Wisconsin Republican (and Ryan Endorsee): 'Some Girls Rape Easy'

Rep. Paul Ryan and State Rep. Roger Rivard in August at a Rivard fundraiser

[Cross-posted at Crooks and Liars.]

Ah, there's nothing like that ongoing Republican outreach to "minorities" who vote against them en masse, such as Latinos and LGBT folk. And women. Especially women.

Like this Republican legislator from Wisconsin:

Freshman Rep. Roger Rivard (R-Rice Lake) in December discussed a case with the Chetek Alert newspaper in which a 17-year-old high school senior was charged with sexual assault for having sex with an underage girl in the school's band room.

The newspaper quoted him as saying his father warned him, "Some girls rape easy" - meaning that after the fact they can change what they say about whether sex was consensual. On Wednesday, Rivard told the Journal Sentinel that the article did not provide full context of his comments and that his father's exact words had been slightly different from how they appeared in the Chetek Alert.

He told the Journal Sentinel that his father had advised him not to have premarital sex, and he took that seriously.

"He also told me one thing, 'If you do (have premarital sex), just remember, consensual sex can turn into rape in an awful hurry,' " Rivard said. "Because all of a sudden a young lady gets pregnant and the parents are madder than a wet hen and she's not going to say, 'Oh, yeah, I was part of the program.' All that she has to say or the parents have to say is it was rape because she's underage. And he just said, 'Remember, Roger, if you go down that road, some girls,' he said, 'they rape so easy.'

"What the whole genesis of it was, it was advice to me, telling me, 'If you're going to go down that road, you may have consensual sex that night and then the next morning it may be rape.' So the way he said it was, 'Just remember, Roger, some girls, they rape so easy. It may be rape the next morning.'

"So it's been kind of taken out of context."

About three hours after speaking to the Journal Sentinel, Rivard issued a written statement that he said was meant to further clarify his points.

"Sexual assault is a crime that unfortunately is misunderstood and my comments have the potential to be misunderstood as well," his statement said. "Rape is a horrible act of violence. Sexual assault unfortunately often goes unreported to police. I have four daughters and three granddaughters and I understand the importance of making sure that awareness of this crime is taken very seriously."

Oh yes, he takes it very seriously. And when a woman reports a rape, no doubt his first question is: "Was it legitimate rape?"

And boy howdy, what do you know? This same Roger Rivard was the beneficiary of a public endorsement and fundraising visit by none other than Rep. Paul Ryan, at the very time that Ryan was waiting around to hear whether or not he was going to be Mitt Romney's running mate.

And boy howdy, was it a warm endorsement:

U.S. Congressman and vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan endorsed the candidacy of State Rep. Roger Rivard during a breakfast buffet held at The Shinako Lodge & Event Center in Turtle Lake on August 9. Ryan introduced Assemblyman Rivard to the citizens of his newly defined 75th Assembly District which now includes the town of Clear Lake in Polk County, the town of Forest in St. Croix County, and New Haven in Dunn County.

Congressman Ryan stated, “Roger needs to be reaffirmed to get this job done and fix the state of Wisconsin.” The Congressman emphasized the support Rivard provided Gov. Scott Walker who took Wisconsin from a $3.6 billion deficit into a $300 million surplus, kept Wisconsin’s unemployment rate around 6.7 percent, and prevented WEA Trust from pilfering millions of tax dollars by over-charging for healthcare benefits, Ryan said.

I'm sure we'll get a statement from Ryan later today expressing his "disappointment" with Rivard's remarks and completely disavowing him now. You know, the usual kabuki. Something to give the shrinking ranks of Republican women a fig leaf.