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Jesse Jackson jabs Newt Gingrich on food stamps
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy Jan 18, 2012 10:51am |
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| Category | Statement |
| Author | M.J. Lee |
| News Date | Wednesday, January 18, 2012 02:15:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Newt Gingrich has earned the disdain of the Rev. Jesse Jackson for calling President Barack Obama a “food stamp president” and for recently suggesting that schools hire students as janitors.
Jackson, who said Monday that he hoped the Republican presidential candidates would discuss issues of race and poverty during the debate held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, blasted the former House speaker on Tuesday for his “disdain for the poor” and for showing a “total lack of understanding” about the country’s youth who are desperately looking for jobs.
“Food stamps is their lifeline for many Americans – they help farmers, they help the grocery industry, and mostly, they help people who are malnourished,” Jackson told POLITICO in reaction to Monday night’s GOP debate. “So for him to disparage the food stamps is to not understand the 50 million in the country living in poverty. He is showing disdain for the poor.”
Gingrich was asked about his “food stamp president” rhetoric on stage at Myrtle Beach Monday by Juan Williams of Fox News, who accused the candidate of wanting to “belittle people” with his racially charged remarks.
“Well first of all, Juan, the fact is that more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history,” Gingrich shot back.
The White House fired back at Gingrich’s comments on Tuesday when a reporter noted that the GOP candidate was labeling individuals who were receiving government assistance as “people that President Obama put on food stamps.”
“Well, you know as well as I do that that’s crazy,” White House press secretary Jay Carney responded during his press briefing.
Jackson also laced into Gingrich’s recent comments in which he suggested that failing schools should fire their janitors and hire local students to do the job instead, and challenged the GOP hopeful to visit some struggling schools and converse with students before making such c |
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