Source: Politics<\/p>\n
West Virginia governor Jim Justice on Thursday touted his state\u2019s progress on economic development, spoke about the pandemic and compared the temperature of state versus national politics.<\/p>\n
West Virginia’s doubters, Justice said as he concluded his state of the state address, could kiss his dog, Babydog\u2019s, \u201chiney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey never believed in West Virginia, that we could do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told every bad joke in the world about us,\u201d Justice continued. \u201cSo following that standpoint, Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there, kiss her hiney.\u201d He then held Babydog up in the air, showing the room her behind.<\/p>\n
Justice was referring to a Dec. 20 tweet<\/a>from the actress, Midler, who expressed animosity towards Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) after he said he was a \u201cno\u201d on President Joe Biden\u2019s Build Back Better legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia,\u201d Midler said in the tweet. \u201cPoor, illiterate and strung out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been the year of Babydog, hasn\u2019t it?\u201d the governor said, as the dog was ushered onto the floor of the State Capitol .<\/p>\n It certainly has. The one-year-old bulldog, who belongs to Justice and West Virginia first lady Cathy Justice, made her first public appearance early last year at a press briefing, where the governor said she correctly predicted that Tampa Bay would win with 31 points in Super Bowl LV. Since then, Babydog has been a fixture in West Virginia politics.<\/p>\n