Fredette's Sexist Comments

Today on the House floor, Minority Leader Ken Fredette (R – Newport) declared that he and most of his Republican caucus oppose accepting federal funds to expand health care coverage because of a difference in the ways people of different genders think. He cited the book Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus and claimed that his "man's brain" was more concerned with costs while Democrats just want to get things for free.

"From the other side of the aisle I hear the conversation being about 'free this is free, we need to take it and it's free and we need to do it now' and that's sort of the fundamental message that my brain receives," said Fredette. "Now, my brain being a man's brain sort of thinks differently, because I say, well, it's not if it's free is it really free because I say in my brain there's a cost to this."

"This isn't about women and men; it’s about life and death. Fredette would probably say that I only think this way because of my 'woman's brain,' but I find it incredibly distasteful for him to use offensive, gender-based stereotypes to advance his anti-health care agenda," said Maine People’s Alliance Health Care Organizer Jennie Pirkl. "What’s more, he's lying about the bill. Even the conservative Heritage Foundation admits that accepting federal health care funding will save the state $690 million over the next decade while providing health care coverage for 70,000 more Maine people."