McCain Cancels Event Over Fundraiser's Rape Remarks

WASHINGTON — Questions from the media prompted Republican John McCain to cancel a fundraiser at the home of a Texas oilman who once joked that women should give in while being raped.

The Texan, Republican Clayton "Claytie" Williams, made the joke during his failed 1990 campaign for governor against Democrat Ann Richards. Williams compared rape to the weather, saying, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." He also compared Richards to the cattle on his ranch, saying he would "head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt."

Williams' comments made national news at the time and remain easy to find on the Internet. Even so, McCain's campaign said it hadn't known about the remarks.

"These were obviously incredibly offensive remarks that the campaign was unaware of at the time it was scheduled," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said. "It's positive that he did apologize at the time, but the comments are nonetheless offensive."

The campaign said it would not return money Williams had raised for McCain because the contributions came from other individuals supporting McCain and not from Williams. Williams told his hometown newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram, that he had raised more than $300,000 for McCain.

The Washington Post said the campaign, when it initially was contacted by the Post and ABC News, questioned why the story was newsworthy; later in the day, the campaign canceled the fundraiser, which had been scheduled for Monday.

The flap comes as McCain's campaign reaches out to women and to backers of Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton. McCain began a women-focused outreach effort in recent days, sending a well-known female supporter, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, to campaign in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

And Republicans have criticized McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, for failing to vet an adviser, Jim Johnson, who resigned when questions about his home mortgage deals involving Countrywide Financial Corp. became a distraction for Obama. McCain had accused Obama of hypocrisy for speaking out against Countrywide's role in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Richards defeated Williams to serve one term as Texas governor; she lost re-election in 1994 to George W. Bush. Richards died in 2006 after a battle with esophageal cancer.

Comments

[aspertame2]

It is not just about the next four years. "Revenge for Hillary" will cost Supreme Court Seats. We preserved Habeus Corpus by a hair this time. Justice Scalia has shown himself to detest and be contemptuous of that which he is supposed to uphold. (Okay, maybe that's a little rough - he probably sees it as his job to uphold God's Will on Earth Through His Living Representative GWB. And he's doing his best at that.)

It's so NOT just Roe vs. Wade. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of preserving that precedent, mind, but when you are talking to a population beyond "the choir", you need to point out what ELSE is at risk. I think right now with a congress that seems constitutionally incapable of growing a pair as regards this President, the Supreme Court is our Republic's last hope for preservation.

[wndrwrthg]

I had originally posted this the other day and it was removed, not only from this story but from my profile page. I do not remember it word for word but here is the gist of it.
How long are we going to hold someones words or deeds against them? If they have apologized, payed their debt to society or fallen on their sword, how long will we continue to vilify them? If they have made reprehensable comments in the past and apologized and have not repeated these or made others in the intervening years, should we not let it go? At what point does a person get to rehabilatate themselves? If deeds and words are going to be used against someone in perpetuity, why should they apologize or feel guilt or shame? At some point, providing that the person has changed, we must stop this game of gotcha.

[thepoliticalcat]

What evidence is there that Claytie has rehabilitated himself? Where is the evidence that he has apologized? "Head her and hoof her" sounds pretty nasty and brutal.

[thepoliticalcat]

Apparently, innocuous comments such as these deserve the admin's heavy hand:

What evidence is there that Claytie has rehabilitated himself? Where is the evidence that he has apologized? "Head her and hoof her" sounds pretty nasty and brutal.

But not comments about Claytie getting "serviced" at bordertown bordellos. Really, moderators, what gives?

[vitasackvillewesttexas]

clayton also bragged about his trips to border towns to "get serviced" when he was a young man. our beloved ann richards quipped "perhaps you'd better try self service, claytie". priceless.

[condew]

I think it had more to do with money than offense; if turnout had been sufficient, McCain would not have canceled.

[tinarm]

Well, apparently McCain said in an internet interview that hopefully by the end of his first term he would try to add more women. Excuse me, at the end, how about if you win you old jerk, you start out with more women? Sexism, that is sexism at its purest form. McCain equals 1950. The man has not recognized the world and its citizens have moved on without him.

[JamieStarr]

Gee --

I can't imagine why he didn't win. Seems like a charming fellow.

[martiniano]

"Williams' comments made national news at the time and remain easy to find on the Internet. Even so, McCain's campaign said it hadn't known about the remarks."

Right, because those old bstards haven't figured out how to use the internets.

[chiboy]

It was also in McClellan's book, "What Happened".

[Shozen]

Canceling an event that should never have been organized to begin with.

Big whoop.

[JaseAllen]

I remember the comment from 1990. It was around the time I was just old enough to vote and started paying attention to politics. It was the first time I was outraged by a politician's statement. My reaction and comment are the same to this day: Does he feel his own WIFE or MOTHER should enjoy being raped? Does he think HE should enjoy getting raped by another man?? What a sicko!

[XME]

This is where McCain runs into trouble trying to label Obama based on his associations.

With the tables turned, we should assume that McCain thinks NOTHING of women...he certainly didn't of his ex-wife who waited for him while he was a POW.

[thepoliticalcat]

That's the best possible reply to the crazy people who want to vote for McCain to punish the Democratic party for not nominating Hillary.

He dumped his loyal, older, crippled wife for a rich heiress nearly half her age. That's feminism, that is!

[XME]

Clinton supporters who are angry that she didn't win the nomination need to think long and hard before backing John McCain out of nothing more than spite.

John McCain is relying on that old saying: "Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned."

[fightoffyourdemons]

Yeah, and the Obama campaign is the sexist one.

[riverhouse]

Email M*Cain's senate email address and his campaign and complain. He's out for H*llary's women voters. They should be out protesting his events instead of threatening to vote for him.

[drblack]

McCain will symbolically rape women's rights if he is President.
All you women had better be ready to Obey if you vote McCain.

[thepoliticalcat]

He voted against a bill to fund breast cancer screening.

[Driver125]

Come on, John. If you keep holding everybody to these impossibly high standards who are you going to have left to donate money to your campaign?