TBT: That time Rep. Joe Pitre emailed a totally not racist image to House colleagues
A New Hampshire lawmaker is in hot water over public comments he made in Concord this morning that were characterized as “overtly racist” by some observers. It’s not the first time he’s faced accusations of racism.
During today’s House committee debate on school voucher legislation, a representative from a public education advocacy group, Reaching Higher NH, reported Rep. Joe Pitre (R-Farmington) claimed the proposal could be funded with money the state currently spends on “black children and latinos.”
Pitre’s comments came during a debate on Senate Bill 193, legislation that would establish a statewide Education Freedom Savings Account program, which would provide parents with a voucher that could be used for educational expenses at private schools and for home schooling.
Rep. Victoria Sullivan (R-Manchester) pushed back against those characterizing Pitre’s reference to money spent on “Black children and Latinos” as racist. New Hampshire Dems are “lying again,” she tweeted. “Rep. Pitre said funds alone have not closed the [education] gap, and we need a better way.“
There may be a honest debate over Pitre’s intent today, but there was no such debate in 2012 over an email Pitre sent to House colleagues.
In that incident, which followed a crackdown by then-Speaker Bill O’Brien over “harassing, derogatory, and defamatory” messages, Concord Monitor reporter Annmarie Timmins reported that Pitre sent an email to fellow lawmakers that included a photoshopped image of a purported White House event that featured Pres. Obama and the First Lady dressed as a “pimp and a ho.”