Nunn fundraising off Kingston’s ‘sweep the floor’ for lunch comments

Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn (D) is fundraising off Rep. Jack Kingston’s (R-Ga.) comments that poor children should have to “sweep the floor” in to be eligible for a free lunch program.

Kingston, one of several Republicans running for the Senate, told local Republicans last weekend that there should be “no such thing as a free lunch” for poor children.

{mosads}”Why don’t you, you know, have the kids pay a dime, pay a nickel, instill in them that there is, in fact, no such thing as a free lunch. Or maybe sweep the floor in the cafeteria,” he said.

The controversial comments were picked up nationally. Now Nunn, a former charity CEO, is using them to raise funds for her own race.

“Really? Have poor kids sweep the floor of the cafeteria in order to eat lunch? It’s a shame that our political leaders in Washington are willing to use Georgia kids who can’t afford school lunch to score political points. Seven year-old kids sweeping the floors while their classmates pass them in the hallways won’t put them in a situation to get a better education,” Nunn Campaign Chair Gordon Giffin writes in an email to supporters.

“Your support before the deadline will make a huge statement about the kind of leader Georgians want representing them in the U.S. Senate — a leader who can bring people together across differences to solve problems, and not politicians in Washington who are willing to scapegoat kids in order to score political points.”

Kingston’s not the only Republican in the race who’s stirred controversy. Rep. Paul Broun (Ga.) has called the Big Bang theory and evolution “lies straight from the pits of hell,” while Rep. Phil Gingrey (Ga.) has suggested elementary schools teach classes on traditional gender rolls and has complained about his congressional salary.

Nunn has run a strong campaign so far, while the GOP field has looked shaky, potentially putting retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss’s (R-Ga.) seat in play in the conservative state.