Richard K. Armey: “this morning I mispronounced the name of my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank], in a way…”

“this morning I mispronounced the name of my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank], in a way that sounds like a slur. Let me make this absolutely clear. The media and others are reporting this as if it were intentional, and it was not. I repeat. This was nothing more than the unintentional mispronunciation of another person's name that sounded like something it was not. Mr. Speaker, there is no room in public discourse for such hateful language, and I condemn the use of such slurs. After I heard about how the story was being covered, I called the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank], and I told him of my stumbling over his name, and I apologized for the perception created by the press that I would even think of such terms. It was not an attack. It was not even a Freudian slip. I have worked with the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank] in the past. I consider him a friend. I am disappointed that the media and others would take this incident and turn it into a firestorm, a firestorm.”