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Garlic Aficianados Slam John Boehner For Insulting “Garlic Milkshake”

Uh oh. John Boehner has really committed a stinker this time.

Boehner today made a derogatory reference to garlic while criticizing the public option — and now organizers of the nation’s pre-eminent garlic festival, which is beloved by hundreds of thousands, are sizzling mad.

Boehner, speaking to reporters this afternoon, joked that the public option is “about as unpopular as a garlic milkshake.” Pressed by an intrepid reporter, who asked whether garlic milkshake is healthy, Boehner dug himself in deeper: “I don’t know. I haven’t tried it.”

That claim has now drawn a sharp rebuke from Brian Bowe, the executive director of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, an annual garlic celebration in Northern California that draws hundreds of thousands of people each year and donates proceeds to charity.

“I would invite him to our festival and would urge him to try the garlic ice cream,” Bowe, er, sniffed. “It’s the longest line of people at the festival every year. Everyone loves it.”

Bowe squashed Boehner’s doubts about garlic’s attributes as defly as a chef removing the skin from a clove. “That’s off base,” he told me. “Garlic is one of the healthiest herbs out there. It does wonders for the body and that’s proven. Whether it’s in a milk shake or not, you can’t go wrong with garlic.”

Developing…

Update: Boehner responds.

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Posted by Greg Sargent | 10/01/2009, 05:11 PM EST | Categories: House Republicans

14 Responses

  1. sbj | October 1st, 2009 at 05:20 pm

    Boehner plays this right and he could end up with hundreds of thousands of new supporters!

  2. Greg Sargent | October 1st, 2009 at 05:20 pm

    sbj, good point. lemme see if his office wants to respond…

  3. PN | October 1st, 2009 at 05:25 pm

    Minor correction: Gilroy’s not actually in Southern California. It’s fairly near Santa Cruz and San Jose, which are generally considered Northern (or perhaps Central – but most people stick to the North-South dichotomy). No biggie, but thought I’d point it out.

  4. Greg Sargent | October 1st, 2009 at 05:28 pm

    PN — thx for the correx

  5. sbj | October 1st, 2009 at 05:29 pm

    Let Boehner know there are a few festivals coming up – two this weekend, in fact!

    http://www.garlicseedfoundation.info/festivals.htm

  6. converse | October 1st, 2009 at 05:32 pm

    You might say Boehner is a bit of a dim bulb.

    (Get it? Dim bulb. Like a garlic bulb. HAHAHA.)

  7. holyhandgrenaid | October 1st, 2009 at 05:34 pm

    Yes, lets focus on Boehner’s insult to garlic, as opposed to his remarkable inability to follow the polls. That sounds like a constructive use of our time, letting him get away with the most specious part of his claim

  8. Ethan | October 1st, 2009 at 05:44 pm

    I think it’s pretty clear what’s happening here.

    Boner is a VAMPIRE.

  9. Kris | October 1st, 2009 at 05:47 pm

    Ahem,

    Gilroy IS in Northern California. It is about 30 minutes past San Jose. Not only do they have a great garlic festival they have great outlet shopping

  10. Liam | October 1st, 2009 at 05:57 pm

    I would never drink a garlic milkshake,

    But I would love to have a Robust Public Option.

    Isn’t Boehner the sell out creep that was passing out tobacco lobby checks, on the floor of congress, just before a vote on Tobacco legislation was voted on?

  11. Chuck | October 1st, 2009 at 07:23 pm

    Guess he should acknowledge they are both popular.

    He may not like them but he isn’t everybody and in regards to the public option, he is not in the majority.

  12. avahome | October 1st, 2009 at 08:00 pm

    How about asking Boehner if it’s garlic that is grown in the US or China he is speaking about. Give a look in see your grocery store.

    My sister lives in Gilroy, CA..it’s a beautiful place.

    Doesn’t garlic worn around the neck ward off evil spirits

  13. Lorraine Bieber-Ohio HCAN Coalition | October 1st, 2009 at 08:29 pm

    Ohioans–
    The Ohio HCAN coalition will be delivering a garlic milkshake to Boehner’s West Chester office Friday at 1 PM. Join us!
    7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite B
    West Chester, OH 45069
    Also – you can call Boehner’s office:
    (513) 779-5400
    and/or
    (202) 225-4000

  14. CL | October 5th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    How about asking Boehner if it’s garlic that is grown in the US or China he is speaking about. Give a look in see your grocery store.
    My sister lives in Gilroy, CA..it’s a beautiful place.
    Doesn’t garlic worn around the neck ward off evil spirits

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