Last week a top campaign aide for Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY) jokingly claimed that Hayworth supporters should “hurl some acid” at female democratic Senators who claim to be fighting the War on Women but who pay their female staffers less:
On a Facebook discussion board maintained by local Democratic activists, Jay Townsend mockingly suggested throwing acid on female Senators who supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act but paid their male staffers more than their female staffers.
“Listen to Tom,” he wrote Saturday, in reply to another Facebook user who had criticized Republicans. “What a little bee he has in his bonnet. Buzz Buzz. My question today…when is Tommy boy going to weigh in on all the Lilly Ledbetter hypocrites who claim to be fighting the War on Women? Let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector.”
Today, Townsend tendered his resignation to Rep. Hayworth:
“I posted a stupid, thoughtless and insensitive comment on a Facebook page,” Townsend later wrote on his Facebook page. “It was stupid because my words were easily misconstrued; thoughtless because my choice of words obscured a point I was trying to make, and insensitive because some have interpreted the comment as advocating a violent act.”
Poor little Townsend — he jokingly suggested using the sorts of violent tactics used against girls in Syria (because it’s funny, get it?!) but everybody missed the great point he was trying to make because his words were misconstrued.
Wah.
Incidentally, the point he was trying to make was stupid because the false equivalency on paycheck equality is bullshit. A few weeks ago, the Free Beacon published a story claiming that female Democratic Senators employed female staffers whom they paid less than their male staffers, and that such was a “betrayal” of Lilly Ledbetter:
[read the rest at TRS-ABLC]
Yutsano
Hayworth still fails. Townsend should not have resigned. She should have had the huevos to can his ass. But instead she just sat silent. Fail.
David Koch
liberals have no respect for freedom of speech.
how long until Townsend is imprisoned in Obama’s FEMA detention camp?
double nickel
It’s never their fault.
pragmatism
what a pansy. instead of doing a non-apology apology i would have told people that i meant acid like LSD. then we would have congressional burning man. big dog clinton would show up.
beltane
@pragmatism: Imagine Michele Bachmann on LSD at a congressional Burning Man. As long as they refrain from the bath salts this might be an improvement.
pragmatism
@beltane: where are the merry pranksters these days? someone dose the capitol’s water supply, STAT.
Comrade Dread
Fixed that for you.
Can I also say that I am sick of the non-apology apology.
If you’re not sorry for what you did, either keep quiet or tell people to go screw themselves.
If you are sorry, then say, “I am sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
Not a hard concept.
Just Some Fuckhead
Maybe we should behead people like Townsend who offend our collective sensibilities?
Ha, get it?! I was making a larger point about people beheading other people who they disagree with. How fucking clever am I?
j
How long until he gets on the wingnut welfare gravy train?
I give it until July 4th.
Free DUMB!!
gbear
@beltane:
Any random video of her talking will do.
Warren Terra
How in the world did it take over a week for him to resign? How is it he was permitted to graciously resign instead of being publicly fired?
gbear
@Just Some Fuckhead: Oh great. Now you’ve ruined everything.
rikyrah
that it took all this time and she didn’t even fire him?
how ridiculous
Just Some Fuckhead
@gbear: Gimme a week and I might resign.
Patricia Kayden
How exactly were his words misconstrued? Just wow!
Cassidy
@Just Some Fuckhead: BOTH SIDES DO IT!!!!!!!! SEE!!!!!! VOTE RON PAUL!!!!!! WEEEEE!!!
bootsy
Having spent some unfortunate poverty-motivated time with professional conservative operatives like this guy (not marginal nutbags, note, but well-paid pros), I have to confirm that they think this kind of comment is funny. Seriously.
Aside from racism, sexism, I just think they honestly think someone like Rush Limbaugh is funny – where the whole ‘joke’ is some sort of novel violence against some group of people. They seemed confused when I insisted I wasn’t offended by their jokes (though I was), but that they just weren’t funny.
Horrendo Slapp (formerly Jimperson Zibb, Duncan Dönitz, Otto Graf von Pfmidtnöchtler-Pízsmőgy, Mumphrey, et al.)
“…misconstrued…” “…some have interpreted the comment as advocating a violent act.”
This guy is beyond belief. It isn’t too awfully hard to “construe” waht he said. He said, “Let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector.” That’s fairly straighforward.
Now, I’ll give him one thing: I don’t believe he was truly hoping to have some nut blind any women Democratic senators; I can believe he meant it to be hyperbole. But shit, in these times, a year and a half after some wacko shot a congresswoman and a bunch of citizens at a strip mall, how thickheaded do you have to be to know that you just don’t say shit like that? There are 300,000,000 people in the U.S. I wouldn’t want to bet that none of them would take what he said literally; I can’t believe he is willing to take that bet.
Michael57
When someone says “my comments were misconstrued,” what they mean is that their comments were understood perfectly, but they don’t like it. Same way “my remarks were taken out of context” usually means “my comments were placed in their proper context.”
gaz
I’m glad the fuckwit resigned, and the comment was really stupid, violent, and unbecoming of an
electedcongressional official. (edit: oops)That said, his apology was far closer to an actual apology than what I would have expected from the likes of him. Refreshing, actually, imperfect as it was, I won’t quibble. And again, I’m glad he no longer has the job.
handy
my words were easily misconstrued
Passive voice is being very passive.
Procopius
@David Koch: LOL! Poor guy, now he can go to work at Cato Institute or AEI or Heritage for double what Hayworth was able to pay him. The wingnut welfare shops just love people who are adept an making this kind of non-apologetic apology. It looks like this idiot doesn’t even understand what was wrong with what he wrote. He thinks people are accusing him of advocating violence! What a maroon.
Gus
It’s obvious he’s not really sorry. If you’re not sorry, don’t fucking apologize, you douchebag.
smith
So Osama bin Townsend is upset his comment was “miscontrued?” Poor fucking baby – the sad thing is this dog turd on legs probably still has a career in the GOP/Wingnut Welfare Gravy Train.
smith
@smith:
Yikes, “misconstrued” – I blame momentary insanity. Or I’ll just blame that assface Townsend. Yeah, I like that better.
HEY YOU
@David Koch:
So it would be OK if someone said the same thing about Republican women???