Upstate GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik demanded the Albany Times Union retract what she called a “heinous and wildly inappropriate” blog post that mocked her for being “childless.”
The blog post, which has since been pulled but still exists on co-author Lale Davidson’s Facebook page, is described as a “work of fiction” and recounts Stefanik supposedly reading to first-graders at a local school.
“I see that there are only a few of you in class today, and I just want to assure you that there is nothing to be afraid of. That’s why I am not wearing a mask. Because Kung Flu is a socialist hoax, a term that will mean more to you when you grow up and have children of your own,” read the posting titled “Storytime with Elise Stefanik.”
“I myself am childless because I am a rising star in the Republican Party, and family planning is possible by way of the contraception paid for by my excellent taxpayer-provided healthcare plan,” the posting ranted on.
Stefanik, 36, and her husband, Matt Manda, shot back in a statement on her Twitter account Monday.
“As a young couple, we have developed a thick skin over many years as we have become accustomed to repeated sexist smears in media coverage. However, the Times Union’s decision to publish an article that mocked us as ‘childless’ is a new low and is truly heinous and wildly inappropriate,” Stefanik said.
“The shameful statement is not only inherently sexist, but also hateful, abusive, and heartless. The Times Union publisher, editors, and staff have clearly let the paper’s standards sink so low that they have chosen to embrace sexist scum and content under the masthead. They should be ashamed,” she continued.
“We not only require a complete retraction, but we also demand an immediate public apology and explanation as to how this was allowed to be published in the Times Union and who will be held responsible and accountable,” Stefanik said, adding that she and her husband are “grateful to the thousands of constituents who have encouraged and prayed for us over the years.”
“Like millions of families, we hope and pray that we will be blessed by becoming parents,” she said.
The blog post also taunted Stefanik for voting against certifying the Electoral College results on Jan. 6 after a mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and entered the Senate chambers and briefly interrupted the vote.
Five people died in the mayhem, including a Capitol Police officer who died of his wounds defending the building.
”When all the scary people had been gently escorted out of the Capitol after taking selfies with police officers they hadn’t killed, Elise went right back in and voted to overturn the nasty rigged election, which is all the good people storming the Capitol had wanted,” the posting said.
The article was penned by Davidson, who teaches fiction at SUNY Adirondack and is a “lifestyle blogger” for the Times Union, and Peter Marino.
Davidson did not immediately return a request for comment.
”The Times Union has for years hosted a series of community-generated blogs covering a range of topics. They are not edited by Times Union staff, but are expected to meet a set of civility guidelines. A post that recently appeared on one of these sites was brought to our attention, and, upon our review, we felt it did not meet those guidelines. We pulled it down immediately along with all earlier posts on that blog,” Casey Seiler, editor and vice president of the Times Union, said in a statement to The Post.