Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings, who called Texas 'a crazy state,' isn't wild about Florida, either


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The verbal smackdown Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) gave the State of Texas, via Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), was so unusual for Congress that The Daily Show's Jon Stewart used it as the pretext to game out a war between Florida and the Lone Star State. Burgess and 24 of his Texas Republican colleagues demanded that Hastings apologize, and Rep. Pete Session (R-Texas) even gave a House floor speech defending his state's "honor."
On Thursday, Hastings largely stood by his assertion that Texas is a "crazy state," citing among other things a law that limits the amount of dildos a woman can own (a federal court struck down the law in 2008, over the objections of the new Texas governor, Greg Abbott, then attorney general). But it's not personal, Hastings told CNN's Dana Bash. "I love Texans, but I do not like their policymakers who are in the majority," he said. "The simple fact of the matter is, evidently, I touched a nerve deep in the heart of Texas. And I would ask them to tie a yellow rose around it and do like Frozen and 'Let it go.'"
And Hastings knows that his home state isn't the sanest in the union either. "Consider the fact I'm a native Floridan and dislike it," he told Bash. "I have cautioned about living in Florida, and when I retire I'm not sure I'm going to stay there, largely because of the policymakers." He added, "I have a lot of other places that I can live." He may have to if his Fort Lauderdale constituents react poorly to his dissing the state he represents. Watch Bash's report below. —Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
-
Liz Truss and the battle for the Tory grassroots
Talking Point Former PM's speech stirs talk of a comeback but prompts 'furious response from some colleagues'
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Fall colors
By The Week Staff Published
-
Chioma Nnadi: new 'head' of British Vogue at centre of power struggle
Edward Enninful 'shot for the moon and lost' as Anna Wintour promotes 'loyal ally'
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published