No, Cindy Hyde-Smith, hanging is no joke

Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who faces former Democratic Rep. Mike Espy in a run-off election on November 27, is facing public outcry after jokingly invoking "hanging" while campaigning in a state where lynching was once a common occurrence. "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row," Hyde-Smith is heard saying in a video posted to Twitter Sunday morning. She was referring to a cattle rancher who supported her. Hyde-Smith later issued a statement saying that she "used an exaggerated expression of regard [for a supporter], and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous."