Uh-Oh: NCDP Comm’s Director Under Fire For Lewd Tweets

RALEIGH – In the “old days” people’s young and dumb moments were pushed into that unknown space where lost socks from the laundry go. These days those similarly young and dumb people document their antics for posterity.

It seems the communications director for the North Carolina Democratic Party was fond of making lewd and misogynistic comments on Twitter when he was younger.

From A.P. Dillon:

“Oh. My. According to the NC Insider, the spokesman for the NC Democratic Party has some seriously disgusting and misogynistic tweets. Yes, I have the screenshots.

First, the screenshots:

More recently, Howard has been hammering N.C. Republicans for their support of Supreme Court nominee Judge Kavanaugh amid unfounded smears regarding sexual assault (We’re sure you’ve heard about that), shaming them for supporting such an anti-woman monster as he jumped on the Left’s crazy train.

“No Republican legislator has spoken out against Kavanaugh since the allegations became public … Tarte said in an interview that he does not regret signing the letter” #ncpol #ncga https://t.co/ULM4cEnKSv

— Robert Howard (@RobertWHoward) September 28, 2018

NC Democrats believe women, and thank them for being courageous enough to come forward. Courage is contagious.

Tell these GOP members who support Kavanaugh that you believe women too #ncpol #ncga https://t.co/6SUtmQf1RI

— Robert Howard (@RobertWHoward) September 27, 2018

As we watch this courageous woman testify, remember that nearly all Republicans in #NCGA signed onto a letter in support of Kavanaugh #ncpol https://t.co/SlPXpysgzj

— Robert Howard (@RobertWHoward) September 27, 2018

Now, people say stupid things when they’re young and stupid. Democrats say stupid things regarding politics all the time. We won’t act like Robert Howard is some sort of monster for having tweeted these unfunny, borderline offensive things about women and others.

BUT, the hypocrisy is astounding. Imagine if such comments were uncovered of a top communications person for the NCGOP? Robert Howard himself would be issuing talking points about how that person was unfit for such a role, that they are the worst kind of sexist scum, and that in the #metoo era this kind of thinking, no matter how long ago it was, or what context it was in, is completely unacceptable. Fire him, the Democrats would say. They’d doubtless use it as a campaign issue to paint Republicans as anti-woman.

So how has the N.C. Democratic Party responded? Well, luckily Dillon got a hold of a some NC INSIDER quotes concerning just that.

““I made these comments when I was young and dumb and trying — unsuccessfully — to be a comedian. That doesn’t excuse them, and I’m deeply embarrassed and apologetic. They do not in any way reflect my current views,” Howard said in an email to the Insider. NCDP Executive Director Kimberly Reynolds, in a statement to the Insider, said Howard has apologized for the tweets to her and NCDP Chairman Wayne Goodwin and that they had accepted his apology. “The insensitive tweets that recently surfaced predate Robert’s time with the NCDP,” Reynolds said. “I was disappointed to read them but knowing Robert as I do, I know they do not genuinely reflect who he is today,” her statement said.

Catherine Whiteford, a Republican candidate for House District 34, said it was “upsetting and confusing” that the tweets weren’t found during a basic screening process. “While I’m sure everyone has said something that they didn’t mean, it’s upsetting and confusing that the NCDP wouldn’t even do a basic screening process to find this, or potentially worse, they did and didn’t care,” Whiteford said. “The language in these tweets is offensive and inappropriate. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, I would think that the NCDP would take even more care to have the people who represent them be someone that women wouldn’t be ashamed of.” (Lauren Horsch, THE INSIDER, 10/04/18)”

You can read the rest of Dillon’s scoop from the NC INSIDER here.

(What is interesting is that the NC INSIDER reporter here, Ms. Horsch, has been hot on the trail of sexual harassment and the like among the honorables on Jones Street. The idea was very likely to catch Republicans doing wrong by women and training the #metoo fire upon them, but so far the ‘catch’ has included one Democratic state lawmaker, Duane Hall, that faced allegations of sexual assault, and now the communications director for the N.C. Democratic Party. Doh! To Ms. Horsch’s credit she still covers the stories.)

Now, consider the contrast between Howard’s and the Democrats’ vicious treatment of these issues when the targets are on the Right, and how incredibly gracious they are when the culprits happen to be on their side.

They should be taken seriously on these issues at all because it is clear that they do not actually care. The only thing they care about is political wins at all costs.