It’s all starting to make sense. In continuing to deny that he assigned his former aide, Brent Furer to be his point man on women’s issues after Furer was charged with domestic violence, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) now says it’s all a big misunderstanding. Furer’s job, it turns out, had nothing to do with women at all.
If, like Vitter, you don’t count abortion as a woman’s issue, that is.
After his uncomfortable candidate filing event yesterday in Baton Rouge, Vitter faced the press again — this time in Alexandria, where reporters again asked him why Furer’s portfolio included women’s issues. According to Vitter, “he handled issues including abortion issues, including several other issues, but not women’s affairs.”
It’s difficult to say whether Vitter’s parsing here, or whether we’re getting a candid conservative view that abortion is not in fact a woman’s issue.
Furer was arrested for attacking a girlfriend with a knife in 2008, but Vitter nevertheless kept him on staff for two years until the altercation was publicized, at which point he was ousted, supposedly for failing to disclose unrelated DUI charges.
Watch:
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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