New Mexico Republican Calls 19-Year-Old Girl Working for Fair Wages a ‘Radical Bitch’
If you are a teenage girl volunteering your time to help raise the minimum wage, New Mexico Republican Steve Kush might think you are a “radical bitch” just waiting for him to deliver you some comeuppance. At least, that’s how the executive director of the Bernalillo County Republican Party treated a 19-year-old Working America volunteer after she testified to the benefits of fair wages before the county commission.
“Nice hat Working America chick but damn you are a radical bitch,” Kush tweeted about the teen, in perfect KennyChesneyian* charm.
He then took his rampage to Facebook, where he tore into Working America’s state director, Chelsey Evans, who also spoke to the commission.
“Uh oh,” he wrote, “another Working America chick…nice boots…I know she makes more than min wage.”
Then, he could no longer contain himself, and commented that, “she was hot enough to almost make me register democrat.”
More: New Mexico Republican Calls 19-Year-Old Girl Working for Fair Wages a ‘Radical Bitch’
Huff Post has Tweets and videos.
Bob Cornelius, the county Republican party’s former executive director, replied to Kush’s “nice boots” remark Tuesday by insinuating that Evans is a prostitute. “Maybe she uses those shoes to walk Central,” he wrote under Kush’s post, referring to a street that is notorious for prostitution. “Even in this economy she can exchange bumper cables for boots.”
Cornelius later deleted his post and apologized. “I’ve been thinking about my comment last night,” he wrote. “I did make that comment in jest & I do apologize to this lady for this off color comment. It’s not fair to her, and it was inappropriate for me to makes comments like that.”
Evans told HuffPost that she has accepted Cornelius’ apology but has not heard from Kush.
“We are disappointed by the attacks made through social media at yesterday’s county commission hearing,” she said. “Comments like those have no place in public discourse. We have received an apology from one offending party and have accepted it.”
The proposal being debated at the meeting Tuesday night passed by a vote of 3-2. The Bernalillo County minimum wage will increase from $7.50 to $8.50 per hour.
UPDATE: The Albuquerque Journal’s Dan McKay is reporting that Kush has been “suspended indefinitely without pay” for his social media posts.
Kush also apologized, telling McKay, “It was in ill-fated attempt at humor, on my personal page, not the county party’s page.”
