Texas Lawmakers Want Apology to Entire State After Hastings Calls It 'Crazy State'

Bridget Johnson

February 03, 2015 3:43 PM

Texas Republicans issued a one-sentence rebuttal to Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) for his comments during a Monday Rules Committee meeting.

In debating with Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) over the latest Obamacare repeal bill, Hastings referenced his colleague’s home state, “which I think is a crazy state to begin with, and I mean it just as I said it.”

As the two fought over speaking time, Burgess complained that Hastings “made a very defamatory comment about my state, and I will not stand here and listen to it.”

Hastings has not apologized. House Texas Republicans issued a joint statement today: “Don’t mess with Texas.”

The lawmakers also called on Hastings to apologize to the citizens of Texas.

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Bridget Johnson is a veteran journalist whose news articles and analyses have run in dozens of news outlets across the globe. Bridget first came to Washington to be online editor at The Hill, where she wrote The World from The Hill column on foreign policy. Previously she was an opinion writer and editorial board member at the Rocky Mountain News and nation/world news columnist at the Los Angeles Daily News.

Bridget is a Senior Fellow specializing in terrorism analysis at the Haym Salomon Center. She is a Senior Risk Analyst for Gate 15, a homeland security risk management firm in the Beltway. She is an NPR contributor and has contributed to USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, Politico, New York Daily News, The Jerusalem Post, The Hill, New York Observer, Washington Times, RealClearWorld and more, and has myriad television and radio credits including Al-Jazeera and SiriusXM. Bridget is Washington Editor for PJ Media.