Rep. Vaillancourt responds: Media twisted my statement, ginned up controversy
State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R-Manchester) blames the media for the controversy that followed his comments declaring Congresswoman Ann Kuster is “ugly as sin” and saying she “looks more like a drag queen than most men in drag.”
“The media never ceases to amaze me with its incredible ability, in its lust to gin up a controversy, twist a statement to the point where the original point is lost and demonization sets in,” he blogged. “[T]here’s no end to the games the media won’t play in an attempt to follow their Democratic script.”
Vaillancourt’s remarks, first reported by Miscellany Blue, were subsequently covered by national media outlets including Huffington Post, USA Today, CBS News, Time, MSNBC, The Daily Beast and New York Daily News.
Vaillancourt said reporters had asked him if he stands by what he wrote. “Stand by the fact that Ms. Garcia is more attractive than Ms. Kuster?” he asked. “If the reporters themselves don’t see that, then they should question their own abilities to function.”
While Kuster’s opponent, Rep. Marilinda Garcia (R-Salem), and a spokesperson for the state Republican Party released statements condemning Vaillancourt’s remarks, most of Vaillancourt’s Republican colleagues avoided comment.
Only Rep. Al Baldasaro (R-Londonderry), no stranger to controversy himself, offered public support. “Do I agree with what he said,” he asked, “no but he is entitled to his 1st Amendment Rights, get over it. This political correctness is out of hand.”
“Rep Vaillancourt is a tell it like it is Rep,” Baldasaro continued in a Facebook message, “he says what he believes in and holds no punches. Tell the Dems to try and stick with the issues and stop trying to find fault in what everyone says.”