Posted on Mon, Mar. 12, 2012 07:22 PM

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy endorses Romney in Mississippi

By MICHAEL NEWSOM
McClatchy Newspapers

BILOXI, Miss -- BILOXI, Miss. - Comedian Jeff Foxworthy made an appearance Monday, but he didn't tell many jokes. Instead he professed worries about the direction of the country and said he's endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

Foxworthy made an appearance at Shaggy's restaurant Monday morning on behalf of Romney, who didn't attend. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has been painted as out of touch with Southern voters. The campaign is hoping Foxworthy, who got much mileage on "you might be a redneck" jokes, will help his efforts in Mississippi and Alabama, which have primaries Tuesday.

According to the introduction Foxworthy received Monday, the Georgia native has sold more comedy albums than anyone in history. But the Grammy award- winning comedian stuck to serious topics, such as fears over the economy, the debt and the size of the federal government. He faulted President Barack Obama for not fixing those problems and said he believes Romney has the solutions.

"I avoided politics for 53 years of my life," Foxworthy said. "I have been doing stand-up comedy for almost 30 and never wanted to be political. Selfishly, I wanted to make everyone laugh. But it got to the point that this is too important."

Foxworthy said he hasn't gotten too much grief back home for picking Romney over former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who represented Georgia in Congress.

"In Georgia, I have got a 25-year history with him," Foxworthy told McClatchy Newspapers. "I have seen him put his foot in his mouth, do or say something stupid too many times. So it's one of those cases of you reap what you sow. I'm not confident putting my eggs in that basket. If he does something like that in September, then we are shot, and we're stuck with four more years of this. We can't do four more years of this. The country will be bankrupt."

There was some comedy though. Foxworthy, who made a stop in Mobile, Ala., with Romney before heading to Biloxi, told the crowd he had spotted material for a new joke in a Waffle House parking lot earlier Monday.

"In the car next to us, there's three Great Danes in the back of a Toyota Corolla," Foxworthy said. "I said, 'Y'all, somebody must have said, "I'm going down to the Waffle House today; let me get all the dogs and put them in the back of the car." ' You never run out of redneck jokes down here."

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy endorses Romney in Mississippi - KansasCity.com