Walmart donated to Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s campaign but now say the gift was prior to her giving her notorious “Cindy Lynch speech.” Now Wally World has asked her to come to the returns and exchange counter with her receipt.
According to Politico, the whole fiasco came to light after actress Debra Messing pointed out that the company had donated to Hyde-Smith’s run-off election campaign for Mississippi governor.
“Completely understand your concern,” Walmart tweeted from its official company account, Politico reports. “Sen. Hyde Smith’s recent comments clearly do not reflect the values of our company and associates. As a result, we are withdrawing our support and requesting a refund of all campaign donations.”
So Walmart wants every penny of their $2,000 donation back today. Not tomorrow. Not next week, tuh-day.
The retail giant has formally asked Hyde-Smith to give them back all their bread after Messing alerted them to the Mississippi Republican’s comments in which she praised a supporter by noting, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.”
Hyde-Smith would later assert that the comment was a joke, explaining that she’s from Mississippi and what kind of jokes do you expect Mississippians to make?
“String-em-Up Cindy” said there was no racial context but considering that Mississippi is the black people lynching capital of America, it seems like it would be pretty clear that the “joke” is rooted in the state’s history of racism. Who did she think was being lynched, historically?
Of course, she knew that shit was racist. But that’s how racist Mississippi is. It’s so racist that racist shit doesn’t even seem racist in Mississippi. Mississippi’s racism is like the weather in Alaska ... It’s cold, but you get used to it after a while.
Walmart isn’t the only company that has asked for a refund. Politico notes that, “Railroad giant Union Pacific and Boston Scientific, a medical device manufacturer, also asked for their campaign donations to be returned.”
“Union Pacific in no way, shape or form condones or supports divisive or perceived to be divisive statements,” the company tweeted. “Our contribution was mailed prior to Hyde-Smith’s statement being made public. Union Pacific has requested a refund of our contribution.”
“We were not aware of Senator Hyde-Smith’s remarks when this contribution was made on November 8, and we have requested a refund,” Boston Scientific also tweeted. “We reject the Senator’s statements, which are not aligned with our company’s core values.”
It’s important to note that Hyde-Smith, who is campaigning against the very black Democrat Mike Espy for the Nov. 27 election, has never apologized for the comment! Hyde-Smith has noted that the statement was a joke and has called it an “exaggerated expression of regard.”
Dis bitch here.
I would like to note that when I say “Dis bitch here” I don’t mean it in a pejorative way. I mean it the way my sister means it when she’s watching anyone do and or say something really stupid. Basically, it’s an “exaggerated expression of regard.”
It should be pointed out no one has mentioned the possibility that Cindy Hyde-Smith’s comments may be the result of her ignorance. Perhaps she didn’t know that Mississippi had the highest number of lynchings from 1882-1968 with 581, according to the NAACP. Maybe she didn’t know that the victims were black because she couldn’t see.
That’s probably why she wants to be in the first row.