Republican Lawmakers Are Racing Their Own States To The Bottom Of The Barrel

CNBC on Saturday released the results of its annual “10 worst states to live in,” and the roster was entirely and unsurprisingly comprised of red states. And, just like clockwork, Republicans are responding to accusations of being the worst… by being the worst.

The findings were based on several indicators, the most weighted of which was “quality of life,” which measured factors like reproductive rights, crime rates, air quality, and healthcare. All of which sound, hm, pretty fucking important for living a relatively good life—unless, that is, you’re a MAGA freak with a Twitter addiction.

“Typical nonsense,” tweeted Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fl.), in defense of Tennessee—which came in dead last. (DeSantis’ Florida, despite trying its best to gut abortion access and kill off public health in the state, did not make the cut.) “If Tennessee was really the worst state to live in people wouldn’t be moving there in large numbers, which they are.” 

But Tennessee’s ranking was attributed largely to its low “quality of life” and draconian laws, such as a long list of anti-LGTBQ+ legislation—the most recent of which mandated all public and private educational institutions to have separate bathrooms based on “immutable biological sex.” Texas ranked second-last, with healthcare and reproductive rights as some of its biggest weaknesses. The states that followed after had similarly damning specs. 

Behind Tennessee and Texas were Indiana, Louisiana, Georgia, Utah, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Most of these ten are particularly bad for access to abortion, with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas having near-total bans. Oh, and all ten states also voting for Trump in the 2024 election. What a coincidence!

As such, MAGA is not taking the news in good grace.

“.@CNBC says the ability to kill unborn babies and engage in woke racism makes states better to live in,” tweeted MAGA activist Tom Fitton.

“If Texas was so bad, people wouldn’t be fleeing blue states in droves to move here,” Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Tex.) added.

“Question… why would ‘the worst states to live in’ also be the states that the most people are moving to?” Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.), whose state ranked ninth, also posted, along with an open invite to CNBC. “Come visit Oklahoma and see what you’re missing!” I mean… I’ll pass, but thanks.