Obama on the campaign trail in Iowa. After Speaker John Boehner released his bleating do-nothings to go home for an August nap, the President hit back at the Republicans for failing to pass the farm bill.

The US this year experienced its hottest ever July on record, a month that coincided with gridlock in Congress over the farm bill, legislation traditionally passed every five years that sets subsidies and a safety net for producers. . .

Mr Ryan is “one of those leaders of Congress standing in the way”, Mr Obama said. “So if you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities.”

Why is Paul Ryan killing the farm bill? Because it funds food stamps. He hates food stamps. His Serious Budget targets them.

Legislators routinely put the stamps in the big farm bill because it’s a political win/win: rural politicians get farm money, city politicians get food for the struggling. Poor people get groceries, farmers get profits. It’s a tidy compromise. Good politics. Not any more.

Although the House agriculture committee agreed on a bill with a clear bipartisan majority of 35-11 on July 12, Mr Boehner took the unusual step of declining to bring the legislation to a full vote before Congress broke for its summer recess.

Some conservative Republican congressmen with links to the Tea Party movement oppose the bill and want deeper cuts to food stamp payments.

Hello, Serious Paul Ryan. Hello, partisan jagoffs:

You’re walking the razor edge of insanity when you’re to the right of Steve King. This is your current Republican nuthouse. See if you can follow the logic: Teabaggers and VP candidates have to separate the poor from government support. This must be done because, in some important place parallel to hell, this is wise. So the unfortunate can now no longer get all the food they want. But the American poor are of substantial size and hunger in this country. So the suppliers, the farmers, end up taking the hit.

What happens? Farmers would become even more dependent upon direct payments from the government to survive. Here comes one example: “Mr Obama announced a largely symbolic $170m purchase of pork, chicken, lamb and catfish ‘to help relieve pressure on American livestock producers during the drought’.” They need to sell their stocks now, before their meager feed reserves disappear — so it’s the government to the rescue. This, too, is wise. Because it’s wise to aid the farmer and foolish to save the poor.

Put it together, and Ryan and his pals would rather the government pay the extra money to buy the farmers’ food and stick it in some Spielbergian warehouse rather than see it eaten by the hungry. Or alternatively: We’ll pay more for farmers to grow nothing lest it screw up the high holy free market. Get it? It all makes good sense. This is why a farm bill full of nanny state grocery coupons is a partisan insanity that needs to be stopped as soon as possible. It’s Obama’s fault.

“Instead the president continues to blame anyone and everyone for the drought but himself,” [Boehner] said.

That’s his fault too. These people.