GOP leader in North Carolina regrets what he called women who marched in Washington

The chairman of Union County Republican Party said Monday he would remove a Facebook post in which he referred to this month’s Women’s March in Washington as “the hag and ho’ show.”

Roger Stanton said he wrote the post after an encounter with some of the Washington protesters.

“I absolutely do wish I had expressed it in a different way,” he told the Observer, adding that the post “was not reflective” of his usual tone.

Stanton, a member of the Union County planning board, was in Washington for President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. He encountered some of the protesters after lunch the following day. He said he was also incensed by Madonna’s speech to protesters in which she said she “thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.”

“I think a lot of us are saying things we wouldn’t typically say,” Stanton said. “The extreme views are beginning to come out.

“Emotions are taking over. And when emotions drive conversations it seldom drives positive results. And my comments in that post are a perfect example.”

N.C. Democratic Party spokesman Mike Gwin called Stanton’s comments part of a “disturbing trend.”

“Instead of mocking and dismissing the tens of thousands of North Carolinians who marched last week, maybe Stanton should listen to their very real concerns about ensuring equal pay, protecting access to affordable health care, and a host of other issues,” Gwin said.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 11:21 AM with the headline "GOP leader in North Carolina regrets what he called women who marched in Washington."