'Vote this guy out': Hot mic leak lands Republican in trouble
A hot mic landed a Minnesota Republican in hot water Friday when leaked audio of a controversial comment went viral and spread across his state.
State Sen. Calvin Bahr was caught chastising pregnant women disturbed by the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision that denied their constitutional right to an abortion, the local news outlet Heartland Signal reported Friday.
"The Supreme Court actually ruled correctly and it drives Democrats nuts because 'what do you mean we can't kill our own babies?" he says. "If you're gonna party, you gotta pay the consequences."
The report notes the last time a Bahr scandal made headlines was when he voted virtually on a bill wearing no shirt and in front a "Schoolhouse Rock" backdrop.
The latest audio caused an uproar as it spread across social media Friday.
On Democracy podcaster Fred Wellman referenced findings that show more than 64,000 women have become pregnant by rapists in states with total abortion bans since the Supreme Court ruled against the procedure in 2022.
Minnesota is not among states with such bans — it guarantees women the right to abortion under its constitution.
"This misogynist POS can f--- off into the sun," Wellman wrote.
"Last I checked, men have something to do with pregnancy," wrote political scientist Miranda Yaver. "But it's not like his party preaches about personal responsibility, right?"
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"Republicans in Minnesota and all over the country looking to punish women with jail or the death penalty for having an abortion," wrote actor Bruno Amato.
"I don't understand," wrote X user Catherine Rosa-Baker. "If his mistress goes out and parties he's still going to have to pay in child support then."
"Women of Minnesota, vote this guy OUT," wrote Courtney Larsen. "That's like saying 'If you go to a political rally . . . and get shot . . . you got to pay the consequences.' You knew the risk. You went anyway."