GOP Rep. Mary Franson on food stamps: "please don't feed the animals"

Republican Minnesota State Rep. Mary Franson compared food stamp programs to prohibitions against feeding animals in national parks in a weekly constituent update. Sharing what she called a "little funny clip that we got from a friend," Franson said:

"Isn't it ironic that the food stamp program, part of the Department of Agriculture, is pleased to be distributing the greatest amount of food stamps ever. Meanwhile, the Park Service, also part of the Department of Agriculture, asks us to please not feed the animals, because the animals may grow dependent and not learn how to take care of themselves." 

Of course, you can't blame her friend for sharing this gem. After all, it's practically a rash across the right-wing meme-o-sphere. It gets over 19,000 hits on Google. And you can't blame Rep. Franson, she was just passing it along.

The video was pulled by the Minnesota House GOP from their YouTube channel. A number of folks who were shocked by it grabbed it before it could disappear down the memory hole. Here's a clipped version that Alliance for a Better Minnesota posted. You can sign their petition to demand that Rep. Franson apologize.

(h/t @stribrooks, @atomrobinson)

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