The Alaska Daily News: “Rep. Don Young's use of an ethnic slur to describe the California farm workers who picked tomatoes for his father threatens to become an embarrassment for a Republican Party trying to court Hispanic voters.” More: “By 7 p.m. in Alaska, Young's office released a statement in which Young said he ‘meant no disrespect.’ But Young stopped short of apologizing.”
Young’s statement: "During a sit down interview with Ketchikan Public Radio this week, I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in Central California. I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect."
And: “Lupe Marroquin, the president of the Hispanic Affairs Council of Alaska, said she was disappointed by Young's remark. ‘It kind of opens your eyes to the way Don Young thinks,’ she said. ‘He didn't even pause. It's like that's just what he calls migrant farm workers.’”
Flashback: Bobby Jindal, Jan. 24 at RNC Winter Meeting: "We've got to stop being the stupid party. It's time for a new Republican Party that talks like adults. We had a number of Republicans damage the brand this year with offensive and bizarre comments. I'm here to say we've had enough of that."
Politico notes: “The lawmaker, the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe concerning contribution limits, has been in Congress for 40 years.”
Speaking of ethics, Roll Call: "A federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit in which former Sen. Larry Craig is accused of improperly using campaign funds in a quest to vacate his guilty plea in a Minnesota airport bathroom sting." (H/T: Political Wire.)
Political Wire: John Avlon notes Sarah Palin attempted to relaunch her political career this week with anew video which railed against ‘the big consultants, the big money men, and the big bad media.’ ‘But there's an irony alert ahead: the current stated purpose of SarahPAC is to raise money ahead of the 2014 election--most of which will be spent on conservative consultants.’”
Meanwhile… The George W. Bush presidential library will open next month. Tom DeFrank: “Bush partisans believe the institute will be the intellectual engine that in time rehabilitates the 43rd president’s image.” From one Dallas acquaintance: “George is happy as he can be. He’s convinced his achievement in keeping the country safe after 9/11 will get the attention it deserves as the years roll on.”
More: “That’s probably why it’s no coincidence that the library’s signature exhibit from Bush’s eight years as president is a 17-foot, two-ton twisted piece of steel from the World Trade Center. The mangled, blistered remnant from that fateful day is known as ‘impact steel’ — experts have determined that it was actually struck by one of the jumbo jetliners on 9/11.”
And finally, listen up, dummy… Dale Peterson, yes that Dale Peterson, was arrested at a Sam’s Club for opening and eating a can of cashews. He put the empty can back on the shelf. This comes after Peterson was arrested for being accused of shoplifting beer and paper towels at Wal-Mart. He said then that he wasn’t shoplifting, just had to go to the bathroom.
Peterson’s defense this time: “I picked up some cashews when I got to Sams this afternoon. Ate a handful. Put them in my cart & kept shopping,” Peterson tweeted Thursday. “An hour later, when I went to checkout, I put the cashews back (forgetting I had eaten a few), purchased $700 of merchandise & went to jail.”