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The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees released a parody video Tuesday taking Newt Gingrich to task for his recent comments assaulting unions, school janitors and child labor laws. The video contrasts comments by Gingrich and the response from pundits to the song "Hard Knock Life" from the musical Annie. The presidential hopeful made the comments on Friday:
"It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in, first of all, child laws, which are truly stupid," said the former House speaker, according to CNN. "Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they'd begin the process of rising."
"You're going to see from me extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America," he added.
Gingrich has since backed down from the comments:
He said he was not advocating revamping child labor laws or suggesting children drop out of school to become janitors. "I'm talking about working 20 hours a week and being empowered to succeed."
Blogger Jeff Bryant at Daily Kos pointed out how Gingrich's comments were part of a larger assault on children in the United States.
Those opposed to the content of Gingrich's comments can take action via the AFSCME website.
