GOP Rep. Berates Student Concerned About Pell Grant Cuts, Tells Her To Join The Military

[Galraedia]

To avoid a government shutdown at the end of 2011, Republicans succeeded in their campaign to cut the federal Pell Grant program by effectively kicking up to 100,000 low-income students off the rolls.


Last week, Arkansas constituent Kelly Eubanks, a college student who has two jobs and two children, confronted her Congressman, Rep. Steve Womack (R), at a town hall meeting over his attack on the program she now relies on. But instead of any explanation, Womack lashed out at Eubanks, telling her to pay her own way by “joining the military” like he did. After refusing to answer her question, he finally just asked her to “be quiet and listen.” Blue Arkansas reports:

According to Kelly and a handful of other witnesses, Womack happily retorted that it wasn’t the federal government’s job to pay for education (he’s doing this in a college town mind you) and then quickly added that he paid for his education by joining the military, apparently suggesting that the mom of two do the same and totally oblivious I guess to the fact that it was, in fact, the federal government that paid for his education then. Well Womack tried to skirt the rest of Ms. Eubanks question and she proceeded to try and get him to address the discrepancy she pointed out. Well at this point, according to Kelly and several other people that were in the room, Womack blew a gasket.

He skirted the rest of my question and I called him out on it.. he ended up getting pissed off.. and screaming at me.. “are you going to be quiet and listen”, (Eubanks said.)

According to Kelly, some of his aides came up and tried to get the mike from her, but she held her ground and kept her cool, insisting her congressman answer her question.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/education/2012/01/13/404358/gop-rep-berates-student-pell/

[elleng]

1. Clowns!

[Angry Dragon]

2. Wiki

Womack was born in Russellville, Arkansas. He spent most of his childhood in Moberly, Missouri; but moved back to Russellville at the age of 16 and graduated from Russellville High School in 1973. He graduated from Arkansas Tech University in 1979. Shortly afterward, he enlisted in the Arkansas Army National Guard. He served for 30 years, retiring in 2009 as a colonel. Womack's father founded KURM-AM-FM in 1979, and Womack served as station manager from 1979 to 1990. He then served as executive officer of the Army ROTC program at the University of Arkansas from 1990 to 1996, then joined Merrill Lynch as a financial consultant.


He went from graduating from tech school to working for his father as station manager of a radio station his father owned.

[TheMightyFavog]

3. Per Wiki: Arkansas Tech is a regular univeristy, not a tech school....

It's a D II school, has athletics, Frats, the whole nine yards...

[Angry Dragon]

4. My mistake

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Arkansas Tech

I had actually considered attending Arkansas Tech back in the '70s, around the same time as Womack. I visited the campus on several occasions and even had a scholarship. In those days, it was, indeed, a tech school.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

5. "... HER congressman ..."? -- If she's not in the 1%, he's not her congressman.

[Art_from_Ark]

7. Womack's constituents:

Wal-Mart and Tyson's

[Scuba]

8. College is for wealthy. The rest should be prepared to die protecting the interests of the wealthy.

[Tx4obama]

9. K & R n/t