Jay Townsend Should Resign

This isn't any way for an official campaign spokesman to behave:

Jay Townsend, a campaign spokesman for Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth (NY-19) has ignited a controversy after he said, "Let's hurl some acid" at female Democratic senators.

Townsend's comments (which have since been removed) were posted Thursday on a local Facebook discussion forum for New York's 19 th congressional district. Townsend was responding to comments made by a commenter named "Tom" during an online debate over gas prices. Townsend wrote:

"Listen to Tom. What a little bee he has in his bonnet. Buzz Buzz. My question today … when is Tommy boy going to weigh in on all the Lilly Ledbetter hypocrites who claim to be fighting the War on Women? Let's hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won't abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector."

Hayworth's office has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter.

If you're not familiar with the reference, this is what Townsend was saying should be done (figuratively) to a number of female Democratic United States Senators:

Acid throwing, also called an acid attack[1] or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault.[2] It is defined as the act of throwing acid onto the body of a person "with the intention of injuring or disfiguring her out of jealousy or revenge".[3] Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones.[4] The long term consequences of these attacks include blindness and permanent scarring of the face and body.[5][6][7]

These attacks are most common in Cambodia,[8] Afghanistan,[9] India,[10] Bangladesh,[5][6] Pakistan[5] and other nearby countries.[7] Globally, at least 1500 people in 20 countries are attacked in this way yearly, 80% of whom are female and somewhere between 40% and 70% under 18 years of age.

It's like Townsend went out of his way to find the most offensive reference he could get away with. But, that's the way he's always operated, so I suppose we shouldn't be shocked.

Jay Townsend should resign, but he won't. Nan Hayworth should fire him, but she won't. It's how they roll, these folks.

UPDATE: Townsend does the right thing and resigns. Thank you to the anonymous commenter for the heads up.