GOP Flack Tries To Pretend He Didn’t Call For Violence Against Female Senators

Rep. Nan Hayworth’s (R-N.Y.) communications director, Jay Townsend, resigned on Monday following his suggestion last week that people “hurl some acid” at female Democratic senators whose views he found hypocritical.

Cardiologist Richard Becker, Hayworth’s Democratic opponent, pounced on the opportunity, calling Townsend’s choice of words “uniquely violent” and demanding he be fired. Once the scandal hit the national spotlight, Townsend posted a non-apology on his Facebook page, where he first posted the offending words. ” It was stupid because my words were easily misconstrued,” he wrote, “thoughtless because my choice of words obscured a point I was trying to make, and insensitive because some have interpreted the comment as advocating a violent act.”

As a reminder, here are his original remarks in full:

My question today… 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.

Hayworth, a Tea Party stalwart who beat the Democratic incumbent for the seat in 2010, issued a statement urging voters to move past the controversy.