Republican congressman Ted Yoho refuses to apologize after calling AOC a "fucking bitch"

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) was overheard calling Democratic colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) a "fucking bitch". He refused to apologize Wednesday, saying instead that "I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, or my country."

"[He] Does not apologize or name any action he did," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter, "This is not an apology. ... He didnt even say my name."

Yoho also insinuated that he hadn't even said the remarks, saying that "The offensive name calling, words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding."

Numerous staffers reportedly overheard the remarks. Some outlets, such as CNN and ABC News, reported Yoho's statement as an apology, but most noted that it was obviously nothing of the sort.

Inae Oh:

Its hard to tell exactly whats going on here. One stab at an explanation could see Yoho attempting to thread the needle between calling Ocasio-Cortex a fucking bitch to her face and mumbling the sexist slur as he slunk away from the encounter. But we all know that meaningful contrition doesnt usually rely on obscure denial and the heavy use of the passive voice.

Expect such abusive language to become normal from Republicans and their media allies, justified with a doublethinking rhetoric of free speech rights and denial. It won't stop them crying about civility when attacked, but it will quicken the sorting of America into people dumb or gross enough to go along with it and people who want something else out of politics. Read the rest