Republican Jokes Obama Supporters ‘Mentally Retarded’
Published at
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(PITTSBURGH) — Pennsylvania GOP official Jim Roddey is apologizing for making a joke calling President Obama supporters “mentally retarded.”
Roddey, chairman of the Allegheny County Republican Party, is being dogged by a joke he made while emceeing at Rep. Randy Vulakovich’s election night victory party Tuesday night. While warming up the crowd, which was put on in honor of Vulakovich’s win in a special election to fill a vacated state Senate seat, Roddey congratulated Vulakovich on his margin of victory.
And then, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roddey recounted a situation which he said “embarrassed” him.
“I was in this parking lot and there was a man looking for a space to park, and I found a space for him. And I felt badly. He looked like he was sort of in distress. And I said, ‘Sir, here’s a place.’ And he said, ‘That’s a handicapped space.’ I said, ‘Oh I’m so sorry, I saw that Obama sticker and I thought you were mentally retarded,” Roddey reportedly told the room of 300 people.
While his joke was received with applause at the time, controversy erupted as soon as the Post-Gazette publicized the incident on Aug. 7. Local Democratic Chairwoman Nancy Mills went so far as to ask for Roddey’s resignation.
In a comment today, Roddey called his remarks “regrettable.”
“I have a long record of supporting people with disabilities and should have remembered that before I spoke,” he said. “My remarks were inappropriate and I apologize.” He also indicated that he had no intentions of resigning, calling Mills’ remarks “also regrettable.”
Roddey was criticized by Spread the Word to End the Word, an advocacy group that raises consciousness about using words like “retard” and “retarded.”
Roddey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio