Rep. Bubba Carpenter (R - Burnsville) Caught on Tape, Blatantly Race Baiting

Oftentimes, we are taught to listen for the subtle undertones of Republican language, dog-whistles that are meant to break through some of the dreariest days of Mississippi's past.

We must do this, because it's no longer usually socially acceptable to outright race-bait in Mississippi politics. But this week, Jack Ivy of WRMG-TV was on location to film the Midway Republican Rally, and what Rep. Bubba Carpenter (R-Burnsville) said may shock you.





In the video Carpenter is repeating the now typical (ridiculous) argument from opponents of Initiative 42, suggesting a Hinds County judge would be able to control funds from all sorts of school districts at his liking.  (You can watch the entire Republican rally here.)

Except Bubba went off script a bit. Instead of using the dog-whistle "liberal," Carpenter said what they always meant.

Bubba told a group of constituents that a black judge would be making the decision. And he meant it as a cuss word.  (This has the extra benefit of not even being true, as the Hinds County Chancery Court bench is evenly split, with two black female judges and two white male judges.)

And not only that, Carpenter assured the room that Governor Bryant, Secretary Hosemann, and fellow Representative Donnie Bell would be visiting later to "tell you the same thing."

This is the breakdown of a talking point in action; Carpenter is simply repeating what he heard from fellow Republicans. They wanted to put a black face on this issue, and this time, he forgot to disguise it.

Will they get away with it?

***BREAKING*** - REVIEW OF DENNY PLAN SHOWS EFFORT TO SEGREGATE VOTERS BY DISTRICT

A review of the Denny plan summary reveals a shocking attempt by Republicans to divide Mississippians along racial lines. Virtually all of the 122 districts drawn by Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson) are highly segregated by race.

Here's the plan summary:

Denny Plan Summary