HuffPost Falls For Bev Perdue's Fake Twitter Account [UPDATED]

CORRECTION: This story embarrassingly took Bev Perdue's spoof Twitter account at face value -- here is her real one -- to produce the following:

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue (D) has apologized to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) for using his state to express her embarrassment after North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment last week banning gay marriage.

On Monday she tweeted:

Called the Mississippi governor today and apologized for my remarks. Offered to send him some Bojangles Bo-Berry biscuits to make amends.

— Bev Perdue (@GovBevPerdue) May 14, 2012

The tiff began on Friday, when Perdue told a local news reporter that Amendment 1, a ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriages and other types of domestic unions, was wrong for North Carolina. The state's overwhelming passage of the measure made them, "look like Mississippi," she said.

Officials in Mississippi didn't take kindly to the jab.

"To be able to use Mississippi in a disparaging way on a popular vote in her own state is, I think, something that's certainly petty and something I think she will reflect on and hopefully apologize for those types of remarks," Gov. Bryant told reporters.

Mississippi Lieutenant Gov. Tate Reeves took his response in a different direction, instead touting his state's business-friendly climate.

"I would invite any North Carolina-based company wanting to move to a lower-taxed, less-regulated state to look at our business-friendly opportunities," he said.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Virginia Zahn]

03:19 PM on 05/15/2012

Governor Perdue had the courage to say it out loud; we agree with her.

[deven]

04:37 PM on 05/14/2012

When strong companies start looking to leave NC for their backward thinking - I don't think they'll be looking at Mississippi.

[windsurfer72]

08:47 AM on 05/15/2012

You're absolutely right...errr, well, no not quite...at least according to Toyota and Nissan, but hey those are just small change companies who wouldnt really count as 'strong companies'. my bad

[Ashlieeeee]

04:29 PM on 05/14/2012

She has nothing to apologize for. Mississippi sucks

[the gorn]

04:18 PM on 05/14/2012

"I would invite any North Carolina-based company wanting to move to a lower-taxed, less-regulated state to look at our business-friendly opportunities," he said.

And less educated too!

[laffFUwant]

03:32 PM on 05/16/2012

I had a non profit there. I needed to change my site from residential to commercial. Using only the best stationery, my lawyer and I wrote the city council asking for permission. When I heard nothing after 4 weeks, I asked a councilman what the trouble was. He told me that they didn't know what it(my letter), meant.He came to my office to tell me what to do that afternoon.

"Get a pencil."
"A pencil, not a pen?"
"I like pencils better. You can erase if you mess up your mark. Write this here down...
"I wanna change my property from a house to a office."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Maam."
I did. He folded the notebook paper in about 8 folds and stuck it in his back pocket.

I waited another 4 weeks without hearing anything. One day I asked the same guy about my second letter. He told me that he forgot.. and the letter tore up when his wife washed his pants, but the city council would contact me after their fishing trip.

I never heard from them, so I changed it myself. I went to a notary and created a form. Nobody ever said anything to me, so I just went on about my business. I left after a couple of years. Nobody missed me. To be fair, this was a really small town where everybody went to bed at sundown.

[julieintx]

04:03 PM on 05/14/2012

As ChrisGDunn downthread pointed out, the tweet in the article is from a parody site.

Good reporting, HP.

[ameriki00]

03:47 PM on 05/14/2012

She should be apologizing to the gays and lesbians and unmarried heterosexual couples who were just denied equal rights with the religious rightwingers. While NC is on the roll down hill toward Mississippi-dom why not put the revocation of civil rights based on race, color, religion and national origin up to popular vote? I'm sure the progressive state of North Carolina would vote that down.

[SymoneSayz22]

03:44 PM on 05/14/2012

Sounds to me like the Gov and Lt Gov of Mississippi are ignoring the fact that the NC vote IS just like Mississipi's vote in 2004.

And the Lt Gov calling businesses to come to Mississippi? huh, the law and constitution banning of equality there is exactly the same as NC and exactly what NC businesses are trying to avoid.

[julieintx]

03:56 PM on 05/14/2012

And most other states have voted the same way. Why pick on MS? Because of their high black population?

[C Latner]

04:14 PM on 05/14/2012

"Sounds to me like the Gov and Lt Gov of Mississippi are ignoring the fact that the NC vote IS just like Mississipi's vote in 2004."

Say what? Nc's vote was 61% in favor; Mississippi's was something likie 89%! Just a bit difference there--especially since Nc's was held in a May primary where lots of college students had left the campuses (which would have pulled it down another couple of points).

If you're saying "both states voted to pass the amendment"--so did 28 states for a total of 30, including "liberal" Oregon and Michigan.

What, precisely, is your point? The issue here is that any state that put same-sex marriage to a popular vote is going to pass an amendment banning it, because the national Right-wing groups descend upon that state and use the church pulpits for their own GOTV and misinformation. Unless you've lived n a state where it happened, please don't comment.

[SymoneSayz22]

02:35 PM on 05/15/2012

I do live in one of those states where it happened and you have no business telling me not to comment on a public forum just because you don't like what I said.  

[julieintx]

03:43 PM on 05/14/2012

She won't be governor for much longer.

[MemphisHopJack]

03:42 PM on 05/14/2012

Us folks down here in the South takes our feuding seriously.
Whether it be the Hatfields and McCoys or Mississippi and North Carolina.

[Guy Underbridge]

03:41 PM on 05/14/2012

She did the right thing. You should always apologized when you have to announce a brutal truth.

'Sorry son, you have the measles...'
'Sorry, honey, but your favorite shirt turned pink in the washer...'
'Sorry, Mississippi, you're hopelessly retrograde...'

[julieintx]

03:45 PM on 05/14/2012

California voted the same way. So did most other states. Yet she singled out one state for insult, the state with the highest percent of black residents. Not very nice, and border line ra c ist.

[Guy Underbridge]

03:55 PM on 05/14/2012

Yeah, right. Miss is sooo well know for it's progressive policies the ruling class has towards the majority of its residents.

get a clue.

[C Latner]

04:15 PM on 05/14/2012

It had nothing to do with racism; it had to do with the fact that Mississippi passed the same-sex amendment with the highest percentage of any state, 88 or 89%.

[julieintx]

04:47 PM on 05/14/2012

She didn't apologize. The tweet is fake.

[fullofmitt]

03:32 PM on 05/14/2012

Another caving Dem politician! Stand u[ for what you said..you were RIGHT!

[julieintx]

03:46 PM on 05/14/2012

She singled out a heavily black state to disparage, instead of a state like CA, which voted the same way.

And you agree with that?

[C Latner]

04:16 PM on 05/14/2012

Mississippis' black population is not that different from NC's; the reason she picked MS was that its vote on the "marriage amendment" was the highest of any state, 89%.

[julieintx]

04:47 PM on 05/14/2012

Actually the tweet is from a fake account, so I guess she hasn't apologized.

[Guardian Weasel]

03:32 PM on 05/14/2012

"To be able to use Mississippi in a disparaging way on a popular vote in her own state is, I think, something that's certainly petty. Although she is technically correct about our political landscape being dominated by hardcore fundamentalist right-wingers who believe homosexuality is every bit as bad as molesting children."

[Donald Kinge]

03:30 PM on 05/14/2012

"To be able to use Mississippi in a disparaging way on a popular vote in her own state is, I think, something that's certainly petty and something I think she will reflect on and hopefully apologize for those types of remarks,"

But it's accurate...so I don't see the problem.

[nonChristian]

03:19 PM on 05/14/2012

Inviting Company to Mississippi??

Good luck teaching the Jesus freaks any technology. They will probably think god created laptops on the 7th day.

[julieintx]

03:58 PM on 05/14/2012

You are a religious big ot. Do you also look down on the high percentage of Mississippians who are black too?

[MartiniVirtuoso]

03:19 PM on 05/14/2012

I once heard two rednecks in a corner bar argue over which of them, both home-schooled all the way to the sixth grade, was smarter. I'm not sure why that moment came to mind when I heard about this Mississippi vs North Carolina controversy. Hmmm..