Who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?

[SupperDuck]

Rangel's Mississippi slap riles Pickering

By Emily Wagster Pettus
The Associated Press



Rangel

A Democratic congressman from New York says he wasn't trying to insult Mississippi in published remarks Thursday, but a Republican colleague from Mississippi says Rep. Charles Rangel should apologize to the state.

Rangel was quoted in a Thursday article in The New York Times, saying: "Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?"

Third District U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, a Republican, issued a news release criticizing Rangel's words.

"I hope his remarks are not the kind of insults, slander, and defamation that Mississippians will come to expect from the Democrat leadership in Washington, D.C.," Pickering said.

Elbert Garcia, Rangel's press secretary in New York, said Rangel had received calls Thursday about the Mississippi quote.

Garcia e-mailed The Associated Press a response from Rangel: "I certainly don't mean to offend anyone, I just love New York so much that I can't understand why everyone wouldn't want to live here."

In midterm elections this week, Democrats captured control of the U.S. House and Senate for the first time in a dozen years.

Rangel is the ranking Democrat on Ways and Means and is in line to become chairman of the powerful tax-writing committee. The New York Times article was about how the New York congressional delegation gained political clout in the midterm elections. Rangel said, among other things, that he wants to direct more federal money to his state.

Fourth District U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat, said he believes Mississippi will be treated fairly by Rangel and other Democratic leaders. As for Pickering's question of whether Democrats could hurt the state, Taylor said: "That's Chip."

Pickering, elected to the House in 1996, for the first time will be a member of the minority party in Congress.

Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the nation and gets back more from the federal government than it pays for many programs. For example, Mississippi has one of the highest federal matching rates for Medicaid, getting back nearly $3 in federal money for every $1 of state money in the program that helps pay for health care for the needy, aged, blind and disabled, and for low-income families with children.

Mississippi also has received billions of dollars in federal relief since Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, destroying tens of thousands of homes and businesses and causing damage to more than 150 miles inland.

Sen. Thad Cochran, a Republican, has been chairman of the Appropriations Committee but will lose that position as Democrats take over the Senate majority.

Taylor, whose Bay St. Louis home was washed away by Katrina, said Rangel "was particularly helpful in the post-Katrina time" in securing money for Mississippi's recovery.

Taylor laughed as he responded to Rangel's comments about Mississippi. Taylor was stationed in New York when he was a young man in the Coast Guard. He said some New Yorkers "are stuck up about their home."

"You can tell him I want to live in Mississippi, and wild elephants and tigers and bears couldn't keep me from living in Mississippi," Taylor said. "Hurricane Katrina couldn't keep me from building back here."


It seems to me that this article gives Rangel an "Aw shucks, he didn't mean it," pass, and makes Pickering out to be petty and/or bitter for wanting Rangel to apologize.

I wonder what slant the article would have had if some eeeeeeeeeeevil Republican had said the same thing?

Oh, as for the original question -- I live in Mississippi and I am proud to. Sure, we have our problems, but Mississippians will DEAL WITH IT. We don't need bigoted Yankee Demonrats who think we still live in the 1960's to insult us.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

The story was on Fox News this morning, and it was not very flattering to Charlie Rangel.

These liberal democrats who are in line to be the leaders in both the House and the Senate are some of the most extreme libs within the democratic party. Very ironic, considering it was conservative democrats who beat republicans in traditionally republican voting districts to give the democrats control of both the House and Senate. But, these conservative democrats hold no positions of leadership in the House and only a few do in the Senate. The face of the party we will see, front and center now, will be primarily the ultra liberals --- like Rangel and Pelosi.

They are not used to having the spotlight on them at every moment, having to temper and watch their public remarks. In the past, in the minority, most of their comments were made in formal press conferences and most "off the record" comments were screened by cooperative media.
That will change now that they are in positions of leadership, with every comment scrutinized and no such thing as "off the record" comments.

It is going to be very funny and quite entertaining to watch them put their foot in their mouths, over and over again. It has already started. By the time they take over in January, they will likely have pissed off most of the folks who helped them gain control.

The worst thing that could happen to Taylor and Thompson, Mississippi's only democrats in Washington, would be for party control to become a major voting issue for Mississippians in the event of a backlash against the democrats before the elections of 2008. IF Mississippi loses federal dollars under the democrats control of both the Senate and House, it WILL become an issue for each of them. Haley Barbour and other smart republican strategists will make it so.

[ducman77]

"Who the hell wants to live in New York the city of SMOG"

Atleast I can go to a hill in Carroll county and not smell any smog.

[Gman]

Send him down here to take my guns and he'll be livin in Mississippi for eternity!

[Coach]

Let him stay in NY we have enough DEMOCRATS already!!!!!!!

[RebelYelp]

bump

[teul2]

You all write this low life SOB an email.
I did.
http://rangel.house.gov/

[macknight22]

I am actually glad he said that. Our way of life and quality of living in Mississippi is one of the best kept secrets in the south. I personally dont want a bunch of snob-nosed Yankees coming down here to stay. So, I am happy to hear a ill informed Yankee from New York spreading that to other Yankee listeners who will hopefully feel the same way.

I read one time a quote from Rosie Greer (famous lineman who played with the S.F 49er's some time back) who quoted his father as saying "The smartest man in a room is the one who isnt talking for he knows now what the others are saying and they dont know what he knows because he isnt speaking"...well said in my book.

I say, dont say anything boys lest we let the cat out of the bag. Lets keep the treasures of living in Mississippi our little secret!!

[Bill Collector]

Damn OOSers

[waterbug]

I heard he said he didn't want to live in MS because there are no ducks there. Said all the ducks are in Jersey@

[mottlet]

Who cares what some Congressman from NYC thinks about living in Mississippi? I wish I could move back to Mississippi. And my opinion oughta carry more weight since I have actually lived there for most of my life. Should he have said it? Naw, but c'mon guys, it's not worth getting worked up like the ACLU liberals do when they've been "offended."

mottlet

[Chocolate Seal]

JERK OFF!!
THESE RIBBON CLERKS KWOW NOTHING ABOUT LIFE, SHADE TREES, CATCHING FISH, SHOOTING GUNS, MUD RIDING, AND TOOTHLESS WOMEN

[mudsucker]

ME!

[ducman77]

They sho don't know anything about the BLUE ROOM.

[Gman]

Here's his Fax at (202) 225-0816 - Let's have some fun with this gweedo, wet-back, mafia, loan shark looking, breel cream wearing, fat ass, weeble wobble!!!!!!!