Arkansas’ Cotton sees food-stamp recipients as ‘addicts’

[KamaAina]

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/arkansas-cotton-sees-food-stamp-recipients-addicts

I had assumed the Most Tone-Deaf Elitism of the Week Award was all locked up by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. After all, the Kentucky Republican’s “Not everybody needs to go to Yale” comments effectively argued that the nation’s elite institutions of higher ed would be for students from rich families – and no one else.

But then Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) came along. The far-right Senate candidate snatched the award for Most Tone-Deaf Elitism of the Week right out from under McConnell yesterday with this jaw-dropper....

“I don’t think that we should be using farmers as a way to pack more welfare spending into Barack Obama’s government,” Cotton said. according to the Huffington report “Nor should we have a food stamp program that isn’t reformed, that doesn’t have job training and work requirements, that doesn’t have drug testing requirements, so we can get people who are addicted the help they need. Or make sure that long-term addicts or recidivists are not abusing taxpayer dollars.”

There are a few striking elements to this. The first is the rather twisted political philosophy behind Cotton’s argument: if your family is struggling and needs food stamps to get by, you may very well be a drug addict. Note, the far-right congressman isn’t speaking metaphorically about recipients being addicted to government assistance; he’s being more literal – those who need help buying food may well be addicted to drugs.

What a Cotton-pickin' POS.

[The Magistrate]

1. Addicted To Eating, Are They, Sir?

I have heard a few weeks of withdrawl cures that completely....

"What a nimrod! What a ultra-maroon!"

[Coventina]

2. Geez. Wasn't this disproved in Florida? When it turned out that only 2% of welfare applicants

actually tested positive for drugs?

Yes, Mr. Cotton, food-stamp users are addicts.....they are addicted to needing a "fix" of food daily.

[Shrike47]

3. Those 'takers' ARE addicted - to eating. Shame on them for not starving.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. A "pro-life" repuke's ideal picture of childen of the poor (trigger pic)

[jwirr]

5. Yeah buddy we are addicted to food. How About you?

[Arkansas Granny]

6. Most people don't know the truth about SNAP benefits.

You would expect Rep. Cotton to be a little better informed, especially when he is running for Senator.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoffman/2013/09/23/who-receives-food-stamps-and-why-it-is-critical-to-continue-their-support/

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. That should be a post of its own.

Anyway the pic can be emailed to the doofus mouthbreather?

[nyquil_man]

7. I guess Tommy Boy doesn't know how much money Walmart makes from SNAP. nt