Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY) is criticizing the Democratic Party for enthusiastically rallying behind Vice President Kamala Harris as its likely nominee, saying she is a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hire.
“I think she’s one of the weakest candidates I’ve ever seen in the history of our country,” Hageman said in a video clip posted online by Gray DC’s Josh Rultenberg. “I mean, intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel.”
And that’s not sitting well with the Wyoming Democratic Party. They are demanding the lone representative from the Cowboy State immediately and sincerely apologize for using that label as a slur against the Vice President.
Hageman hit Harris over her stance on immigration and “failure” to handle the influx of migrants crossing the country’s southern border.
“I think it’s just a failure from top to bottom,” Hageman said. “I think she was a DEI hire and I think that that’s what we’re seeing, and I just don’t think that they have anybody else. I just think that they’re in real disarray.”
In an emailed statement to The Hill, Hageman pointed to a 2019 rally where President Biden said he was considering a person of color and a woman to be his running mate.
“Joe Biden himself said he preferred a Vice President based on their race and gender. Kamala Harris is more liberal than Bernie Sanders– she wants to ban fracking and offshore drilling, take away consumer choice to eat meat, turn illegal immigration into a civil offense – all things not in line with the people of Wyoming or the country as a whole,” Hageman’s statement said.
Hageman is among several GOP lawmakers who have cited Harris’s gender and race in arguing that she is unqualified.
“It took only three days for Harriet Hageman to disgrace herself on national television by launching a reprehensible and racist attack on Vice President Kamala Harris. [Hageman’s] baseless and offensive remarks, suggesting that Vice President Harris is stupid, unqualified, and a ‘DEI hire,’ are not only false but also represent the thread of racism that has become common among right-wing extremists.”
The Wyoming Democratic Party, in their media release, points to Harris’ distinguished record and successful career as a prosecutor, as well as an advocate for justice, including holding the highest office of any woman in the country’s history.
They also question Hageman’s use of the label, as calling her a “DEI hire” doesn’t “reflect the values of Wyoming or its residents. By spewing such harmful rhetoric, she has embarrassed her constituents and tarnished the reputation of our state on a national level.”
This behavior is inexcusable, so say the Wyoming Democratic Party, but it also “stands in stark contrast to the principles of respect and equality that Wyomingites hold dear.”
The Wyoming Dems are demanding that Hageman “issue a full and sincere apology for her appalling behavior. Her comments are a stain on our political landscape, and she must take responsibility.”
