Ted Kennedy's Big, Fat Lie: '36 Million Americans Go To Bed Hungry Every Night'

Fox News Sunday/NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Chris Wallace had Ted Kennedy cornered. The Fox News Sunday host displayed Kennedy's 1995 bitter condemnation of welfare reform: "legislative child abuse . . . let them eat cake." It should be noted that as Wallace began to reference the statement, Kennedy objected, blustering that "this is 2006" - as if his past misjudgments are irrelevant even though he would he has apparently learned nothing from them.

Wallace went on to make the point that the employment rate among unmarried women has soared and the child poverty rate has dropped. He put it to Kennedy: "hasn't welfare reform worked?" Fighting back, the senior senator from Massachusetts claimed that Wallace's numbers on child poverty "are absolutely wrong," asserting there has been an increase in the number of children living in poverty in the United States. He then dropped this bomb:

"We have 36 million Americans that are going to bed hungry every night. 36 million Americans! And 12 million of those are children!"

View video of Kennedy's 36-million claim here.

Kennedy's claim is flatly false. According to the USDA, 13 million households, containing 36 million people, reported that at least one household member was food insecure in a recent year. “Food insecure” means that “, such households at some time during the year were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources."

Yet Kennedy counted every person who might have been "uncertain" of having enough money to get food - at any time during the year - as "going to bed hungry every night."

As has been widely noted, the major food-related problem for poor children isn't hunger - it's obesity.Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation is an expert on these issues. Here's what he recently wrote on the subject:

"While hunger due to a lack of financial re-sources does occur in the United States, it is limited in scope and duration. According to the USDA, on a typical day, fewer than one American in 200 will experience hunger due to a lack of money to buy food."

In a country of 300 million, that means something less than 1.5 million people.

It's a shame Chris Wallace didn't have these facts handy. But on thing is clear: Kennedy's claim that 36 million go to bed hungry every night is nothing short of . . .a big, fat lie.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[TimSkalaBim]

Ted Kennedy's America: the view from Martha's Vineyard.

[GoldenPup]

That big, fat drunken slob's whole life has been a lie..continuous and ongoing. What a national disgrace that such a dishonest idiot should keep being elected to the U.S. Senate. Like the man said,"...if we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it". Tragic.

[Logical me]

FOX news is sinking deeper into oblivion.

Yes, constant drum beat towards the left is not good. Chris Wallace is a total liberal basket case.

[ValerieUSA]

occ, you need a wife to make you get up and make a sandwich for yourself, and one for her, too.

[AmericaUnite]

36 million Americans

Does he mean people in the Americas? Illegal aliens? Mentally ill homeless?

[Constitutional Patriot]

casual viewing of the Katrina news footage dispells this lie. These people are not starving by any measure (except perhaps literacy, math skills, etc.)

[Dick Bachert]

Someone really ought to erect a statue to Mary Jo on the Mall for keeping this reprobate out of the White House. She really DID give her life for her country.

The joke around Boston – whose residents keep sending this moron back to Washington (probably to keep THEIR daughters safe) -- used to be that Teddy was down to his last brain cell. Looks like even THAT one finally gave up the ghost.

[Mo1]

Kennedy big-fat-lie

In Kennedy's mind, he didn't lie because he sited the report and the #'s

He just didn't site the WHOLE report and rest of the #'s

Democrats have been playing this stupid game for years and the media 98% of the time give them a pass

[operation clinton cleanup]

occ, you need a wife to make you get up and make a sandwich for yourself, and one for her, too.

Correction, I need a wife to get up and make ME a sandwich.... and one for her to.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Argh! Did you watch the show? If so you would have seen how Wallace cornered Kennedy about having been dead wrong when he opposed welfare reform in 1995. Please go back and read the first para of the post.

Wallace is not a conservative but he is an excellent interviewer and the most fair-and-balanced Sunday news host around.

[Popman]

Hillary is not one of the 36 million swimmer was talking about

[Shire]

This is too easy...

It is obvious that Teddy hasn't gone to bed hungry even one day in his whole life....and he NEEDS to.


I couldn't agree more! Maybe he should try "sharing"! Looks like it wouldn't hurt him any and he could probably feed most of those who went to bed hungry!

[Unicorn]

Ted Kennedy is a pig now that isn't a lie.

[Mo1]

Kennedy also said that we needed Day Care and Health Care for every American.

I tried that "I am women hear me roar" .. juggling a career and children

What I got in return was a sick baby coming down with one cold after another because of all the other sick children in day care .. I barely saw her while she was awake due to my hours working and I had to pay close to $900 a month for day care .. and that was back in the early 90's

I don't have the house of my dreams .. and don't take the vacations of my dreams

But I sure do have the family of my dreams

[Popman]

[Loud Mime]

Kennedy also said on Fox News Sunday that the number one concern of the Democrats is the safety of the troops.

In other words, the defeat of the enemy is not on his list. That means bring the troops home, so they're safe.

Me: USAF 68-73 too!

[FlingWingFlyer]

If we got rid of all the illegal aliens, we could cut this number in more than half. 16 million "hungry" Americans would be a lot easier to manage than 36 million. If we could get this number down, we might even be able to concentrate on the skyrocketing number of people who go to bed thirsty every night. Then, we could begin to focus on the outrageous numbers of people who wake up every morning in America needing to pee. There's nothing cooler than a nanny state government.

[johnny7]

It's a shame Chris Wallace didn't have these facts handy.

Darn... you'd think the Wallace/the DBM, would be up on that kind'a stuff... especially since the topics are scripted!

[hinckley buzzard]

I suspect that if a child goes hungry it's because Mommy is too doped up to waddle her fat ass down to the local "food pantry" for some free Cheerios.

This is true. Anyone who goes to bed hungry in this country is too impaired and /or disorganized to get to the nearest church, where people compete to see which food pantry can give away the most free food.