Distinguished Maine State Rep. Ken Fredette accomplished the rare Two-For-One Lunacy maneuver yesterday by arguing against Medicaid Expansion by using blatant, ludicrous sexism. As reported by Steve Benen, following Democratic Rep. Linda Grayson's plea for accepting the funds, the gentleman from Newport, ME emerged from 1951 and made this statement:
"As I listen to the debate today and earlier debate on this bill, I can't help but think of a title of a book, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. And it's a book about the fact that men sort of think one way in their own brain, in their own world. And women think another way in their brain and in their own world. And it really talks about the way that men and women can do a better job at communicating.
"Because if you listen to the debate today, in my mind -- a man's mind -- I hear really two fundamental issues. From the other side of the aisle, I hear the conversation being about 'free. This is free, we need to take it, and it's free. And we need to do it now.' And that's the fundamental message that my brain receives. Now, my brain, being a man's brain, sort of thinks differently, because I say, 'Well, it's not -- if it's free, is it really free? Because I say, in my brain, there's a cost to this.'"
Maybe Fredette's brain is stuck in a time warp; maybe his brain doesn't know that there is no cost to Maine initially and minimal cost afterward. It's obvious his brain lacks whatever neurons produce empathy for uninsured, sick children, and there he's got plenty of Republican company. Fredette apologized later, but this was not a slip of the tongue gaffe.
So today's Cro-Magnon Legislator Award goes to the Honorable Ken Fredette.
(no time to google whether he's any relation to Jimmer Fredette of BYU and the Kings.)