In a week that feels particularly dire, we shouldn’t let any political wins go uncelebrated. And the people of Michigan, along with Democrats and anyone who is anti-creep, just saw a big win.
Numerous states had primaries this week, along with some special elections. In Michigan, a Democrat named Carol Glanville won her special election for a state House seat that had only ever been held by Republicans. That on its own is stunning, but what makes it even better is that her Republican opponent, who was favored to win, is an exceptional piece of human garbage.
Robert Regan has said a lot of really despicable things. He’s pushed conspiracy theories justifying (celebrating, really) Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, railed against COVID-19 vaccines, and he’s said that parts of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol were “staged.”
Last year, he posted a meme to Facebook that manages to be racist, misogynistic, and antisemitic all at once.
“Feminism is only applied against white men, because it has absolutely nothing to do with protecting women as a sex or defending the feelings of individual women,” reads the meme, according to the Detroit Free Press. “It is a Jewish program to degrade and subjugate white men.”
But probably the worst thing he or maybe any political candidate in recent years said came after Regan narrowly won his primary in March. Speaking on a virtual panel with other local Republicans about baseless 2020 election fraud conspiracies, Regan tried his hand at what I hope was just a horrific metaphor.
“Having three daughters, and I tell my daughters, ‘Well if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it,'” Regan said, adding, “That’s not how we roll, that’s not how I won this election. We go right at it.”
What an absolutely monstrous thing to say. Even worse (maybe?? Can it get worse??) is the implication that a political election is more important—more worth fighting—than sexual assault.
West Michigan values of integrity, decency, and care for the common good won tonight. The people of the 74th District have spoken, and I hear you. We are united in fundamental ways, and I will take our values and concerns to the Capitol to affect positive change. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/V1fCaRShFG
— Carol Glanville (@caglanville) May 4, 2022
“West Michigan values of integrity, decency, and care for the common good won tonight,” Glanville tweeted Tuesday night after it became clear she had won in a landslide. She also told the Washington Post that her win was a sign that people are fed up with right-wing extremism.
“We showed that Republican extremism has no home in Michigan,” she told the outlet. “The big takeaway from all this is that people are tired of radicalism and conspiracy theories.”
Let’s hope so.
(via Detroit Free Press, image: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
