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marym625

(17,997 posts)
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:29 AM Jan 2015

many of us here wore bread bags in the winter

INSIDE our boots. Either over our socks or over shoes that then had those big boots that went over shoes. Because it kept your feet dry and warmer.

But never on the outside of your boots.

Either she is remembering incorrectly or she lived in a community where all the parents just weren't too bright. If worn outside the shoe/boot the plastic would rip or the kid would be sliding around once on a wet floor.

Maybe the parents were a little sadistic and get a kick out of watching the kids fall.

Whatever reason she stated it the way she did, it was a pretty ridiculous thing to say. What point did she make? We were upper middle class and used the bag trick so it had nothing to do with money. Certainly had nothing to do with the SOTU address.

Just made her sound pathetic and stupid.

77 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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many of us here wore bread bags in the winter (Original Post) marym625 Jan 2015 OP
I think she either mis-remembered it or told it to a speechwriter Peregrine Took Jan 2015 #1
Could be marym625 Jan 2015 #8
It got lost in translation from one of her servants. Hassin Bin Sober Jan 2015 #37
She told the bread-bag story on election night, so she really should have bullwinkle428 Jan 2015 #51
She got her story from the Great Depression. Rex Jan 2015 #2
oh! that makes sense marym625 Jan 2015 #7
those weren't plastic bags though. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #13
that's how she got her nickname Enrique Jan 2015 #24
Yes, we put baggies over daughters' shoes elleng Jan 2015 #3
kinda my point marym625 Jan 2015 #5
she wants to kneecap the poor while pretending she used to be poor. she;s a pernicious liar. ND-Dem Jan 2015 #14
That may be true. elleng Jan 2015 #16
Or maybe... yallerdawg Jan 2015 #4
Ah! marym625 Jan 2015 #6
And she "walked beans and fed hogs" too... Contrary1 Jan 2015 #9
doesn't sound poor to me marym625 Jan 2015 #10
On a BUS??? Hmmmph. Wimp. Buns_of_Fire Jan 2015 #17
That's nothing! marym625 Jan 2015 #19
That's bad, but there were also vicious pumas, lurking in the crevasses, Buns_of_Fire Jan 2015 #29
pumas are definitely scary marym625 Jan 2015 #39
You had books? All our lessons were written in chalk on the backs of coal shovels. Gidney N Cloyd Jan 2015 #49
And when it rained Bettie Jan 2015 #53
You had shovels, marym625 Jan 2015 #55
You had a furnace? Gidney N Cloyd Jan 2015 #70
touché! marym625 Jan 2015 #72
That's what I was thinking....what was the point of this 'story', anyway? Especially coming from SammyWinstonJack Jan 2015 #45
exactly. marym625 Jan 2015 #54
The moral of the story is work hard, azmom Jan 2015 #77
she walked beans? took them for outings? ND-Dem Jan 2015 #15
I wondered the same thing marym625 Jan 2015 #20
Soybeans. murielm99 Jan 2015 #31
oh! marym625 Jan 2015 #40
Ya got me. Contrary1 Jan 2015 #33
Please let me know what you find out marym625 Jan 2015 #41
She also plowed the fields, worked construction with her father, and worked the biscuit line B Calm Jan 2015 #57
Ha! good one. n/t marym625 Jan 2015 #59
Well, when you're a Republican ... NanceGreggs Jan 2015 #11
Oh my dog! marym625 Jan 2015 #12
If you wore bread bags on your feet and a lunch sack as a hat as a kid, in order to keep warm . . . Major Hogwash Jan 2015 #25
LOL.. Yes, when you don't have anything to cough up about your party's contribution in giving the Cha Jan 2015 #35
She's a liar with no real poor life experience. joshcryer Jan 2015 #18
exactly marym625 Jan 2015 #21
She comes across as a total and utter phony; her every utterance brings KingCharlemagne Jan 2015 #22
the thing for me is.. Joni Ernst cares nothing about the poor.. less than nothing.. she's the one Cha Jan 2015 #23
Thank you, Cha marym625 Jan 2015 #26
I think Nance stated it well on another thread too.. Cha Jan 2015 #28
yep. marym625 Jan 2015 #38
I wonder how many poor people are laughing at her "liddle ol' po' me" story tonight. Major Hogwash Jan 2015 #27
"She hates poor people, that's why she is a Republican!!!!!!" Cutting to the heart of the matter Cha Jan 2015 #30
She hates poor people because she is a republican. SammyWinstonJack Jan 2015 #46
I think many are marym625 Jan 2015 #60
I grew up in a middle class city in S.Cal. My parents had a large family and things were very tight. C Moon Jan 2015 #32
It's not an uncommon story marym625 Jan 2015 #42
Poor poor poor me ....poor poor pitiful me YOHABLO Jan 2015 #34
Joni's anthem DebJ Jan 2015 #36
Perfect! marym625 Jan 2015 #44
yep. marym625 Jan 2015 #43
Good point! I was thinking that last night too - the bags would go INSIDE. Avalux Jan 2015 #47
I have seen one post on DU marym625 Jan 2015 #58
The plastic bags went INSIDE the boots. HappyMe Jan 2015 #48
or you had those over the shoe kind of boots marym625 Jan 2015 #61
Yeah, the dreaded red galoshes! HappyMe Jan 2015 #63
or those metal buckles marym625 Jan 2015 #66
My dad had the kind with those metal clasps. HappyMe Jan 2015 #67
I don't think they made them marym625 Jan 2015 #68
THANK YOU. I grew up in the 70s, and recall wearing them BETWEEN socks bullwinkle428 Jan 2015 #50
Chicago too marym625 Jan 2015 #62
Also, too! ;) You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize what kind of bullwinkle428 Jan 2015 #52
There is at least one post on DU marym625 Jan 2015 #64
In rainy Pacific NW we wore them over shoes Generic Other Jan 2015 #56
Just an inventive way to protect marym625 Jan 2015 #65
Her big grin and tone of voice azmom Jan 2015 #69
Yeah, it sure did. marym625 Jan 2015 #73
Wow, you had bread? deaniac21 Jan 2015 #71
store bought even! marym625 Jan 2015 #74
I did where them one time on the outside only once. dilby Jan 2015 #75
cheap, makeshift ice skates? marym625 Jan 2015 #76

Peregrine Took

(7,408 posts)
1. I think she either mis-remembered it or told it to a speechwriter
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:32 AM
Jan 2015

And he or she got it wrong and moran girl just repeated what was on her TelePrompTer.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
8. Could be
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:48 AM
Jan 2015

If she remembered incorrectly or the speech writer got it wrong, you would think one of them would think and realize what she was saying made no sense.

bullwinkle428

(20,627 posts)
51. She told the bread-bag story on election night, so she really should have
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:04 AM
Jan 2015

had ample time to correct the script.

 

Rex

(65,616 posts)
2. She got her story from the Great Depression.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:33 AM
Jan 2015

They wore the bags sugar came in. That is why it doesn't make sense to people that actually DO use bread bags as a lining in their boots...which has nothing to do with poverty.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
7. oh! that makes sense
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:46 AM
Jan 2015

She probably heard a story from the depression and decided it wasn't that bad, after all, bread bags.

I bet you are right

elleng

(130,156 posts)
3. Yes, we put baggies over daughters' shoes
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:35 AM
Jan 2015

so they could slide into their boots.

I think, however, that we (and maybe others) are making this into a big deal, when we should be thinking about/discussing what she said, and if I recall, she complained about POTUS even tho he has sought and expects to continue to seek solutions that she and they SHOULD want, like mitt: solving poverty and the income gap.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
5. kinda my point
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:41 AM
Jan 2015

The very beginning of her speech she stated she wasn't going to comment on the President's speech. In her reply to it.

The entire speech by this nimrod was insulting to the President and every American.

 

ND-Dem

(4,571 posts)
14. she wants to kneecap the poor while pretending she used to be poor. she;s a pernicious liar.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 02:23 AM
Jan 2015

yallerdawg

(16,104 posts)
4. Or maybe...
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:39 AM
Jan 2015

this is a specific Republican plan.

When they are done with us, we can always wear bread bags...like they did.

And work really hard, someday you might be able to buy more shoes!

But don't feel bad, everyone on the bus is wearing bread bags!

Yes, this feels like a plan!

marym625

(17,997 posts)
6. Ah!
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:44 AM
Jan 2015

That's it! And if we join the military and come back supporting the party that degrades Vets, you too can run for office and make ridiculous speeches. If not, then wear the bags

Dog, I hate Republicans

Contrary1

(12,629 posts)
9. And she "walked beans and fed hogs" too...
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:49 AM
Jan 2015

according to the little info that can be found about her early life.

If that doesn't qualify her to represent the Repubs, nothing does.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
10. doesn't sound poor to me
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:53 AM
Jan 2015

Nor does most of it ring true.

What was the point? "I wore bread bags on my shoes like everyone else, on a bus, from the farm with animals and vegetables. " So? This solves what?

Yep, great representative for her party

Buns_of_Fire

(17,119 posts)
17. On a BUS??? Hmmmph. Wimp.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 02:49 AM
Jan 2015

We had to WALK. Twenty miles. Uphill. Both ways. With our schoolbooks over one shoulder, and our sack of hog nuts over the other.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
19. That's nothing!
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 02:54 AM
Jan 2015

My dad walked 20 miles to school, uphill both ways, with holes in his shoes, carrying his 400 lbs books, in the snow. And it snowed every day in the 30s! EVERY DAY!

Buns_of_Fire

(17,119 posts)
29. That's bad, but there were also vicious pumas, lurking in the crevasses,
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:22 AM
Jan 2015

to contend with in the wilds of Ft. Lauderdale. I think they were attracted to the hog nuts.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
39. pumas are definitely scary
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 09:10 AM
Jan 2015

I will give you that.

Ok, you win. Can't think of anything but a snow monster at the moment.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
55. You had shovels,
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:36 AM
Jan 2015

We had to pick up the coal that fell off the trains, with our bare hands. Then throw it in the furnace with our hands. We also used our hands to "shovel" everything, including the snow. 10 feet deep at times.

SammyWinstonJack

(44,129 posts)
45. That's what I was thinking....what was the point of this 'story', anyway? Especially coming from
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 09:34 AM
Jan 2015

republicans who do everything they can to keep the poor down and throw more people into poverty.

She and her party are the problem and their solution is to create even more poverty.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
54. exactly.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:29 AM
Jan 2015

I guess her point was that if you work hard, you can succeed and you don't need help from anyone but other poor neighbors.

Disgusting

azmom

(5,208 posts)
77. The moral of the story is work hard,
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 02:04 PM
Jan 2015

Live simply, don't waste, and don't be embarrassed of being poor.

Contrary1

(12,629 posts)
33. Ya got me.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:36 AM
Jan 2015

"I was born and raised in Montgomery County. I grew up walking beans and feeding hogs. My mom made all of my clothes. We went to church every week, helped our neighbors when they needed it, and they did the same for us. These were the values I was raised with, and they’re the same values I have fought my entire life to promote and protect."

http://www.joniforiowa.com/bio/

I played in soybean fields, and fed chickens, along with wearing bread bags on my feet in the winter. Gosh, we went to church too, and Mom made my school uniform, along with a few other things. My Dad was the first one called if friends or neighbors needed a helping hand. Guess these experiences are now considered "values".

Excuse me if I don't respond to further comments in a timely manner. I will be spending the day researching the many political positions that this entitles me to.

ETA: Given the above definition, I walked the beans (green and soy), cucumbers, carrots, onions, potatoes, peppers, radishes, corn, watermelons, and strawberries.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
41. Please let me know what you find out
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 09:19 AM
Jan 2015

Who, exactly, didn't help out when needed? Take away the farm and that's pretty much the same as all of us back in the day. That's what you did. That's what parents and neighbors did. And if you lived in the burbs, you did yard work and shoveled snow. If you lived in the city, I'm sure there were some equivalent chores.

What we didn't do was give our fathers government contracts. We didn't use our power to benefit ourselves and family. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026115153

She makes me ill. The only saving grace with this new, republican, female "star" is she is a horrible orator.

 

B Calm

(28,762 posts)
57. She also plowed the fields, worked construction with her father, and worked the biscuit line
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:54 AM
Jan 2015

at Hardee's while wearing plastic bags for shoes and all the time she was saving money for her college education!

How do you know when a republican is lying?

Answer: Right at the point where they open their mouth

NanceGreggs

(27,813 posts)
11. Well, when you're a Republican ...
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 02:17 AM
Jan 2015

... attempting to passionately put forward your party's brilliant plans for the future, their solutions to the problems of the nation, their sterling record of all they have achieved for America's hard-working middle-class - and there are no such plans, solutions, or record of achievement - you may as well fill the time slot with an incredibly mind-numbing anecdote that will put the audience to sleep before they realize you've got nuthin' to say.

I'll give Joni credit for accomplishing one thing: No one is talking about her hog castration speech tonight. At least she's smart enough to realize that the only way to erase one stupid remark from the public's consciousness is to top it with an even dumber remark.

I believe she was just channeling her inner Michele Bachmann.

Major Hogwash

(17,656 posts)
25. If you wore bread bags on your feet and a lunch sack as a hat as a kid, in order to keep warm . . .
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:05 AM
Jan 2015

. . . then you might be a lying Redneck ~ Jeff Foxworthy

Cha

(295,926 posts)
35. LOL.. Yes, when you don't have anything to cough up about your party's contribution in giving the
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 04:06 AM
Jan 2015

the Poor and MC a break.. what are you going to do? Bring up "Bread Bags"! And, hope the next time a vote comes up to help said Middle Class and our Poor, instead of the 1%.. no one notices your vote is for the Rich.. always.

'Cause that's what she's made of.

joshcryer

(62,265 posts)
18. She's a liar with no real poor life experience.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 02:51 AM
Jan 2015

She may have had a "rough" life experience, but it wasn't the poor experience. Not by a long shot.

 

KingCharlemagne

(7,908 posts)
22. She comes across as a total and utter phony; her every utterance brings
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:00 AM
Jan 2015

great disgrace to the state of Iowa and its people.

Cha

(295,926 posts)
23. the thing for me is.. Joni Ernst cares nothing about the poor.. less than nothing.. she's the one
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:02 AM
Jan 2015

who is making fun of them .. not DU.

Mahalo Mary

marym625

(17,997 posts)
26. Thank you, Cha
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:09 AM
Jan 2015

Exactly what I have been saying on another thread.

When the 3 year old has to spend the day walking the tracks with a make shift wagon, picking up coal that fell off the train, to heat the room apartment for 10 people, that's poor. Having to protect shoes with plastic bags from store bought bread to take the bus to school from the prosperous farm and construction company, not so much.

Cha

(295,926 posts)
28. I think Nance stated it well on another thread too..
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:22 AM
Jan 2015

"But I don't believe that (most) posters are laughing at poor people, or what they do to survive.

I think the laughter is in response to two things:

(a) Tonight's GOP response was their opportunity to highlight what their party's plans are to address the nation's current challenges - from foreign policy to job creation, from the economy to immigration, from the protection of voting rights to the right to earn a living wage - and Ernst prattled on about bags on her shoes, a personal story that had no relevance to the SOTU - or to anything else.

(b) The hypocrisy of a GOP representative, speaking tonight on behalf of her entire party, talking about the plight of the poor - when her party would just as soon the current poor of the country wear bread-bags on their shoes, and be grateful for them - and stop looking for a "handout from the gov't" to be able to afford shoes.

I'm sorry you are upset. I truly am. But I DO understand why."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6115266

marym625

(17,997 posts)
38. yep.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 09:03 AM
Jan 2015

There are many of us saying those same things, the perhaps not as well. I don't believe anyone here is mocking the poor. They're mocking her.

The fact she started the speech saying she wasn't going to talk about the SOTU address was just a slap in the face to the Office of The President, tradition and the American people. Using a story that was common to many, middle class included, to prove how hard she had it was ridiculous and patronizing.

I forget who said it but my favorite comments here about her and that speech are; she was channeling her best Michele Bachmann (I think that was Nance), she was auditioning for the 700 Club, and the church lady meets romper room.

The fact she is a terrible orator is the only reason I think she's not as dangerous as she could be. But, I may be underestimating both her and her followers.

Major Hogwash

(17,656 posts)
27. I wonder how many poor people are laughing at her "liddle ol' po' me" story tonight.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:12 AM
Jan 2015

I know I did!

She hates poor people, that's why she is a Republican!!!!!!
She doesn't want the Federal Government to help any of the poor people in this great nation!!
She will vote against any federal program that benefits the poor!

Cha

(295,926 posts)
30. "She hates poor people, that's why she is a Republican!!!!!!" Cutting to the heart of the matter
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:29 AM
Jan 2015

as usual, Major.. thank you!

this poor person wasn't laughing but am disgusted at her hypocrisy of acting like she cares about anything other than when she can stick it to the poor the next time.

Hey, maybe this will be a thing.. every time she votes against the poor we can say "shame on Joni..we need money for galoshes."

marym625

(17,997 posts)
60. I think many are
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 11:01 AM
Jan 2015

Laughing and many are really pissed. She made a mockery of what people living in poverty go through.

C Moon

(12,188 posts)
32. I grew up in a middle class city in S.Cal. My parents had a large family and things were very tight.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 03:32 AM
Jan 2015

I was a very active kid. In 5th grade I wore through the bottoms of cheap K-Mart shoes in a few months.

We had a large family, and my mom couldn't keep getting me new shoes every few months. One time I told my mom that my shoes were worn through, and that my socks had holes as a result. She told me to put cardboard in my shoes.

At school one afternoon, we had a wrestling lesson outside (5th grade); I was embarrassed because I would have had to take my shoes off and reveal that my socks had holes in them. I had a lot of friends, and they had very nice clothes. So I pretended that I was injured so I wouldn't have to take my shoes off. I really wanted to wrestle though, it looked fun.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
42. It's not an uncommon story
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 09:28 AM
Jan 2015

Especially from people in large families.

To use her experiences to basically say, "you need help? Call a neighborhood and work hard. Government is not there to help people" makes me ill.

I'm sorry you didn't get to wrestle. I bet you weren't the only one with holes in your socks.

Avalux

(35,015 posts)
47. Good point! I was thinking that last night too - the bags would go INSIDE.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 09:50 AM
Jan 2015

It would be dangerous to have them on the outside as you've said. That little story was intended to make Ernst look sympathetic to the plight of the poor. All it did was come across as phony bullshit that left a lot of us scratching our heads at the absurdity of it. BTW, I grew up poor too in the northeast, never heard of bread bags over shoes.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
58. I have seen one post on DU
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:57 AM
Jan 2015

By someone that said they used them outside the shoes to protect them. I guess to each their own. But that doesn't change the fact that it wasn't a "poor" thing or that poverty is not something to use as an excuse for government not to do its job for its people.

Yep, it was pathetic, her attempt to seem sympathetic.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
61. or you had those over the shoe kind of boots
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 11:03 AM
Jan 2015

That had the opening on the side. The only way to get the whole shoe in the boot. In deep snow or puddles, they leaked

HappyMe

(20,277 posts)
63. Yeah, the dreaded red galoshes!
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 11:07 AM
Jan 2015

The zipper on the side always seemed to have something wrong with it. They did leak something fierce. I always managed to get snow inside.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
66. or those metal buckles
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 11:18 AM
Jan 2015

That snapped the boots shut. Well, sort of shut. No one had boots that shoes weren't worn with. And they all leaked

HappyMe

(20,277 posts)
67. My dad had the kind with those metal clasps.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 11:23 AM
Jan 2015

I remember when they came out with the boots you didn't need to put over your shoes. We went nuts with joy. Nobody I knew had them, they must have been pricey.

bullwinkle428

(20,627 posts)
50. THANK YOU. I grew up in the 70s, and recall wearing them BETWEEN socks
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:00 AM
Jan 2015

and shoes as a kind of insulation/"poor man's Gore-Tex" when we would go to school in the winter time - I grew up in Buffalo, NY, so we knew how to do winter!

bullwinkle428

(20,627 posts)
52. Also, too! ;) You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize what kind of
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:14 AM
Jan 2015

a freaking slip hazard PLASTIC BAGS would be when you're trying to walk across any surface covered with ice, slush, and snow!

You're a complete fraud, Joni, so I invite to just keep on talkin' as much as possible!

marym625

(17,997 posts)
64. There is at least one post on DU
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 11:11 AM
Jan 2015

That says they wore them outside their shoes to protect the shoe. To each his own.

I don't doubt the poster. But it still has zero to do with being poor, the use of the plastic bag. Used them in the shower on my cast for months. Used them as a kid to keep my feet dry. Even an episode of Roseanne talks about using them on feet.

Generic Other

(28,979 posts)
56. In rainy Pacific NW we wore them over shoes
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 10:46 AM
Jan 2015

Just too wet. Took them off and threw them away when we reached dry land.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
65. Just an inventive way to protect
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 11:15 AM
Jan 2015

Shoes, feet or both.

Her story is filled with "poor me but we relied on each other and pulled ourselves up by the boot bread bags without government help and so should you" Republican crap.

dilby

(2,273 posts)
75. I did where them one time on the outside only once.
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:50 PM
Jan 2015

Because yes the bags ripped and you slid around on them. After that they were worn on the inside of the shoes, my mom wanted to keep the shoes from getting wet and so they did not get ruined but it became obvious that it would not work so you just needed to keep the feet dry.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
76. cheap, makeshift ice skates?
Wed Jan 21, 2015, 01:55 PM
Jan 2015

Pretty much a standard at one time, plastic bags, which were bread bags then, to keep feet dry

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