Is it sexist to call a senator a “little girl”? Republican Carl Paladino, New York gubernatorial candidate, doesn’t think so. In fact, he has “no regrets” about calling N.Y. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand “Chuck Schumer’s little girl.”
When pressed on the issue on T.V., Paladino denied that his remarks were sexist and then simply walked out on the interview to avoid further questioning. Paladino insisted that he was simply referring to Gillibrand’s lack of a mind of her own when casting votes, although, as Irin points out at Jezebel, he could have chosen a number of other non-sexist adjectives in that case: “Pawn. Puppet. Pushover.” But he went with “Schumer’s little girl.” Degrading much?
Paladino has already received plenty of Change.org coverage for his various offensive acts: Forwarding emails with the phrase “Run n___ers, run” and depicting the Obamas as “pimp and whore.” Calling LGBTQ people “disgusting.” Saying we should imprison poor people to teach them “hygiene.”
It always seemed an unlikely pairing. Ted Olson, the conservative lawyer who defended President George W. Bush to decide the 2000 presidential election, now championing marriage equality in California’s Proposition 8 case, paired with David Boies, his opponent in Bush v. Gore. But Olson has another unlikely partner — his wife, Lady Booth Olson, also a lifelong Democrat.