A group fighting childhood obesity is out with a new ad that spoofs Sen. Larry Craig's trolling for sex in an airport men's room. The spot, from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine,
targets lawmakers who support subsidies for high-fat foods, like bacon and burgers, that are often staples of school-lunch programs.
It features a man in a bathroom stall tapping his
foot to signal he is ready and willing to get campaign contributions from the meat industry. Cash is then passed under the stall. Both are takeoffs of the events that led to the Idaho Republican's
arrest in Minneapolis last summer. "Congress buys up millions of dollars of these products and dumps them on our schools," says an announcer. "Companies get rich. Kids get fat. Is your senator on the
gravy train?" A spokeswoman for PCRM says the humor presses the serious point that political contributions from agribusiness sway legislators as they debate a farm bill with billions worth of
subsidies to sugar, meat, dairy and feed producers.
The group, which touts a vegan diet, wants Uncle Sam to spend more money on fruits and vegetables. "The real scandal in Washington
is the farm bill," says Dr. Neal Barnard, the group's president. The ad is running on cable stations in five cities, including Louisville, Ky.; Denver; and Craig's home turf of Boise, Idaho.
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