Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Randy Brogdon apologized tuesday for a post to the party's Facebook page. Oklahoma GOP apologizes for post comparing food stamp recipients to animals

The Oklahoma Republican Party apologized on Tuesday for a Facebook post in which it appeared the organization was comparing food stamp recipients to dependent animals.

The Monday post, which has since been taken down, first sarcastically declared that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is proud to be distributing a record number of food stamps. It then said, “Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us ‘Please Do Not Feed the Animals.’ Their stated reason for the policy is because ‘The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves.’ Thus ends today’s lesson in irony ?#?OKGOP?”


It’s not clear who authored the post, which was shared almost 2,000 times with nearly 1,000 comments. Many of the commenters were not pleased.

Oklahoma Democrats also took to Twitter to blast the statement.

Oklahoma state Rep. Emily Virgin tweeted, “Many OK teachers, correctional officers, college students, and single mothers qualify for food stamps. OK GOP’s statement is disgusting.” She also retweeted other lawmakers and constituents who were unhappy.

“My thoughts on the offensive remarks leveled at Oklahoma citizens today by the OKGOP. Unbelievable!” Oklahoma State House Democratic Leader Scott Inman tweeted.

On Tuesday, Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Randy Brogdon apologized.

“Last night, there was a post on our OKGOP Facebook page, and it was misinterpreted by many. I offer my apologies for those who were offended – that was not my intention,” Brogdon said.

He said the original statement was supposed to compare two separate situations and illustrate “government dependency in America.”

In addition to the apology, Brogdon used the new statement to continue the discussion on welfare programs.

“However I do think that it’s important to have conversations about government welfare programs since our dependency on government is at its highest level ever,” it said. “Quoting President Reagan, ‘We should measure welfare’s success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.’”