State Rep. Vaillancourt's misogynist rant: Congresswoman Kuster looks like a drag queen
State House Rep. Steve Vaillancourt thinks Congresswoman Ann Kuster is ugly. “Let’s be honest,” he blogged. “Does anyone not believe that Congressman Annie Kuster is as ugly as sin? And I hope I haven’t offended sin.”
“How ugly is Annie Kuster?” he continued. “[S]ad to say, but the drag queens [in Montreal] are more attractive than Annie Kuster. … Annie Kuster looks more like a drag queen than most men in drag. Ouch!”
So what prompted this misogynist rant? Vaillancourt acknowledged his language might be “uncomfortable” for some but claimed his invective had “political relevance.”
The Manchester Republican explained he had heard about some polling data (though he couldn’t remember the source) that proved an attractive political candidate can have a seven to ten point advantage over a less attractive candidate. “If looks really matter and if [the 2nd District congressional race between Kuster and Marilinda Garcia] is at all close,” he wrote, “give a decided edge to Marilinda Garcia.”
For what it’s worth, the “polling data” Vaillancourt refers to is a University of Ottawa study published in American Politics Research. The study, which analyzed every 2008 House of Representatives race using student coders and a web-based survey, concluded “an extremely attractive candidate running against an extremely unattractive candidate can expect to obtain an electoral ‘beauty premium’ of more than 7 percent of the vote.”
The science is questionable. Last year, Harvard political scientist Ryan Enos rebutted similar studies. “No, good looks don’t win elections,” he wrote. “Here’s a thought experiment: try to think of one Democrat you know who voted for Mitt Romney because he was so good looking. Have you thought of anyone yet?” he asked.
What’s not questionable is the incendiary nature of Vaillancourt’s remarks. One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said Vaillancourt’s comments “appear to have been brought on by Kuster’s failure to conform to Steve’s standards of female beauty” and are yet another example of the Republican war on women.
“That he lives his life as the judge of some constant internal beauty pageant is disturbing,” she wrote. “That he feels obligated to comment publicly on this topic shows the kind of misogyny we’ve come to expect from the party of the war on women. That he thinks somehow that looks have anything to do with intellect or job performance shows a level of disconnect that is absolutely stunning. He should be forced to resign.”