Voters of Colorado, say hello to your new Republican majority:
Poor children who eat breakfast at school for free will have to pay 30 cents a meal for the last few months of this school year after Republicans on the legislature's Joint Budget Committee refused to provide additional funding for the growing program.
The long story is that prior lawmakers had appropriated more than was necessary for the program in previous yeas, and in an effort to reduce spending, Republicans have opted not to continue funding for the rest of the year. As for the poor students who will have to pay 30 cents for breakfast? Republican legislators aren't too sympathetic:
"As a family guy myself with children and grandchildren, I take a very strong responsibility to earn money to feed my own family," said Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, who voted against the request.
Shorter Lambert: If those poor kids didn't have such irresponsible parents, then they'd be able to afford breakfast! Or something like that. Please don't pay attention to my callous disregard for the least among my constituents. Also as an aside, it's stuff like this that convinces liberals of conservative hostility to the poor and less-fortunate.
-- Jamelle Bouie
