In the New Hampshire legislature today, Republican State Representative Steve Vaillancourt was tossed from the chamber for shouting “Sieg Heil” and waving — or not waving — his hand in a Nazi salute. Vaillancourt was objecting to limitations on debate over a voter ID bill.
The chamber then formed an apology committee to help him regret his mistake. From the local Concord Patch:
“As I was saying before, I cannot apologize for anything I did not do,” Vaillancourt said. “But I do apologize for using two German words, which I understand has negative ramifications when three Latin words would have been better. I will never use a German word again.”
As Vaillancourt received a smattering of applause and returned to his seat, the committee huddled with O’Brien and determined that the apology wasn’t acceptable.
Vaillancourt did eventually offer up an apology that worked. It mentioned “inflammatory German words which can have offensive connotation,” according to a report tweeted by Republican State Representative Jon Richardson.
In other New Hampshire news, House Republicans brought back legislation for a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion. Today, the chamber also revived a measure that would allow religious institutions not to offer insurance coverage for contraception. You can find that one here, attached to a bill about delegates for a constitutional convention — search for “2012-2215h.” (Image: The apology committee meets with Representative Vaillancourt, in white shirt. Pic tweeted by Representative Richardson.) UPDATE: James Carter did the good deed of going through tape of the proceedings and culling it down. The “Sieg Heil” part happens around minute four.
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