GOP Rep Dave Brat Compares Inmate’s Challenges to Dem Rival’s Ad Campaign: ‘How Do You Think I’m Feeling?’
Congressman Dave Brat (R-VA) has a very odd way of expressing his empathy for inmates who struggle with reintegrating into society upon release from prison.
NPR reporter Ben Paviour recently received some audio that was recorded when Brat visited Chesterfield County Jail to speak with incarcerated drug addicts. Brat used much of his time to talk with the inmates about various aspects of law enforcement and criminal justice reform, but at one point, a woman shared her concerns with him about how she’ll maintain a job and stability in her life at the end of her sentence.
That’s when Brat seemed to compare her issues with the political competition he’s facing from Democrat Abigail Spanberger.
An odd moment from @DaveBratVA7th's visit to an addiction support group at Chesterfield County Jail: After an inmate describes some of the difficulties she'd face upon release, Brat says his life isn't all roses either, pointing to attack ads from @SpanbergerVA07 pic.twitter.com/uVDW4jsAhs
— Ben Paviour (@BPaves) October 18, 2018
“You think you’re having a hard time – I’ve got $5 million worth of negative ads coming at me. How do you think I’m feeling? Nothing’s easy for anybody. You think ‘I’m a congressman, Oh, life’s easy, this guy’s off having steaks every day.’ Baloney. I’ve got a daughter, she’s got to deal with that crap on TV every day. So it’s tough. No one out there’s got some easy life.”
To Brat’s credit, he did eventually acknowledge that the inmate might have a tougher lot in life than what he’s dealing with right now, saying “you’ve got it harder, I’m not dismissing that. You’ve got some fierce, real anxiety with coming up with a job or whatever.”
Listen above.
[Image via screengrab]
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