Pic Of The Moment: Louie Gohmert Strikes Again

[EarlG]

Gohmert: Cutting food stamps not evil because poor people buy king crab legs

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[montanacowboy]

1. How did his "broken hearted" constituents SEE

people using "food stamps" to buy king crab legs?

did they pay at the register with large printed out papers that said "food Stamps????"

what a fuckin nut case - there is NO such thing as Food Stamps anymore. People use plastic just like everyone else does and NO one know how you are paying for your groceries.

[erpowers]

9. You Can Tell

At least in some places you can tell when people are using SNAP benefits to buy food. At least in some states the cards are easy to spot. They look very different from "regular" debit cards. I have never noticed anybody buying King Crabs with their SNAP benefits nor do I think I would have cared of I had seen anyone do such a thing, but I have been able to tell when people in front of me were using SNAP benefits to buy food.

[MADem]

13. I have a debit card that has a similar color scheme to the state benefit card.

I wonder if I raise some serious consternation when I go into the grocery store and buy a hundred bucks worth of "I'm HUNGRY" crap, as I do on odd occasion.

[awoke_in_2003]

18. Not to give this jag off anything...

but, yes, you can tell the Texas one from a distance with no problem. That being said, people aren't buying crab legs with them. But if they decided to give themselves, say, one annual treat then so what? People need to STFU over manufactured food stamp abuse. Oh, and that isn't aimed at you, but at assholes who invent these stories about our "high living" poor people.

[SCVDem]

21. All I notice

Is if they are slow!

One shouldn't be looking at someone's card/pin anyway.


It's bad etiquette

[awoke_in_2003]

30. Yes, it is...

but rudeness seems to be an abundant resource these days.

[erpowers]

33. Not Trying to Notice

I realize that you might not be talking about me, but I wanted to address the issue. In some states, my state included, it is easy to tell the difference between a SNAP benefit card and a "regular" debit card. You do not have to try to notice the difference in order to see the difference. If you are looking in front of you and the person in front of you pulls out the card you will notice.

[SCVDem]

40. Not you.

I actually changed the wording from "you shouldn't" to "one shouldn't" to avoid that perception.

It's hard to miss the card type though.

To me it's MYOB!

[Honeycombe8]

73. This is true. As long as it's food, why care? I understand wanting something extravagant

just one time. I was very poor once. I lived from paycheck to paycheck. I totally understand wanting, just once, to experience something really nice. I don't recall, but I probably did that, when getting birthday cash or something. I have a recollection that when I did that, it wasn't worth the money. Hell, I wouldn't buy King Crab legs NOW, and I can pay for that (not that I'm wealthy by a long shot).

[awoke_in_2003]

75. Our family was on food stamps during...

Saint Ronnie's reign. Like you say, sometimes you just need a little something extra to make life bearable.

[CBHagman]

27. I've overheard people talking...

...but generally I don't think I would know someone was participating in SNAP or WIC unless there was a technical problem at the register and an ensuing discussion with the manager and/or cashier.

Getting back to the OP, Gohmert really is a prime of example of the maxim that it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt.

[ROUGHRIDER1976]

17. How did his "broken hearted" constituents see

gee louie i use "food stamps" and have never bought king crab legs

[Scuba]

2. Republican poster child Louie Gohmert shows off his lobotomy.

[MoreGOPoop]

3. Don't worry, Gomer.

There may not be any fish or seafood to be found in the near future,
if we don't stop Big Oil.

[SCVDem]

4. Crab legs include a lot of shell weight

How much meat remains?

Can they afford the butter with what's left?

Gomer is a reflection on the IQ of his constituents.

I hope they feel proud!

[Nac Mac Feegle]

5. Does anyone expect anything different from Gomer?

I'm calling "Bullshit" on him.

1) Food Stamps aren't "stamps" and haven't been for a long time. SNAP is a plastic card that looks like any other debit card used in a grocery store. The check-out clerks themselves have to look closeley to see the difference. (per conversation with a clerk)

2) The cost of buying them would be a HUGE waste. (See above graphic)

3) Does anyone honestly think Louie the Gomer would actually talk with ANY "constituent" that actually does their own shopping? He only would talk to his donors, the type of people that have 'people' to do that sort of thing for them.

How much do you want to bet this will be repeated on Faux until it becomes a RW meme? Just like St. Ronaldus' "Welfare queen driving a Cadillac to pick up food stamps." meme.

Texas: Giving Arizona a reason to say "Those f***ers are CRAZY".

[awoke_in_2003]

19. Not in Texas...

they are unmistakeable. They probably do that to help shame people. The people running this state are assholes elected by assholes. I really tire of this place sometimes.

On edit: welcome to DU

[RVN VET]

69. We got 'em in Maryland, too

Just not such a high concentration of 'em. But, friend, you have my sympathy and warmest wishes for a continued grasp on reality and a healthy compassion for all humanity, even shallow lying fools like Representative Louie.

It must be horrible living in a place where the fools outnumber the real folks, and vote for asparagus loving nincompoops like Louie Gohmert.

(But, dayum, Gohmert bears an uncanny resemblance to Happy Kyne, doesn't -- excuse me, don't he? I wonder if he's kin?)

[HooptieWagon]

6. Congress's per diem food allowance will buy a quarter gram of crack.

And it appears Loco Louie is smoking it.

[DFW]

7. WAIT!! I see what the problem is!

People in Gohmert's district don't have enough money to go to the eye doctor and get glasses, so they can't tell the difference between chicken wings and king crab legs!!

Such a simple mix-up--could have happened to anybody (in Gohmert's district, that is).

[Plucketeer]

22. Gomer's constituents are as ignorant as he is

I mean - what would you expect? SO..... buying some healthy seafood is bad. Rather they flex those SNAP cards to buy pinto beans and rice - the staples of folks living on the edge. That way, when said folks suffer the obesity that dogs such a diet, we can spend plenty of money trying to keep them alive. That's as dumb as pouring money into prisons when good educations would've kept us from needing prisons!

[DFW]

23. In Dallas, we can follow logic like that

Drive a couple of hours in any direction, and their capacity diminishes. Must be all that dust from the brush weed out in Crawford...

[0rganism]

36. well that explains why they're "broken hearted'

heck, if i couldn't tell crab legs from chicken wings, i'd be pretty damn upset too

[DFW]

37. You can't have visited that part of Texas much

They're not broken-hearted. They take as a badge of honor that they don't know the difference. Of course, since most of them have probably never seen a king crab leg in their lives anyway, it doesn't matter.

[Waltons_Mtn]

8. My teabagging cousin likes to post stuff like what Gohmert said.

My reply each time is "when you start caring about what oil companies spend their "government handout" on, then you can give a crap about what these people spend theirs on. Until then STFU!"

[Iliyah]

10. What kool aid are these Texas

GOPers drinking? They claim to be Christians but do the total opposite.

[Enthusiast]

11. Righties always say this kind of shit. And I do mean "shit".

Even the more intelligent congressional Rs will say it.

They have been so deeply indoctrinated.

Saint Ronnie started this welfare queen nonsense. And we know that Saint Ronnie was just born too late for Jesus to incorporate his words into the gospel. It's only a technicality.

Funny how they never have an objection to corporate welfare or wasteful military spending.

This D says 75% of military spending is unjustified excess.

[Enrique]

12. now I'm hungry

i'm craving king crabs and asparagus for some reason.

[4_TN_TITANS]

50. Me too, Enrique...

I'm a seafood junkie and it's been some time since I had king crab (with melted real butter). Fried oysters would be my favorite.

[rurallib]

14. Texas where a pound of crab legs are a damned sight smarter

than the average republican

[Initech]

15. These people are too fucking stupid for words.

[retired rooster]

16. I live in Gohmert's district in Tyler, Texas and...

I am so ashamed by him. He does nothing positive in this district and I have tried repeatedly to have his office staff send me information on what Louie is working on and apparently he is working on nothing. Every once in awhile his office notifies me when Louie is going to appear on Fox but even that is not very often. I drive past his office frequently and avert my eyes every time. He is an embarrassment to the people of this district.

[Magoo48]

34. Wonder if he's ever had to work for a living...

[SleeplessinSoCal]

43. He was a judge. Does that count?

[SleeplessinSoCal]

42. I feel your pain. I'm in Rohrabacher's district.

I was hoping to pin Gohmert's insensitivity to the study proving Wealth and unethical behavior go together. But he's not wealthy. He did win with 71% of the vote I noticed. That's worse than Rohrabacher, who wins with 61%.

[BuddhaGirl]

62. Surf City native here :-)

I cannot believe he's still the rep there...I now live in the Bay Area but visit regularly because my folks still live there...I used to see him at the beach years ago, surfing. He thought he was too cool

[Bigredhunk]

20. ==

I remember reading a story like this in the TH (local paper). A guy (person A) was behind someone (person B - who was on food stamps) in the grocery store. RW'ers are obsessed with how poor people spend their $$. They don't care about anybody else who's getting tax dollars (billion $$ companies getting subsidized, rich people getting subsidized, farmers getting subsidized). Poor people drive them nuts though. Anyway, person A was lucky enough to have person B leave their receipt behind. He wrote into the paper detailing what person B bought and how he couldn't afford that type of food.

I always assume most of these "welfare queen" stories are bullshit. Let's say for the sake of argument that it's true. Who cares if someone buys 1 expensive thing or 25 cheap things?? The $$ is the same regardless. The people who bitch about what people buy could do the same thing. They could blow their wad on steaks and not get anything else. What's the difference between that or spreading out the $$ on other stuff?

[LibDemAlways]

24. I have relatives who believe the same thing.

They swear they see "welfare queens" (i.e. African-American women) loading up their shopping carts with steak and lobster. No use arguing with stupid people who sit around listening to Rush all day.

[warrant46]

78. These voters are Sheep who live on Faux news 24-7

[Iliyah]

25. The scanners pretty much can tell

what the customers are buying and what method being used for payment. The Corporations know what is being bought and what type of payment is used, therefore, some congresscritters probably do have privily to these documents.

[ProfessorGAC]

32. A Guy I Know Who Is A Supermarket Manager. . .

. . .tells me that the State of IL audits chain grocers. They look to see if certain items are being sold under WIC. And, in most UPC computer systems, the WIC eligibility is coded. So, if someone tries to buy something not allowed under WIC, the system will reject it.

I would think luxury items like king crab would be coded.

Hence, i don't believe a word from this idiot congressman's mouth.

[bread_and_roses]

70. WIC and SNAP are different - WIC far more restricted choice

WIC is very regulated to assure the babies and children are getting nutritious foods and specifies foods - down to brands (in some cases) and which sizes.

SNAP also has some regulations: no non-food items (even things like toilet paper) and I think (but pretty sure) no imported foods.

But when it comes to something like beef, for instance, you can buy steak or the cheapest ground beef with SNAP - the inherent restrictions are in the cost.

If you are on "welfare" you are going to try to make the SNAP benefit feed you (and your kids, if applicable) through the month. Most people don't know that "Food Stamps" were not intended to cover the month's food. I don't know the terminology Under the Clinton deformed revision, but when it was Aid to Dependent Children your "welfare" benefit included a category called "food/clothing/incidentals" (or something like that). Of course, it was a very few $ per person and if you wanted things like soap, laundry detergent, and toilet paper you used it up pretty quick - with none left over for "food." Thus, the end of the month regular run on the local Food Banks. There was no way you could get through the month on the "Food Stamps" and the FCI. I'm sure it's the same under "Welfare Deform" today.

I worked for a long time with people on "welfare." I still know people who subsist on benefits. They are not buying King Crab. Or good steak. And at the end of the month, they're often subsisting on the instant mashed potatoes and generic soup they got from the food bank.

And if once in a blue moon someone does break down and buy a "luxury" item then so what? Miserable authoritarians complain too when they buy chips and soday - in the families I worked with, that was their big luxury - and they're ONLY luxury. Some chips, for goddess sake. We should have a guaranteed national income and national health care and universal free education and and and. Instead we shovel $$$ to the wealthy and our Corporate Overlords.

[niyad]

79. who defines "luxury item"--and why should it be restricted? seriously? why shouldn't a person

using food stamps be able to get a "luxury item"? this kind of thinking makes me crazy.

[VA_Jill]

26. Louie the Gomer

has apparently never heard the saying, "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

[Buzz Clik]

28. The one case that Gohmert was referring to was a scheme to convert the card to cash.

The person bought the crab legs and sold them to someone waiting outside for 1/2 price.

This amounts to fraud. Punish the person committing the crime, not the entire population of those needing assistance to buy food.

Typical neanderthal behavior.

[Hissyspit]

35. Also...

It's food!

People using food stamps to buy food. The horror....

[Buzz Clik]

82. +1, of course

It's bad budgeting, but that's a different story entirely.

[niyad]

80. link, please

[DinahMoeHum]

29. If Gomer ever said this shit to an Alaskan's face. . .

. . .odds are, the bad boys of the Bering Sea (aka "Deadliest Catch&quot would tie him to a line attached to a crab pot and launch them into the drink.

Better yet, they'd stuff him into the crab pot itself, along with the gutted fish for bait and launch him overboard. Those crabs are like piranhas when it comes to gutted cod or salmon.



Using food stamps to buy king crab legs might make perfect sense if one is from Alaska. There are not many jobs out there outside of commercial fishing, tourism, and the oil industry. And those jobs tend to be seasonal, to boot.

[SCVDem]

44. You made me smile!

Thanks!

[Rozlee]

31. Idiot! I remember here in Texas, some wingnut back in the 80s, made a similar comment

about overhearing two women on welfare, surrounded by several of their children, discussing how they were planning on getting pregnant again to increase their welfare benefits. To begin with, in Texas back then, welfare payments only paid you up to two children and no more. Not even if you had fifteen. But, this dumb rhymes-with-witch wrote in the letters section of the Express News that she heard them, plain as day, talking about having an 8th child and a 9th one to get more money. They love spreading their ugly little stereotypes to validate their prejudices.

[maddezmom]

45. You do realize that child support also

Goes on these debit cards right?

[Bluenorthwest]

49. That post is repeated almost verbatim all over the internet. This is the second time I have seen it

today on DU. It always includes the parking lot and the Lexus or a HumVee.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

51. Yep.

Its nothing but Reagan's "cadilac welfare queen".

And its their first post.... suspicious? I think so.

[arcane1]

52. It used to be a Cadillac, but they changed it to Lexus since nobody falls for the Caddy lie anymore

And it always "makes them sick" too

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

54. Third time for me today.

It's always a Lexus now, apparently.

[BainsBane]

56. I was on that jury

and of course voted to hide, but it came back 3-3. I don't know what is going on with jurors here.

[MrScorpio]

47. Cool Story, Bro!

[The Magistrate]

48. That Swill Is Not Even Worth a 'Cool Stroy, Bro...'

As I tell my grand-kids, show me some respect when you try and lie to me, I give points for style but it really aggravates me when you try something that leaves me no choice but to think you must imagine I am an idiot....

[Kali]

53. you make ME sick

GTFO this website you fucking troll

[BainsBane]

57. Paging MIRT

[Kali]

58. got it

I can NOT believe 3 jurors voted to leave that

[BainsBane]

59. I know. Did you read the explanation by juror 3?

Who went on and on about how lousy the post was but then left it?

[Kali]

60. no, didn't see the comments

I alerted and just got the count, somebody alerted before me.

[The Magistrate]

61. That Would Have Been Me, Ma'am....

At Fri Jun 21, 2013, 04:49 PM you sent an alert on the following post:

I can't stand Louie, but have to agree with him this time
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=126922

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

YOUR COMMENTS:

just in case no one has yet alerted on this obvious bullshit troll signed up to make DU suck

JURY RESULTS

A randomly-selected Jury of DU members completed their review of this alert at Fri Jun 21, 2013, 05:01 PM, and voted 3-3 to LEAVE IT ALONE.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT and said: Riiiiight!
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: One has to believe this poster is blatantly lying or that this does occasionally happen. I don't think there is anyone area where people handle their benefits 100 percent as intended. So I have to think I have no proof this person is being blatantly dishonest about what they think they saw so I vote to leave it. I do believe most people who get food stamps honestly need them and do use them properly. So if a few do not, that does not give reason to alter the program for everyone.
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT and said: Bye bye troll
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT and said: I don't often doubt the veracity of a post without something to guide me but I tend to think this author's ass sucks canal water. HIDE IT and order a pizza forthwith

[tclambert]

39. GOP logic: If one person buys something extravagant with a SNAP card, then kill the whole program.

Ah, but Louie, some people use food stamps to buy bread and cheap lunch meat, you know, so they won't starve to death. Maybe you shouldn't try to KILL those people in order to punish your imaginary abuser of the program. Just a thought, Louie. Kill vs. punish. Occasional extravagance vs. preventing starvation.

You know who I saw buying crab legs and lobster and many other luxury foods? Rich people. And they didn't work for it. Most of them work fewer hours than the average middle class person. By Louie's logic, shouldn't we KILL those rich people?

[Half-Century Man]

41. This masturbation gone horribly wrong that speaks..

..Is proof I was right that one stoned night 27 years ago. There is a firmly set number of IQ point available for the Earth, with the population increasing the are fewer points available per person.

[SheilaT]

46. I am amazed that people pay such close attention to exactly

what kind of card the person ahead of them in the grocery line is swiping.

Now I happen to have very strong opinions about what people should eat or should not eat, but it's up to the individual how they spend their money -- or their SNAP card -- at the grocery store.

[arcane1]

55. And they always pay for their own groceries just in time to see what car the other person drives

[Divine Discontent]

68. right on! I get watched by most people behind me, because I shop wisely for what I like

and I buy it in bulk when it's cheap. So, if I buy 10 bags of chicken for $5.99 to stick in the freezer you can imagine the looks I get from some people when I get asked what kind of card I swiped (my best value store asks specifically, so there must be a specific button).
The Mouse in Florida pays so little that most workers quality for food assistance, isn't that lovely? I suggest no one ever come visit, to be honest.

[Bluenorthwest]

63. Crab Louie strikes again.

nt

[Jack Rabbit]

64. OK, which one of you practical jokers told Leaky Head Louie that story? 'Fess up, now!

You have to be careful what you say around him. He might think you're serious.

[rocktivity]

65. Photographed this three hours later

Guy doesn't know what he's talking about -- king crab, indeed.


rocktivity

[Coyotl]

66. Too out of touch to know the average American cannot eat crab meat.

[tofuandbeer]

67. Only the rich get king crab legs...the poor need to be humble and miserable!

[SemperEadem]

71. those people who told you that told you a bald faced lie--and you bought it

goes to show how God damned stupid you are.

[chknltl]

72. What? No lobbyist from the crab industry paying for his kid's college tuition?

Did it ever occur to this ninny that one can place certain food products on the food stamp program's no buy list? (I know, I know, his real agenda has nothing to do with preventing the poor from purchasing caviar with an EBTcard).

[MindMover]

74. Wondered to myself how long it would take to figure

the biggest ass in our government out...

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/6551305609/][img][/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/6551305609/]asshole[/url]

[caseymoz]

76. On SNAP, you can buy luxury food

A recipient might do it for the first month, and after they have to scrape by on just nine tasty meals that month, you think they'd do that again?

Unless Gomer Shit-Pile is implying that every poor person who applies for SNAP actually has a hidden stash of silver bars somewhere, and therefore are defrauding the government (which of course is what he's implying) the problem is self-correcting. You learn to use food stamps economically. And when his idiot teabilly constituents complain about it, maybe Gomer Shit Pile should explain that to them, then ask them about the soul-crushing trauma that killed their empathy.

It's actually the rich who are known for their hidden stashes of wealth in the Caymans. With SNAP, the government checks all your wealth. How are they hiding it Gomer? Maybe you should come up with useful legislation, like make the wealthy pass drug tests before they can access their overseas accounts.

BTW, if the poor are buying crab legs, wouldn't that imply they're hard working enough to prepare them?

[Half-Century Man]

77. I love how the people who never experienced things are the experts of those same things

Re-thug-lacan males; who are the definitive experts on all thing vaginal. They having never been beaten to the floor, strangled to near unconsciousness, had their identities ripped away with their clothes, and had some vile sit stain force into their bodies as much hatred and damage as possible; could possibly think rape had anything to do with sex. Or that being forced, by the people supposed to protect you, to whelp a shit stain junior was good government.

The ones who have never missed a meal, knowing that if they help the hungry eat, it will somehow make the hungry weaker and less energetic.

The avowed christians who know sharing is wrong somehow, and in spite of EVERY LINE in the Bible, know the JC was secretly saying "got mine, got most of yours, you can't fix that , so fuck you".

[1Greensix]

81. Repeatedly told him......

I'd just like to see an actual List of each person who told him so their stories could be checked out. Reagan told welfare queen stories all the time. Same story each time. Always said he had Just heard it. Just another imaginary scenario of a demented conservative. What if.... is what they are always against. What IF a teenager smoked pot, so we can't legalize it. What IF the government was taken over, so we need machine guns in our closets. What IF Obama was Moslem........ get it? They talk without any regard for truth, because NO one ever makes them back up their stories with facts.

[wordpix]

83. with more $ to benefit the poor we could bring back home ec in schools & grow more gardens

I work in 2 public schools and see a lot of junk food and sodas being consumed, sometimes by young mothers who get food benefits. Having grown organic gardens for decades, I would love to have a school garden and bring back home ec courses so that students could learn how to prepare low cost foods made from fresh produce.

I'm sure Gomer and his ilk would not want to fund such a program, though. It makes too much sense.

[Kablooie]

84. I found complaints about king crab legs and food stamps going back as far as 2006.

Those crab legs seem to be almost an urban legend.

Snopes has nothing to say about crab legs yet but they do have a food stamp receipt listing 6 lobsters and a couple of steaks.
It was a real but the customers were arrested later for trying to resell the products.

Admittedly some illegal cheating goes on with food stamps but like with any crime they will be arrested if caught.
It has nothing to do with honest citizens who are forced to rely of food stamps to feed a family.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/receipt.asp

[Uncle Joe]

85. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, EarlG.

[duuser5822]

86. Gohmert is a truly out of touch asshole

I can't wait for him to just go away.