Jay Townsend, the communications director for Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth, has an interesting solution for dealing with female Democrats: “hurl some acid” at them.
Townsend fired the latest shot in the war on women via Facebook last week, in response to a commenter named Tom.
When is Tommy boy going to weigh in on all the Lilly Ledbetter hypocrites who claim to be fighting the War on Women? Let’s hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector.
Dozens of outraged constituents immediately attacked Townsend’s comments.
“Acid attacks are particularly brutal, aimed almost solely at women, with the intent to maim and disfigure,” one commenter replied. “I couldn’t imagine a worse piece of invective from someone who puts the Republican war on women in quotes.”
“Suggesting that someone throw acid in women’s faces is, in a word, despicable. The Taliban is NOT a role model,” wrote another.
Ironically, Townsend — who has worked on more than 300 political campaigns in more than 25 different states — offers free campaign and communication tips on his website. In the section “What do you do when a prominent supporter does something idiotic?” Townsend suggests that “you have about three seconds to put some distance between yourself and the idiot.”
“When a prominent supporter goes off the reservation and says something idiotic, YOU need to be the one to set the record straight and you need to do it immediately and forcefully,” he writes.
Representative Hayworth has not acted on her spokesman’s own advice; as of now, Townsend is still with the campaign.
Another section on Townsend’s site offers a list of “the 10 worst mistakes candidates make.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to include “hiring Jay Townsend.”
