At this point it’s almost comical, as Republican politicians just can’t seem to stop themselves from spewing racial slurs in public: Gile drops ‘n’-word at meeting.

Saline County Commissioner Jim Gile said it was a “bad choice of words” Tuesday when he used the expression “nigger-rigging it” in a heated discussion with Commissioner John Price.

Gile, 68, who is serving his first term after taking office in January, used the phrase during a discussion about whether to hire an architect to design repairs to the county’s Road and Bridge Department building.

In a recording made by County Clerk Don Merriman of the study session, Gile, who is white, can be heard to say the county needed to hire an architect to design the improvements rather than “nigger-rigging it.”

[…]

Gile said he grew up around the term, but it is something he shouldn’t have used.

“I am not a prejudiced person,” Gile said Friday. “I have built Habitat homes for colored people.”

Gile said he also has a close friend whom he regards as a sister who is black.

“I don’t ever do anything bad and don’t know how to do anything bad. People know I am not,” he said.

More: Jim Gile, Kansas County Official, Apologizes for Racist Comment.

A Republican lawmaker has added his voice to those criticizing Gile for his remarks. State Rep. J.R. Claeys (R-Salina) said that Gile’s remark and the fact that it was backed up during the meeting raises concerns about the county government, which he called “dysfunctional.” He also said that Gile’s attempt to use his age to mask the comment is unacceptable, noting that people should know that the term he used is discriminatory.

“I think every citizen in our county should take a long, hard look at every individual in that room who allowed those comments to slide without immediately correcting and repudiating, not one, but multiple comments that are absolutely unacceptable in private, let alone a public meeting,” Claeys told HuffPost. “This speaks to a systemic problem with the makeup and operation of county government that is already viewed as a good ol’ boys club and needs to be dismantled by the people in such a way that it can no longer operate in this manner.”