Update from Politico, 2:04 p.m., 06/04/2012:
- Freshman Rep. Nan Hayworth’s campaign spokesman Jay Townsend has resigned after remarking on Facebook that people should “hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector.”
*****
Where are Republicans finding these neanderthals to speak for Republican office holders and candidates. Noted once again it is aimed at women, this time Democrat women in the Senate. After reading a portion of his comment, why wasn't he immediately fired?
"Let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector."He calls the comments "stupid" (true but also vicious) and "easily misconstrued" (it is very plain what he said -- no way you can misconstrue his comments).
It took two days for him to apologize? The Congressman's staff also scrubbed her official Facebook pages of comments they didn't like. What happened to the First Amendment?
Talk about classless and clueless that he thought he could say this and no one would get upset. Hurling acid at anyone is not a joke and at a member of Congress is worse because it is against the law to threaten any member. If a Democrat spokesman had said this the RNC would be all over it that he needed fired. Why is this man still on her payroll and crickets chirping in the Republican Party? Both parties seem to have double standards that almost mirror each other today.
From NYACK News, Cliff Weathers, comes this comment:
Bloggers on the conservative megasite RedState have thrown in the towel for Rep. Nan Hayworth and her reelection bid. In a post on the site, diarist GISAP laments that a Facebook rant by Hayworth’s paid spokesman Jay Townsend, where he suggests people “hurl some acid” in the faces of female Democratic Senators, has put the last nail in Hayworth’s coffin.
Jay Townsend, apparently has had a comment he made blown sky high, unleashing a firestorm of Progressive outrage. Whatever the context of his comment, it’s going to be difficult to defend his suggestion that we “hurl acid at those female Democratic Senators.”
If she was trying to fly under the radar and cruise to re-election, she can forget about that now. As I wrote on her Facebook page, I’d rather NY-19 was held by a D, that way I wouldn’t feel betrayed.A commentator dubbed commonsenseobserver said of Townsend:
That person’s gonna re-open the gender gap!
Red State.com is one of the few conservative sites that hasn't swallowed the Romney koolaid. They are still independent and conservative who put America First!
Rep Hayworth when you read up on her recent comments is a moderate to liberal and was pretending to be conservative to get elected it seems. Now she is pandering to her Democrat district to get reelected. I am with Red State -- throw in the towel on her reelection.
Is this what the new Romney Republican Party looks like where candidates pretend to be conservative to get elected? Excuse me but I prefer the Reagan Republican Party where we had principles and class. Republicans fought with Democrats like cats and dogs in Congress about issues not personal attacks like we are seeing today.
How many office holders in the GOP today were former Democrats who became Republican not for the ideology but so they could get elected? The nominee of the GOP was an independent from 1976 to 1994 and knew no Republicans in MA in 1994, but he became a Republican to keep from facing Ted Kennedy in the primary -- he certainly doesn't think or act like any longtime Republicans I know. Many of the staffs of these former Democrats also were Democrat.
When did Republicans at higher levels decide it was okay to attack women period? This is another symptom of what we are seeing at all levels -- Republicans acting more like Democrats then Republicans. What happened to class? Did it go out with the influx of Democrats who wanted to be on the winning side and the Tea Party many of who were Democrats at one time. See a pattern here?
I have to agree with the newspaper that Townsend needs fired or it reflects even worse on Rep Hayworth who should have been appalled when she heard about this and fired him immediately. In fact, Townsend should have turned in his resignation immediately after writing such a stupid thing and publishing it but he waited to see if there would be an uproar.
This is another example of why I am questioning my membership in the Romney Republican Party because it certainly does not reflect what I believe because no one knows for sure what Romney believes except in setting up off shore accounts to avoid paying taxes -- he knows that well. More on that later this week.
Jay Townsend, GOP Spokesman, Apologizes For Controversial Facebook Comment
The Huffington Post | By Melissa Jeltsen Posted: 06/03/2012 6:57 pm Updated: 06/03/2012 10:23 pm
Jay Townsend, campaign spokesman for Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.), has apologized for writing a Facebook comment advocating violence against female Democratic senators, calling his words "stupid" and "easily misconstrued."
The apology came one week after Townsend's vicious online rant, in which he wrote "Let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector."
His comments ignited a firestorm of controversy, which culminated on Sunday with a local newspaper editorial calling for him to be fired. "If Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, decides to keep Jay Townsend anywhere near her campaign after his outburst on Facebook this week, she will be sending the unmistakable message that she agrees with his stand -- If you don't like the politics of your opponent, react with violence," the board wrote. "[I]t is hard to believe that Townsend -- with his broad and deep experience in politics -- could make such a callous remark without understanding the consequences."
Townsend's full apology, as posted on his personal Facebook page on Sunday, is below:
On May 26, I posted a stupid, thoughtless, and insensitive comment on a 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.
On May 26, I posted a stupid, thoughtless, and insensitive comment on a 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.To friends, associates, and clients I have offered my apology for the embarrassment I have caused, and do hereby offer it to the many who rightly found fault with my incendiary choice of words.The mistake was mine, and mine only and the post in no way was intended to represent the views of anyone for whom I have worked or represented.
Townsend issued the apology two days after Hayworth's campaign put out a statement calling the uproar over the comments a 'manufactured controversy.' Still, the campaign specifically distanced itself from his remark, explaining it was "not made on behalf of the Congresswoman or her campaign and was clearly not meant to be taken literally."
Democrat Richard Becker, who is competing against Hayworth in New York's 18th Congressional district, has called on the freshman representative to fire Townsend immediately. "It's just mind boggling that a Congressional spokesman would use this kind of incendiary and downright offensive language and equally shocking that his boss would not instantly fire him for doing so," Becker wrote in a Facebook statement. "The specific choice of words here is also particularly sickening. Acid attacks on women have a disturbing and disgusting history -- they're used almost exclusively to silence and punish women across the globe who've bravely spoken out on behalf of their human rights."
Becker also suggested Townsend may have violated 18 USC 115, a federal law prohibiting anyone from threatening "to assault, kidnap, or murder, a United States official... with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with such official."
Hayworth's campaign has found itself in a bit of a PR crisis. Hundreds of negative comments on her Facebook page have been removed, according to screenshots provided by Becker. The selective editing has not gone unnoticed by her readers.
"If Nan is so blameless why is she running away from comments made by her own constituents and wiping out the posts of concerned citizens? Innocent people don't run away and hide. If you have nothing to be ashamed of Ms. Hayworth why are you scrubbing your FB pages?" wrote one commenter. Another person added: "It says a lot that you only keep comments from the ones who praise you. Says a lot about character."
Source: Huffington Post
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