Oklahoma’s Republican Party drew criticism Tuesday for a Facebook post comparing food stamp recipients to animals.
The post said the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed its largest total of assistance this year while the National Park Service asks us not to feed the animals so they don’t grow dependent on hand outs.
"Thus ends today's lesson in irony," the post concludes.
Oklahoma Democratic Party spokeswoman Sarah Baker said it’s not just a tasteless joke.
"We've been hearing this quite a lot in the last couple of years from national Republican leadership, and so it's no surprise that this is the mentality of our state Republican leadership," Baker said.
Around one in six Oklahomans receive food stamps.
"The vast majority of recipients of [Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits] — or what used to be called 'food stamps' — are seniors, elderly, disabled, children and veterans," Baker said.
"As we know, the bulk of Oklahomans align themselves with the Republican party. So, they are, realistically, alienating themselves from their base right now," Baker said.
The Oklahoma Republican Party deleted the post, but not before it was shared around 2,000 times.
State GOP Chair Randy Brogdon posted an apology, saying the offending post was misinterpreted and he was trying to point out the party prefers free market principles to government subsidies.
