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Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville blasted staffers who complained to The New York Times about working for former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola as she runs for the Senate.
The Times article headlined, “Angry Outbursts, Slurs and Firings: Tumult Rocks a Key Senate Campaign,” featured comments from former aides who described chaos in Peltola’s congressional office and Senate campaign as the Democrat hopes to flip a Republican seat.
“I want to react to a story I read in the New York Times concerning the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate from the state of Alaska,” Carville said in a brief video posted to the Politicon channel on Monday. “It would appear that we have some upset little staffers that she is not — when she’s under pressure — not nice to ‘em.”
“Of course, The New York Times didn’t understand when you’re in the middle of a political campaign, and you’re a candidate, and you’re under pressure, and you got everything coming in from everywhere, and you’re trying to raise money, and you’re trying to fend off attacks, and you’re trying to do this, maybe you don’t have time to be overly courteous to little pussified staffers that just — they — ‘I want my name and my humanity,’” he continued.
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Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville blasted former staffers of a Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska for complaining about how they were treated. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Amazon Studios)
“I got news for you. When I ran campaigns, you didn’t have a f—in’ name until you did something,” Carville said. “‘Hey, you, come over here! Do this! Do what the f— you’re told and shut up!’ And you know what? Then, when you achieve something, or you do something, then you get a name. But until that, in politics, you don’t have a name. Go do something else. Go be a social worker. They’ll give you a name right away!”
“Now, if somebody does something obviously dehumanizing or overly rude, then that’s one thing,” Carville added, juxtaposing that with “Telling people to go get coffee for you or calling them by, ‘Hey, you.’ Everybody wants a pronoun. Well, I’ll give you a pronoun. ‘You’ or ‘a–hole come over here.’”
He went on to mock various demands that employees might have, replying, “Well s–t, that’s why we lose.”
He also suggested that female political candidates are scrutinized more heavily when accused of lashing out at staffers.
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Alaska US Senate candidate Mary Peltola faced numerous allegations from former staffers in a New York Times piece. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu)
“Why don’t we just call every female candidate for everything a goddamn b—–? You’d save time,” he said.
“But let’s stop this nonsense that everybody that works in politics is all equal and everybody’s opinion needs to be respected, and it doesn’t matter,” he said, calling it “nonsense.”
“But do me a favor. If you, if you’re that f—in’ delicate, if you’re that much of a some kind of a honeysuckle, whatever it is, go do something else with your life,” he added. “You’re too weak. You’re too soft.”
After predicting that he would be criticized by far-left media outlets, Carville emphasized his message was directed at the Democratic staffers listening.
“But all — every — to every staffer on every Democratic campaign, on every — anything: just put your head down, work your a– off and save the country and f— your feelings,” he said.
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Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville argued that women do indeed face a double-standard for being tough in the workplace in the same way men are, and quipped, “Why don’t we just call every female candidate for everything a goddamn b—–? You’d save time.” (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SCAD)
Democratic strategist and pollster Doug Schoen spoke to Fox News Digital about how working in politics absolutely requires a “thick skin,” but said that the allegations against Peltola were troubling.
“He is absolutely right regarding the intensity of political campaigns,” he said. “Working on a race is hard, and it is tense, and therefore a thick skin is definitely a plus. While it is absolutely inappropriate and wrong for a candidate to act as Peltola has been alleged to have acted, I don’t believe the allegations, however serious, will affect the outcome of the Alaska Senate election. This is an election that is a referendum on Donald Trump and his governance first and foremost.”
Former RNC national spokesperson Elizabeth Pipko agreed that the life of a campaign staffer is not for the faint of heart, and it becomes an absolute crucible as the election draws near.
“Criticisms of Peltola aside, I do agree with Carville when it comes to campaign life and intensity,” she said. “He is 100% correct about how cut-throat campaigns can be, and I’m sure how cut-throat they were back when he was working on them and before our culture changed as dramatically as it has.”
“Campaigns are full of surprises, usually bad ones, meaning you never know what you’re walking into,” Pipko continued. “The closer you get to Election Day, the less you eat or sleep. And the high-stakes atmosphere usually gets the best of folks that aren’t able to compartmentalize their feelings and their thoughts, or who simply don’t have the stamina to keep up with how ruthless a campaign cycle can be. Campaign life is not for the faint of heart. In fact, I’d argue campaign life is not for most people, and that’s OK.”
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Fox News Digital contacted Peltola and The New York Times for comment but did not immediately receive responses.