Hyde-Smith Misidentifies Lawmaker Who Crafted Hyde Amendment

UNITED STATES - APRIL 9: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., attends her swearing-in ceremony the Capitol's Old Senate Chamber after being sworn in on the Senate floor on April 9, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - APRIL 9: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., attends her swearing-in ceremony the Capitol's Old Senate Chamber after being sworn in on the Senate floor on April 9, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

During the same event at which Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) made a joke about “public hanging,” the senator misidentified former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) as a senator from Oklahoma.

“Many of you may have heard of Sen. Henry Hyde from Oklahoma,” Hyde-Smith said, according to a video published Sunday by the Jackson Free Press. “That was a distant relative. He put in a bill many years ago that we could never use federal funding to fund abortions.”

Hyde was not a senator from Oklahoma — he was a congressman representing Illinois who helped craft the well-known Hyde Amendment, which bars the federal government from spending taxpayer money to fund abortions.

The full video of Hyde-Smith’s remarks follows a series of missteps from the Republican senator who faces a tight runoff race for her Senate seat on Tuesday. She has recently come under fire for jokes about “public hanging” and vote suppression. Photos that surfaced last week also showed Hyde-Smith posing in confederate soldier garb at a museum honoring Jefferson Davis.

Latest DC

Notable Replies

  1. She doesn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed.

  2. “Many of you may have heard of Sen. Henry Hyde from Oklahoma,” Hyde-Smith said, according to a video published Sunday by the Jackson Free Press. “That was a distant relative. He put in a bill many years ago that we could never use federal funding to fund abortions.”

    Well, it’s always nice to see people taking pride in their families.

    Did she also mention the adulterous affair that Henry had with a married mother of three?

  3. It’s increasingly hard to keep the history books rewritten fast enough to keep up with Republican Truth.

  4. Avatar for dont dont says:

    Henry Hyde, he of “youthful indiscretion” fame.

  5. It’s how the GOP likes them; helps them relate to their base and Wall Street can snooker them. Win-win.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

71 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ajm Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for fgs Avatar for jaxxson Avatar for cervantes Avatar for trnc Avatar for picklenoses Avatar for dont Avatar for sniffit Avatar for eastlansing Avatar for midnight_rambler Avatar for leeks Avatar for airportman Avatar for dickweed Avatar for junebug Avatar for muddylee Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for birdford Avatar for halfachievedharfleur Avatar for katscherger Avatar for godwit Avatar for lasylphide Avatar for forcryinoutloud Avatar for holywah

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: