Self-Documenting Republicans

David F David F

South Carolina state Senator Thomas Corbin (R - of course) was quoted last week by a site called FITSNews, speaking to his lone female colleague, Katrina Shealy, regarding her gender.

“I see it only took me two years to get you wearing shoes,” Corbin told Shealy....  By way of explanation, lawmakers and legislative staffers have previously told FITS about statements made by Corbin – statements reflecting his belief that women do not belong in the S.C. General Assembly and should instead be “at home baking cookies” or “barefoot and pregnant.”  “He makes comments like that all the time to everybody – including Senator Shealy,” one Senate staffer told FITS. 
Corbin’s latest comments took his sexism to a whole new level, though. At one point in the conversation – which quickly escalated into a confrontation – Shealy is said to have angrily asked Corbin where he “got off” attacking women. His response – overheard by numerous lobbyists and fellow lawmakers – was one for the ages.  “Well, you know God created man first,” Corbin said, reportedly smirking at Shealy.  “Then he took the rib out of man to make woman.  And you know, a rib is a lesser cut of meat.”
When I first read this, I thought FITSNews was a lesser cut of The Onion.  I checked with some South Carolinians, though, who insist that, though it may be a bit rough around the edges, it is definitely a straight news site.  Not parody.  I read it again, and then I kind of desperately checked Snopes.  This made me sad.

Just as I was absorbing this, I saw that Mississippi Rep. Gene Alday (R - acist) is quoted in the Jackson Clarion Ledger:

The comments in question refer to African-Americans in his hometown of Walls, a small community in Desoto County. Alday, 57, said that he comes "from a town where all the blacks are getting food stamps and what I call 'welfare crazy checks.' They don't work." 
He also said that when he went to the emergency room one time, "I liked to died. I laid in there for hours because they (blacks) were in there being treated for gunshots."

After this hit the paper, Alday protested that the blowup was all the fault of the reporter.  "I didn't do anything wrong. The guy made me look like a fool."  I don't think it took any reporter to accomplish that.  The context of this enlightened discourse was a debate on an education bill, to which Alday is opposed because it will benefit the blacks who already get all those welfare crazy checks.  Whoever got stuck with the bill for Gene Alday's education should demand a refund.

I do wonder, why don't these outrageous statements hurt these idiots at the polls?  Are they all just one-term?  Nope.  Alday is in his third term as a legislator, and was mayor of Walls before that from 2005-11.  Corbin is in his second term in the SC legislature.

But just as in self-documenting code, their comments explain how they work.