GOP Lawmaker Who Says State Issues ‘Welfare Crazy Checks’ To ‘Blacks’ Insists He’s Not Racist
A Mississippi Republican state lawmaker opposed to additional education funding made racist remarks, but insists he’s not racist.
Gene Alday is fighting back after racist comments he made to a local news reporter are being portrayed as racist. The Mississippi Republican State Representative  was quoted in an article about increased education funding, which he opposes.Â
“It was late at night,” Alday explains, when Clarion-Ledger reporter Jerry Mitchell called him. “He asked me a question back to when I was in law enforcement … I have a way of talking and saying, ‘take this off the record.'”
“I’m not a bad person, and that makes me look like an evil person,” Alday now says. “I didn’t do anything wrong. The guy made me look like a fool.”
The Clarion-Ledger reports today that Alday “said he had no idea his remarks would appear in a story and, if he had, he wouldn’t have made them.”
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant issued a statement saying, “I strongly reject his comments condemning any Mississippian because of their race. Those day are long past.” The Republican governor added that Rep. Alday “is solely responsible for his remarks.”
Alday, 57, a former police chief and former mayor of a small town, sees it differently.
“I don’t see any schools hurting,” Alday had originally told the Clarion-Ledger. While acknowledging that his state “has a lot of bad school districts,” he blamed their poor performance on voters who “are electing superintendents that don’t know anything about education.”
Explaining his opposition to increased funding – Mississippi ranks dead last in the nation in eduction – Alday told the reporter, “I come from a town where all the blacks are getting food stamps and what I call ‘welfare crazy checks.’ They don’t work.”
He also lamented about a time he had to go to the hospital emergency room, saying, “I liked to died. I laid in there for hours because they [black people] were in there being treated for gunshots.”
Despite calls for his resignation, Alday is refusing.
Some responses via Twitter:
Rep. Alday was paid $51,068 by the taxpayers last year — more than 25 families can receive from TANF, or “welfare crazy checks” (his words)
— Rethink Mississippi (@RethinkMS) February 15, 2015
Rep. Gene Alday arguing because he’s casual about his racism it should have been off the record. OK. http://t.co/nGaZbzv6Xg
— Hugh Kellenberger (@HKellenbergerCL) February 16, 2015
Residents of Rep. Gene Alday’s house district have less than two weeks to qualify for office. GOP won’t fire him but you can. #Project2015
— MS Democratic Trust (@MSDemTrust) February 15, 2015
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Image via Mississippi House of Representatives
Hat tip:Â Talking Points Memo
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