Shea-Porter Criticized For Comments At Town Hall

U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., is coming under fire from political rivals for some things she said at a town hall meeting in Manchester on Saturday.

Shea-Porter’s office said she was trying to use some humor when she said some women in Congress believe the men are holding up health care reform. But not everyone is laughing.

“We go to the ladies room, the Republican women and the Democratic women, and we just roll our eyes at what’s being said out there,” Shea-Porter said. “And the Republican women said when we were fighting over the health care bill, ‘If we sent the men home, we could get this done this weekend.'”

The line was followed by laughter from the crowd, and Shea-Porter’s office said the comments were meant to be tongue-in-cheek. But it hasn’t taken long for the male Republican candidates vying for her seat in November to go on the offensive

Frank Guinta called the remarks inappropriate.

“She’s got to be focusing on solving the problems that our nation is facing, and the reality is she’s still supporting a health care plan that New Hampshire and the country opposes,” Guinta said.

Candidate Bob Bestani referred to the comments as arrogant, particularly the part where she said, “Every single woman there has been responsible for taking care of her mother, her husband’s mother, her children, her sister’s children, her brother’s children, and so we think we could find some common ground there.”

“She also implied there that men don’t care about families, they don’t take care of their families, that it has to be women who take care of their families — I think that’s wholly unfair,” Bestani said.

Shea-Porter’s office released a statement about the comments:

“When Congresswoman Shea-Porter mentioned what the Republican Congresswoman had said, both men and women at the Town Hall laughed, because they knew the women were speaking lightly and with humor.”

Monday afternoon, a group of nine Republican congresswomen released a joint statement saying they disagree with what Shea-Porter said and that the conversation she referenced did not include them.
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