Opponents of a conservative GOP Senate candidate in Mississippi are circulating audio of him making comments about reparations, "mamacitas," and homosexuals on a radio program in late 2006 or early 2007.
The audio is of Chris McDaniel -- a state senator and former radio host -- who is challenging incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran in the June 3 GOP primary that's viewed as a battle between the establishment (Cochran) and Tea Party (McDaniel).
The comments, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, include McDaniel talking about reparations for the descendants of slaves: "If they pass reparations, and my taxes go up, I ain't paying taxes."
They capture him joking about immigrating to Mexico: "Let's go to Mexico... You know, a dollar bill can buy a mansion in Mexico. And I think we all get together, go down there, build us a studio for like 26 pesos, uh and you know, put on a radio show right there in Mexico. Live the rest of our lives right there."
They also have him talking about "Mamacitas" when he asks someone to translate "Do you have a sister?" into Spanish: "What about mamacita? Mamacita works... I'm an English-speaking Anglo. I have no idea what it means, actually, but I've said it a few times, just for, you know, fun. And I think it basically means, 'Hey, hot mama.' Or, you know, 'You're a fine looking young thing.'"
And then he mentions an advertisement for a video-game console that shows a white woman and black woman wrestling: "There's a white woman, and she's holding down a black woman. The world's gone nuts. Listen to this. Minority groups in California screaming that the image is racist. 'San Francisco politician Tom LeLand says 'It's racially charged, unnecessary and clearly offensive to our community.' Well, she wasn't holding down a gay guy."
McDaniel campaign spokesman Noel Fritsch responded by saying, "the liberal press clearly loves to attack conservatives of all types. When Chris got into this race he knew they would throw mud, so it's no surprise they'd dredge up decade old comments made on conservative talk radio. Chris will continue to deliver his conservative message of controlling government spending, lowering taxes, and repealing Obamacare across the state."
Fritsch adds to NBC News that Republicans who are arguing that a McDaniel primary could cost the GOP -- a la Todd Akin or Richard Mourdock in 2012 -- are mistaken.
"It is metaphysically impossible for a Democrat to win Mississippi," he said.