Motley Moose – Archive

(Written by an American expat living in the European Union)

Edited and republished at the request of readers.

In New Hampshire, a GOP state Rep. Steve Vaillancourt poses as the dapper don turned self appointed defacto beauty pageant judge. Pronounces Democratic incumbent Ann McLane Kuster “as ugly as sin” and therefore too ugly to win!! But in saying so, he says he hopes he hasn’t offended sin!! So it is the GOP tries to WIN UGLY AGAIN. By turning this congressional race into his own private circus where in he hoists his ageism and sexist pronouncements on us in a orgy bordering on a misogynistic theater of the absurd!!

Steve Vaillancourt, a Republican state representative for New Hampshire attempts to turn the New Hampshire’s 2nd district congressional race into his own personal defacto beauty pageant wherein he acts as the self-appointed judge, wherein he pronounces in his judgement that the determining factor in the race will come down to the matter of his judgement that incumbent Democratic state Rep. Ann McLane Kuster is “as ugly as sin” and cannot win. In a continuation of his sexist remarks, he goes on to shockingly say that drag queens even look better than her and in doing so tries to create what may only be seen as a circus-like beauty pageant atmosphere to grab headlines in yet another desperate Republican bid to win ugly.

58 year old Rep. Ann McLane Kuster is the Democratic incumbent for the New Hampshire 2nd congressional district who is running for re-election against her Republican opponent 31 year old Marilinda Garcia.

New Hampshire State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt wrote a long blog post predicting the outcome of the race in the state’s 2nd Congressional District on one factor: incumbent Democratic Rep. Ann McLane Kuster’s looks.

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“Let’s be honest. Does anyone not believe that Congressman Annie Kuster is as UGLY AS SIN? AND I HOPE I HAVEN’T OFFENDED SIN,” Vaillancourt wrote on NH Insider, a New Hampshire politics blog.

By contrast, he wrote, Kuster’s Republican challenger, State Rep. Marilinda Garcia, is “one of the most attractive women on the political scene anywhere, not so attractive as to be intimidating [sic], but truly attractive.”

At first glance most progressives on it’s face would not take Rep. Steve Vaillancourt seriously. However, in the face of this type of sexism if we do not take his behavior seriously, we do so at our peril because it isn’t possible to let this type of behavior go on unanswered. In fact the simple truth is this gives new meaning to the charge that Republicans are quite prepared to win ugly if need be but win at all costs by going negative.

So where is the backlash? Why Mr and Mrs Progressive America do we tolerate this type of hatred from the GOP from a guy whose conceit knows no end. In proclaiming himself as a type of defacto self-appointed beauty pageant judge turning a congressional race into his own private circus and theater of the absurd, whereupon he hoists his ageism and sexist pronouncements on us in a clear case where if these were two male candidates it wouldn’t even be possible to have such a vacuous conversation in a congressional campaign where real people have real problems that we can ill afford to have hi-jacked by the GOP election circus agenda. In a disgraceful showing of ageism and sexism which initially was not repudiated by either State Rep. Marilinda Garcia or the GOP party, both of them initially were prepared to profit from their silence while they were waiting to see what effect this may have (if any) on the latest polling numbers. Having waited and first profited from it for 3 days, Rep. Garcia finally came out and repudiated Rep. Vaillancourt’s remarks as sexist. In doing so, Rep. Garcia in good GOP form is a day late and a dollar short as usual.

“How ugly is Annie Kuster?” he begins. By the end of the story, he concludes, “By now you probably know why I think of Annie Kuster whenever I walk by Mados; sad to say, but the drag queens are more attractive than Annie Kuster….not that there’s anything wrong with that.”…… “Annie Kuster looks more like a drag queen than most men in drag,” he concludes.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ne…

In America today we have real problems: 40 million people without access to medical care, 45 million people on food stamps, 130 million people who don’t have any dental coverage. Millions more unemployed and homeless. Can we really afford to stand by and let GOP supporters turn congressional elections into a circus by their sad and poor behavior, and therein their own personal theater of the absurd?

Vaillancourt as a six term member of the New Hampshire House of  Representatives has a rich controversial history. Which includes the fact that as we can see here in this you tube video link which shows Vaillancourt had to apologize for uttering the the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil,” on the floor of the New Hampshire House in a heated moment back on May 15, 2012 as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

http://articles.chicagotribune…

(Here are some words of wisdom from MAnn Coulter.)

The sad truth is it seems like in every election someone, somewhere is always playing to the lowest base instinct of the male GOP base, in their position on objectifying women. As for Mr Vaillancourt one can only wonder in all honesty what he is prepared to say if Hillary Clinton or other female progressive candidates run in November 2016 in federal and statewide elections. It seems that we better all sit down and buckle our seatbelts, because the 2016 election cycle is likely to be the most expensive and dirtiest elections in American history. Thanks in no small part to people like Mr Vaillancourt playing to the lowest base instincts of the male GOP electorate.

(End of Article). (All rights reserved by author) ©

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(Cross posted by author from the Daily Kos)

This was originally posted in Orange.

I got the idea for this diary from Denise’s diary over on GOS Silence is still deadly. Denise’s sig line is

“If you’re in a coalition and you’re comfortable, you know it’s not a broad enough coalition” Bernice Johnson Reagon

Let’s get uncomfortable, shall we?

Let’s make a big coalition.

Remember ACT UP?

Actually, you don’t need to remember them, they’re still around; you can find them online.

Silence does equal death.

But what if we ALL Act Up?

Not just regarding AIDS, and certainly not just people who HAVE AIDS or HIV; not even just their friends and lovers and relatives.

Of course, we are ALL related to people with AIDS. Just a question of how closely related. And even if it isn’t very closely (and how would you know? Do you know the HIV status of all your second cousins? At age 50 I discovered some second cousins I didn’t know I had.  Those are my great grand parents great grand children. That’s pretty close).  But everyone is related to everyone. But, as I said, even if we aren’t that closely related, we should be concerned. If you’re only interested in the health and welfare of your closest relatives …. well…..

But it’s bigger.

Let’s make a big coalition.

You know. With all sorts of people in it. All the people who make OTHER people feel uncomfortable, bad or icky. They might even make some of US feel uncomfortable, bad or icky.  Heck, some people make ME feel that way.

But they don’t make me feel like they are sub-human or unworthy of care.

I, personally, feel uncomfortable watching some public acts of affection (between two men, two women or one of each).

That’s my hangup, not theirs. And it’s OK. Everyone’s got some hangups.

One of the groomsmen (Ellen) at my wedding was a lesbian; I found out, years later, that one of the maids of honor told Ellen not to hold her hand. Oy. That’s not OK. That’s letting her hangup hurt someone else. Not OK at all.

So, let’s get uncomfortable.

When I see people with tons of body piercings, it makes me uncomfortable. Dunno why. Just seems weird to me. But that’s OK. That’s my hangup. Not theirs. Everyone’s got hangups.

But some people let their hangups hang others. That’s not OK.

Me? I’m a learning disabled atheist with glasses who likes to eat all sorts of food. Each of those traits makes some people uncomfortable.  (Food? Yes, some people feel uncomfortable with people eating jellyfish, for instance).

I’m a geeky nerdy guy who likes to spend a lot of time alone. Those traits make some people make uncomfortable too.

Let’s get uncomfortable.

Remember “Revenge of the Nerds”? It wasn’t a gem of film making, but it had one good line:

There’s a lot more of us than there are of them

Add up all the people who make someone else uncomfortable. There’s a lot of us. There’s a lot more of us than there are of them.

Let’s get uncomfortable.

Let’s make a big coalition.

Let’s Act Up.

Together.

Because silence = death. For all of us.

No point trying to avoid the obvious. Several of the most recent diaries here have actually become intense and fascinating debates about the legacy of sexism after the election.

Above is a word cloud of the debate so far – around 4pm EST 15th Nov.

Elisabeth Hasselback, ‘Considered the last true “Survivor sweetheart” by many fans’ according to Reality TV World, introduced Sarah Palin in Tampa today.  Amidst accusations of sexism aimed at Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and all it’s supporters, she embodied sexism in every fiber of her being.

cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama and Obama–Criticism and Support

That’s what I call my paternal grandmother. Before I was born, my grandparents each chose what they wanted me to call them. My dad’s mom picked “Honey” because she said she’d never been called anything sweet before. That wasn’t strictly true, but she did have a difficult upbringing and an overbearing husband. She grew up as “poor white trash,” and why my grandfather married her, I’ll never know. Honey taught me a lot of things, as a kid and as an adult, but I don’t know that any of the lessons were good.

Sheltered though I was, I learned about sexism when I was a child, and my first experience with it was probably the most hurtful – though not the most damaging in terms of academic or professional advancement – because it was the most personal. When I was a young girl, I slowly began noticing that my paternal grandparents treated me rather differently than they treated my brother. He was cooed over and treasured in a way I hadn’t been, he was given attention and praise in a way I wasn’t. The differences seemed stark. At first, I couldn’t figure out why it should be so – why would I be treated differently when I was so pretty, so intelligent, far kinder, and more polite? What had I done wrong? Hurt and uncomprehending, I finally thought to ask my mother, who I could always trust to answer my naïve, innocent questions in the same way: Truthfully. Gently but bluntly, she explained that my father’s parents were children of the Depression and had been raised with an old Southern mentality that men were more valuable. My brother was more cherished, more loved, and more important in the eyes of my grandparents because he was the male heir, and because he would carry on the family name, whereas I, as a woman, would lose it when I married (in the old South, marriage was a question of when, not if). This was a difficult truth for a young overachiever to understand because it was something which had to be accepted rather than overcome; no amount of success on my part would ever make me equal.