Republican congressman Ted Yoho (R-FL), who called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) a “bitch” recently opposed a federal law outlying the practice of lynching.
Yoho called the congresswoman, who recently won a landslide victory in the New York Democratic primary, a “fucking bitch” on the steps of the U.S. Capitol after she linked violent crime to the desperate situation created by the pandemic.
“Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues. We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote after the incident was reported. “But hey, “b*tches” get stuff done. 🤷🏽♀️”
The sexist slur was condemned by many, including several of Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow Democratic members of Congress.
Before he went on the attack against the popular Democrat, Rep. Yoho most recently made news for being one of the few in Congress to vote against a federal anti-lynching law.
The legislation, entitled The Emmett Till Antilynching Act was approved in a bipartisan vote of 410-4.
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy murdered in 1955 after a racist mob descended upon him and bludgeoned his body until it was unrecognizable. The killing is considered one of the seminal events in the formation of the modern Civil Rights movement.
Yoho justified his vote with the claim that the law is an “overreach of the federal government and tramples on states rights.” But even his fellow Republicans did not agree with his extremist position.
In addition to his controversial vote on such a key racial issue, Yoho also earned a “0” score from the Human Rights Campaign for his voting record against issues regarding LGBTQ rights and equality.
Yoho has been a stalwart defender of Donald Trump and announced in December 2019 he would not run for reelection in 2020.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.