It’s kinda hard to embarrass the whole state of California these days.
However, I’m an Oregon native, and Bob Packwood and Tonya Harding have done enough.
This is such an unfair question for an Alabamian, but those are the two short-listers.
I’d add Fob James (“education” governor who among other stunts impersonated a monkey while discussing evil-lution- this was about 10 years ago), Guy Hunt (an AmWay salesmen turned governor whose main source of income was “love offerings”, who used his bodyguards as farm laborers, and who was removed from office by impeachment and gave a series of addresses that would make the producers of Hee-Haw cringe), Bull Conner (the police chief in the 60s B’ham who turned hoses and set attack dogs on civil rights marchers)…
sooo many to choose from we should share with other states.
As a born and bred Jersey guy, I will nominate former Governor Jim McGreevey. Not for being gay, but for giving an unqualified lover a job as his homeland security advisor. Sheesh…
I really wish I could find a video or audio link, but we had Tommy Thompson warning us about encephalopoulus a few years ago.
I guess that didn’t embarrass Wisconsin so much as it did him.
If you expand the OP a little to Canadian provinces and other subnational administrative entities, there was a time here in Ontario during the first Harris administration when we had a Minister of Education who was a high-school dropout and a Minister of Transport who was a used-car salesmen. I was embarrassed to be an Ontarian then.
- Gray Davis
- The tandem of Pete Wilson and Willie Brown (State Budget of 1992)
- Gray Davis
I love the books that followed, basically subtitled I’M GAY!!! (McGreevey), I’M NOT! (by his alleged boyfriend) and I NEED A F&CKING DRINK by the former Mrs. McGreevey.
Hmmm. For Montana it would probably have to be the Unabomber. Between him and the Freemen, they really messed up our reputation.
Probably Bud Dwyer. Off the top of my head.
Home state of Louisiana:
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Governor Kathleen Blanco - The one with the true power during Katrina even more so than the feds by far. She had never apparently learned that she had a large military under her command during those conditions. Fucked the whole thing up so badly that killing herself would have been vastly more productive.
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New Orleans Governor Ray Nagin - Loved to scream and rant about other people on national TV during Katrina despite the fact that he bared some responsibility.
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David Duke - Ex KKC gran wizard that made it to the Louisiana legislature but lost his bid for governor.
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Governor Edwin Edwards - In the Federal Penn for Racketeering. He campaigned on the theme that he was the only crook willing to be honest about it and won repeatability.
Massachusetts:
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Ted Kennedy - he kills a woman in a tragic, drunken affair, never says much about it except naming his dog Splash. He votes a straight Democratic ticket all the time which logic built into the voting system could easily accommodate so that he could get plastered and do some hooking up somemore.
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Heads of the Big Dig - It is the most expensive public works project in human history. It comes in somewhere near 4 times budget and $18 billion or so. A couple of newlyweds are on the way to Logan Airport when a multi-ton ceiling tile falls and kills the new bride but not the groom. Documents show that the problem was known for those substandard materials. Most of the project gets closed for weeks while engineers try to identify anymore critical design mistakes. There are tons and corrections will require years and many more billions.
I’m from Wisconsin. So was Joseph McCarthy. Except for a few die-hards, most Wisconsites prefer to disavow him in favor of his successor, William Proxmire
By comparison, Ed Gein was like thousands of typical Wisconsin coots. Everyone had a batty old uncle or neighbor like that, spending his time making figurine windmills or birdhouses. Ed just exercised poor judgment in his choice of hobby.
(emphasis added)
Booooo!!!
I think I’d nominate Al D’Amato, for NY, but that’s just a gut reaction. When I think of embarassing people from my area, I tend to get more local, such as Clifford Janey. For those of you who don’t know, Janey was the City School district superindenant when the Rochester City Schools racked up a $57 million deficit. And then got hired by the D.C. Schools after his contract here was bought out. :smack:
I was thinking of McCarthy, but decided he wasn’t an embarrassment, because he’s dead. A few years ago at his home town they were playing hot potato with his bust. Nobody wanted it in their building.
I choose the guy that made those stupid foam cheese hats.
I feel Tommy Thomson is becoming an embarrassment to the whole state, because he thinks we’d support him. He left under not so good circumstances, and now he wants to run for president. Tommy just go away.
It would be easy to pick George W. Bush or Ken Lay.
However, I’ll go with Karl Rove.
And that crazy guy who shot up the Capitol. (Weston?) But yeah, definitely the Unabomber.
I suppose the easy answer is Jesse Ventura, but then a lot of us got a hoot out of the whole thing.
Now if you want to know who has embarrassed my actual hometown of Coon Rapids, MN (both my parents were mayor, btw), it would be those little leaguers who spit in their palms before shaking hands with the other team. But who am I kidding? I’m proud of them, too! Carrying on the obnoxious tradition!
Like Uke, I’ve lived in Ohio since 1971.
Hmmm?, who’s the most embarassing?
I"ve have to say ALL OF THEM!
I’ve never lived anywhere that has a bigger collection of jerks.
Oh man! I was whooshed for quite a while til I got that one. 
And reading the thread, AFTER posting… How could I forget Sanitorium??? Out of sight, out of mind I guess.
Still, both are as embarrassing, in much different ways.
I’m originally from Missouri. Like many of my fellow citizens, I voted for the dead guy instead of John Ashcroft in the 2000 Senate race. I’m sure if I look back far enough, say to Jesse James, I could find someone who has embarrassed our fine state more, but honestly I don’t have the strength.