As Freyneland pointed out, Gov. Jim Douglas’ name came up in The Washington Post’s "In the Loop" column Wednesday.

Here’s the item:

"Free lunch today! We got an invite yesterday from Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas
(R), former South Carolina governor Jim Hodges (R) and some contractors who are
inviting all the state governors' Washington office directors to a fine meal at
tony Johnny's Half Shell, where they'll hear why it is important to strip from
the farm bill a provision that bans some outsourcing of the food stamp program.

"The companies and their supporters perhaps could have held this
briefing at a National Governors Association committee meeting, but food stamp
matters obviously are better discussed over oysters. Be there by noon!"

Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs, speaking today by phone from Tennessee where he and the governor are attending the State Alliance for e-Health Conference, said the item was an inaccurate and an unfair characterization of the lunch, but when it came down to it, it was clear that it was the sarcastic tone that rankled him. For one, he said he didn’t know if the restaurant was "tony," per se.

"It’s a well-known D.C. lunch spot. It’s not formal," Gibbs said. Of the reference to the oysters, he said, "that’s just unnecessary."

But he said the part about "stripping" a provision from the farm bill was inaccurate. The governor isn’t looking to strip the entire provision, but to allow an exemption for states like Vermont that use nonprofit organizations to administer the food stamp program, Gibbs said.

Also, Hodges is a Democrat.

Other than that, there was indeed a lunch at Johnny’s Half Shell, though Douglas wasn’t there for it. Coincidentally, he was at that time jetting toward D.C. on his way to Tennessee, but he was represented at the lunch by his now-famous lobbying firm, Dutko, who along with others was lobbying representatives of other states on the food stamp issue. The gist of that issue is that the Farm Bill includes a provision that would limit states’ ability to privatize the administration of food stamps, whereas Vermont and a bunch of nonprofit organizations believe it would prohibit their collaboration that has worked well.

The lobbying effort is focused on the Senate, where changes could still be made to allow exemptions. Vermont's congressional delegation has indicated a willingness to work on an exemption.

Tony or not, Vermonters did not pay for the lunch, Gibbs said. It was sponsored by IBM and Maximus, the government consulting firm, he said.

Why not, as "In the Loop" point out, just conduct meeting in a committee room sans oysters? Gibbs said it was important to get "off campus," because some Democratic governors' reps were being pressured by unions to support the provision and taking the meeting off campus allowed for a more free exchange. Apparently, union reps don’t eat oysters.

Or was that unnecessarily sarcastic?

- Terri Hallenbeck