We now have an edition of one of our occasional features. This one is called Unintentional Humor, where something not intended to be funny, just is.On October 10, New Hampshire state Rep. Steve Vaillancourt put up an obnoxious post - "obnoxious" in this case being short for "obviously noxious" - in which he called US Rep. Ann Kuster "ugly as sin" and compared her - unfavorably - to drag queens.
His excuse for this exercise in misogyny is an old study that he remembered or came across or something, which said a good-looking candidate can have a five-to-seven point advantage over a less-attractive candidate of the same gender. The science is actually weak and is rebutted by experience - that is, by analyses of actual elections, not by looking at photographs in laboratory experiments - but that's not what makes this funny.
Nor is the fun found in the fact that his comments were so outrageous that even the person supposed to benefit by the comparison, Kuster's opponent, Marilinda Garcia, said they "are sexist and have absolutely no place in political discourse," although that helps.No, the real humor, the unintentional humor, is that Steve Vaillancourt, the guy who hopes voters judge candidates by their looks, is this guy.
Sources cited in links:
http://www.nhinsider.com/rep-steve-vaillancourt/2014/10/10/if-looks-really-matter-where-does-that-leave-kustergarcia-ra.html
http://miscellanyblue.com/post/99855292987
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/steve-vaillancourt-ann-kuster_n_5977090.html
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