Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal says he's sorry for making offensive blog comments, but he's not resigning.
Huppenthal, a former Republican state lawmaker, was outed for writing comments under several pseudonyms saying things like people on food stamps are "lazy pigs," and that Spanish should be banned from public use.
See also:
-John Huppenthal's Top Ten Comments as a Sock Puppet
-John Huppenthal, Arizona Schools Chief, Shilling for Private Schools
"I'm here today to repudiate those blog comments, renounce those blog comments," Huppenthal said. "They're not what's in my mind. They don't reflect the love that's in my heart."
Our successful small businessmen/job creators are being taxed to death. At most, they should give up 40 cents on the dollar to expanding government burden. But, Obama demands 63 cents. Meanwhile, Obama is rewarding the lazy pigs with Food Stamps (44 million people), air conditioning, free health care, flat screen TV's (typical of "poor" families).He explained that he was attempting to explain his beliefs in the comments, but "expressed those sentiments" incorrectly, by focusing on the people instead of the policy, he said.
--John Huppenthal as Falcon9
"We all need to stomp out balkanization. No spanish radio stations, no spanish billboards, no spanish tv stations, no spanish newspapers. This is America, speak English."Huppenthal said the ability of Arizona children to read, write, and speak English is still very important to him.
--Falcon9
"I don't mind them selling Mexican food as long as the menus are mostly in English. And, I'm not being humorous or racist. A lot is at stake here."
--Falcon9
He did admit that the comments were hurtful, and apologized several times, saying he needed to bring more "honor" to the job.
"I don't mind getting beat up . . . that comes with the territory -- that doesn't bother me," Huppenthal said. "What does bother me is that my blog comments were hurtful."
Resignation, however, is not on the table.
"I'm moving forward in service . . . we are doing incredible things in this agency," he said, before rattling off some accomplishments.
Huppenthal broke down in tears at his press conference -- scheduled to be an hour before another press conference calling for his resignation. But it's back to work for Falcon9.
Got a tip? Send it to: Matthew Hendley.
Follow Valley Fever on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPHX.
Follow Matthew Hendley at @MatthewHendley.
