Republicans may not like Slurpee analogy, but 7-Eleven does

The official drink of the Democratic midterm election has become the Slurpee, and the 7-Eleven Co. that produces the icy drink couldn’t be happier.

When President Obama campaigns, he usually attacks Republicans with an anecdote comparing the country to a car in a ditch. Republicans, economically, drove the country into a ditch, and Democrats have done the dirty work of rescuing the economy.

“We’ve been pushing that car, pushing it, pushing it, pushing it,” Obama tells laughing audiences across the country. “The whole time, the Republicans have been standing on the sidelines. They’ve been looking down, fanning themselves, sipping on a Slurpee. Kicking dirt down into the ditch. Kicking dirt in our faces. But we kept on pushing.”

Obama goes on to say that, now that the Democrats finally have gotten the car up on the road again, the Republicans want to drive. But voters shouldn’t go back to failed Republican policies, he warns.

Aside from the politics of his plea, it is the Slurpee that has taken on a life of its own. “We are aware that the president mentions” Slurpees, said corporate spokeswoman Margaret Chabris. “We thank President Obama very much for the free advertising of our popular drink.”

But she insisted that Slurpees are bipartisan.

michael.muskal@latimes.com
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