Republicans And Blue Dogs Try To Kill The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

Yesterday the House voted to take a vote on S.3307, Blanche Lincoln's (really Tom Harkin's) Agriculture Committee bill-- that passed by voice vote in the Senate last summer-- to revamp federal child nutrition programs. It would boost subsidies to schools that offer healthier menus and give the Agriculture Department some new power to regulate what’s offered in campus vending machines as well as cafeterias. Conservative Democrats have gone along with GOP demands to offset part of the cost by ending, five months ahead of schedule in 2013, the better food-stamp benefits created in last year’s economic stimulus law.

In the spirit of the GOP's renewed anti-government jihad and obstructionism, every single one of them-- plus 11 of the most reactionary Democrats in the House-- voted against allowing the bill to be considered. For those keeping score, the aisle crossers were recently defeated conservatives John Adler (NJ), Allen Boyd (Blue Dog-FL), Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL), Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Glenn Nye (Blue Dog-VA) and Gene Taylor (Blue Dog-MS) plus retiring alcoholic Marion Berry (Blue Dog-AR), and three that got away, Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK), Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC), and Mike Ross (Blue Dog-AR).

A few minutes later the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act came up again and this time one Republican, outgoing Hawaiian Charles Djou, voted to... allow a vote, while outgoing right-wing shitheads John Tanner (Blue Dog-TN), Travis Childers (MS), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (Blue Dog-SD), Scott Murphy (NY), John Adler (NJ), Allen Boyd (Blue Dog-FL), and Jim Marshall (Blue Dog-GA) voted NO, as did conservative hangers-on Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN), Ben Chandler (Blue Dog-KY), Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC), and Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK), and, for some reason only he will ever know, Mike Quigley (D-IL).

So I can understand the Republicans' motivation for opposing everything. They just want to create chaos and misery and do whatever they can to upset people and blame it on Obama. And since Obama never seems to have learned to go on the offense, it's working. But what about these Blue Dogs, especially the ones who were already defeated? What makes them veer away from conservatism and into an embrace of hateful reactionary politics? Are they just all steaming mad that they were rejected by the voters? Or do they just want revenge against humanity?

Before a final vote could be taken yesterday, the Republicans added a poison pill amendment to scuttle the whole process but all it will do is hold up passage until today's session. What assholes!

And this afternoon, despite all the Republican bluster, all their tricks and threats, the actual bill passed 264-157. In the end 17 Republicans didn't have the stomach to stick with their hateful, vicious anti-family, anti-child leadership and they abandoned Boehner and Cantor and Pence and the rest of the corporate pawns-- while Allen Boyd (Blue Dog-FL), John Tanner (Blue Dog-TN), Bart Stupak (MI) and Peter Welch (VT) voted NO, the former two because they are angry conservatives and the latter two because they don't want to see this being paid for by decreasing food stamps. The Republicans who had the cajones and the decency to thwart Boehner were Spencer Bachus (AL), Anh Cao (LA), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Mike Castle (DE), Charlie Dent (PA), Charles Djou (HI), Vern Ehlers (MI), Jo Ann Emerson (MO), Jeff Fortenberry (NE), Jim Gerlach (PA), Walter Jones (NC), Tom Latham (IA), Steve LaTourette (OH), Tim Murphy (PA), Todd Platts (PA), Dave Reichert (WA), and Don Young (AK). The rest will, no doubt, rot in hell.