By Joy-Ann Reid
Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and now front-running Republican presidential candidate, has made calling Barack Obama the “food stamp president” his calling card. But Republicans, Gingrich included, have had a strong hand in the expansion of food stamp use.
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Gingrich claims (falsely, it turns out) that Obama has “put more Americans on food stamps than any other president in history.” (That honor actually goes to George W. Bush.) It’s part of Newt’s larger narrative that “urban” and low income Americans lack worth ethic — they should demand “paychecks, and not be satisfied with food stamps,” and child labor laws should be relaxed to allow their children to learn the value of earning, rather than stealing, a dollar.
For more on Gingrich‘s food stamp antics, go to theGrio.
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