Breadsticks and Ballots: CNN Trolls Republicans With Supercut of Olive Garden Voter ID Claims

CNN’s Laura Coates has some questions about the Republicans’ latest voter fraud talking point.

The host of Laura Coates Live and her panel did a deep dive into the GOP’s current obsession with Olive Garden, and the restaurant chain’s policy of asking for identification to serve its $100 “never-ending” pasta bowl promotion.

Republicans have hyped up the Olive Garden ID policy as they beat the drum on passing the SAVE America Act, which critics say would block millions of people from voting.

“You think I’m crazy, but Olive Garden is part of this,” said Coates before playing a supercut of Republicans making the connection between ballots and breadsticks.

“Now Republicans are singling out Olive Garden as part of their push for — we talked about voter ID — and they pointed to this post from Olive Garden about the Never-Ending Pasta Pass. I can’t make this up, people.

“OK. Um, the restaurant says, quote, pass holders must present a valid photo ID along with the pass at the time of ordering. Obviously this is catnip for Capitol Hill because first of all, those breadsticks and salads, delicious. I’m just putting that out there,” she added, before asking if the GOP had a point.

“If others are pointing out a need for voter ID, photo ID, is this the right argument that they should be making now?”

Washington Post journalist Josh Rogin pointed out the importance of helping voters feel that elections are secure, if nothing else:

I mean, if you need a look, if you need a voter ID for anything from breadsticks to participating in different sports leagues to all types of, I mean, everyone has to pull out their id for all types of activities in day to day life, then I think it’s fair.

You know, one of the privileges of being a citizen in this country is getting to vote. And so I think it is perfectly fair to bring up wanting voter ID in elections. It’s not just about, to your point, elections being secure, which we know broadly that they are.

They’re obviously anomalies, but it’s people feeling that they’re secure. And I think that voter ID is a way to do that and also undercut some of the president’s more bombastic rhetoric about it. If states take that on themselves.

That’s when WashPo journalist Carine Hajjar chimed in.

“But do you need citizenship to eat breadsticks? That’s the question,” she said, laughing and prompting Coates to pipe up herself.

“I just want to know what triggered that. Like who went to the Never-Ending Pasta Bar so many times and messed it up for everyone?” she asked.

Watch above via CNN.

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