Republicans across the country have decided to double down on their support for Cindy Hyde-Smith, the U.S. senator from Mississippi who made a disgusting and racist remark about lynching on the campaign trail earlier this month. Hyde-Smith is running against Democrat Mike Espy, a black man, to keep the seat she was appointed to when former Senator Thad Cochran resigned. She was at a campaign event when she joked that she’d be on the “front row” of a “public hanging,” if one of her supporters (the very person who organized the event) were to invite her.
After receiving much backlash (after all, it’s a completely gross and inappropriate thing to say, especially given Mississippi’s history of lynching), Hyde-Smith refused to apologize. And her party is not only standing behind her; it’s decided to throw more money into the ongoing race, now moved into a runoff between Espy and Hyde-Smith that will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 27.
According to The Hill, Republicans are airing TV ads beginning on Thursday, as well as looking to bring in Donald Trump in order to get Hyde-Smith over the finish line and maintain their majority in the Senate. Of course, they are also gaslighting Mississippians by insisting that she’s a “good person,” even though we know perfectly well what kind of person would say this sort of thing. At a press conference on Monday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said this:
"I could tell you all of us in public life have said things on occasion that we could've phrased better," Bryant said. "But I know this woman, I know her heart and I knew it when I appointed her. I know it now. She meant no offense by that statement. There was nothing in her heart of ill-will."
It’s impossible to count how often someone says something offensive and racist and refuses to apologize for it, hiding behind the “But I’m a good person” defense. It’s not only old, it also adds insult to injury. Hyde-Smith could have owned up to her mistake, which would be the right thing to do. But today’s Republicans love nothing more than to dig their heels in and show the world that they aren’t about to back down and that they aren’t afraid to go lower than we ever thought they could.
Meanwhile, a political action committee called PowerPACPlus has released a video in support of Espy showing Hyde-Smith’s comments in the context of how white crowds used to gather to watch black bodies get killed in “public hangings.” The (Jackson, Mississippi) Clarion Ledger notes that even Mike Espy’s campaign called the ad divisive, as it shows Hyde-Smith’s face “superimposed into an old photo of a white crowd attending the lynching of two black men.” The video has had more than 100,000 views so far. It is jarring, but it does remind us of the brutal legacy that Hyde-Smith’s comments evoked, considering that more blacks were lynched in Mississippi from 1882 to 1968 than in any other state in the nation.
Democrats are also investing some money in the race, hoping that Espy will become the first Democrat elected to the Senate in Mississippi since 1982. But it’s hard to predict what will happen in this election and which way it will go. Democrats are hoping that Hyde-Smith’s comments will mobilize turnout among black Mississippians, who make up 38 percent of the state’s population. As for the Republicans, they are also worried about turnout, given voter fatigue with this election cycle. They are less worried about Hyde-Smith’s comments being the reason why Republicans wouldn’t come out to support her. And they are likely right. To paraphrase Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Andrew Gillum, Cindy Hyde-Smith may not be a racist (though she said something extremely racist and insensitive), but the racists probably think she’s a racist. And racists vote. So they are probably thrilled with her comments and her refusal to back down. And they’d love nothing more than to support her and her party as they try to hold on to the Senate.
Let’s hope Mike Espy wins this thing. More racist Republicans in the Senate (or anywhere else) is exactly what we don’t need.