer can get. It's enough to make you want to bang your head against the wall listening tho these idiots talk. Seriously Akin...Seriously?
A more direct example is in the Book of Acts:32
Nice one! Most people don't know that Moses order the people to lend out their land to the poor families and every seven years the land would return to their original owner. I wish these people would stop claiming the Bible says something it doesn't.
Akin is nothing like Christ. He follows a false hateful god. He has no idea who Christ is or what Christ asks of us. He's a FAKE.
What a horse's ass! Republicans are really mean spirited.
Yes they are.
I believe that the Democrats Have a better Record for reducing the size of Government,
http://www.winningprogressive.org/democrats-create-far-more-private-sector-jobs-than-republicans-do
Akin went to John Burroughs High School in Ladue, MO. It's a public school. His kids were "home-schooled."