Deal expresses regret for ‘ghetto grandmothers’ remark

The list of forbidden phrases in Georgia politics grew by one this morning: “Ghetto grandmothers.”

On Saturday morning, before a breakfast gathering of the Cherokee County GOP, congressman and candidate for governor Nathan Deal was describing his role in legislation to demand proof of citizenship for federal or state health care benefits.

Said Deal:

“We got all the complaints of the ghetto grandmothers who didn’t have birth certificates and all that. We wrote some very liberal language as to how you can verify it. My mother was born in 1906 and she didn’t have a birth certificate. They didn’t give birth certificates back then. But we got her one, because you can do it under the proper procedures of your state.”

Unfortunately for Deal, videographers from the rival campaigns of Karen Handel and Eric Johnson were there to record the moment. One of them provided this:

This morning, Deal issued the following statement: “I regret my choice of words and in no way meant to offend anyone.”

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