It turns out that even those in Washington DC. have a sweet tooth.
Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey has been given the responsibility of maintaining the Senate chamber “candy desk,” an institution since 1965.
Toomey identified several Pennsylvania candies that he will keep in the desk: Hershey’s, Three Musketeers in Elizabethtown, Peeps in Bethlehem, Asher’s in Kulpsville, Wilbur Chocolate in Lititz, and Josh Early Chocolates in the Lehigh Valley.
In a press release Thursday, Toomey playfully said, “The Candy Desk duty is Mounds of responsibility…I campaigned for this assignment on the platform of life, liberty, and the pursuit of Peeps and hope Pennsylvania’s treats will sweeten the bitter partisan atmosphere. I plan to stock the Candy Desk with Pennsylvania’s finest chocolate and deliciousness to ensure a surplus of sweets.”
Located in the back row of the Senate Republican side of the aisle, the candy desk was unintentionally started by former Senator George Murphy of California. Murphy kept a steady supply of sugary treats in his desk.
From that point forward, each senator using Murphy’s desk has made sure the tradition continues. Although located on the Republican side of the aisle, both parties leap at the opportunity to grab a taste of candy while in session.
Toomey, currently serving his first term in the US Senate, is up for re-election in 2016.
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10 Responses
Now I get it! He’s the Candyman! Delivering campaign cash from his Wall Street buddies to his fellow Senators.
They will go to any length to portray Toomey as a fun loving person, “just one of the guys”. But the reality is that the man is the arch enemy of the middle class and is nothing more than a right wing ideologue who can’t and never will connect with the average person. He can be knocked off and the Senate Republican leaders know this very well that’s why they will grasp at any straw to humanize him like making him the “Senate candy man”. What a joke.
Well if it keeps Toomey busy handing out candy rather than shilling for Wall Street, I’m all for it.
Will this improve the performance of the Senate or reduce its vacations?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Desk
The Candy Desk has been a tradition of the United States Senate since 1968, whereby a senator who sits at a desk near a busy entrance keeps a drawer full of candy for members of the body. The same desk has not always been used; the Candy Desk was moved to its present position on the Republican side of the chamber after over three decades on the Democratic side, where it was used by several senators. The current occupant of the Candy Desk is Illinois Senator Mark Kirk.
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Desks/hdetail.cfm?id=1
The candy desk has been in the Senate for many years.
Senate Candy Desk
“Traditions associated with the Senate desks continue to evolve. A recent example is the so-called “Candy Desk.” In 1965 Senator George Murphy of California originated the practice of keeping a supply of candy in his desk for the enjoyment of fellow senators. In every Congress since that time a candy desk has been located in the back row of the Republican side, on the aisle and adjacent to the Chamber’s most heavily used entrance.”
Toomey doesn’t have a clue. People are over-worked and underpaid, that’s even if they can find a job, taxes are out of control, debt is going to bankrupt the country, and he is busy telling us about a candy desk? He is done in 2016.
Don’t see any issue with it, really. But it’s certainly no mystery why a Senator from PA would be assigned to the candy desk. I believe Santorum had it for a decade or so.
I don’t see anything wrong with a little frivolity in the Senate. It’s an interesting bit of innocuous history.
……are we in kindergarten? Why is this even a thing?