Politics

Paul Ryan’s Democratic Challenger: Bristol Palin Should Sell Condoms

(REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo) and (Screenshot/MSNBC)

Font Size:

Randy Bryce, the Democratic challenger to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, has presented himself as a champion of women throughout his campaign. But Bryce is apparently fine with targeting women for offensive remarks — as long as they’re conservative women.

In 2015, Bryce mocked Bristol Palin, the oldest daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for getting pregnant and suggested she become a condom salesperson. Bryce tagged Bristol in a tweet, saying: “I’d suggest a career selling condoms instead of abstinence. Looking for help @TrojanCondoms?”

(Screenshot/Twitter)

Randy Bryce mocks Bristol Palin for getting pregnant (Screenshot/Twitter)

Bryce’s tweet came the day after Bristol announced in a blog post that she was pregnant with her second child. Bristol was not yet married at the time. (RELATED: NYT Uses GOP Shooting To Falsely Attack Sarah Palin With Debunked Conspiracy Theory)

“Honestly, I’ve been trying my hardest to keep my chin up on this one,” she wrote. “At the end of the day there’s nothing I can’t do with God by my side, and I know I am fully capable of handling anything that is put in front of me with dignity and grace. Life moves on no matter what. So no matter how you feel, you get up, get dressed, show up, and never give up. When life gets tough, there is no other option but to get tougher.”

Bryce’s attack on Bristol Palin presents a sharp contrast with his campaign image as a champion of women.

Screenshot/Twitter

Screenshot/Twitter

Screenshot/Twitter

Screenshot/Twitter

A spokesperson for Bryce’s campaign, Lauren Hitt, attributed Bryce’s crude tweet to being frustrated by a “culture of judgment and shame.”

“At the time of the tweet, Randy was very, very frustrated by the culture of judgement and shame pushed by some extreme representatives of the abstinence-only community, but he appreciates that responding in kind was not the right way to express that,” Hitt said.