After a day of criticism from both sides of the aisle, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) apologized to a female lobbyist he called a “K Street whore” in a radio interview last month.
The lobbyist in question, Linda Robertson, is an employee of the Federal Reserve. Grayson had already sought to distance himself from the “whore” remark. His staff said earlier today the “attack was on her professional career, not her personal life.” But in the apology this afternoon, Grayson seemed to acknowledge that calling a woman a “whore” is controversial in nearly any context.
The Orlando Sentinel reported Grayson’s statement:
“I offer my sincere apology to Linda Robertson, an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women.”
“This characterization of Ms. Robertson, made during a radio interview last month in the context of the debate over whether the Federal Reserve should be independently audited, was inappropriate, and I apologize.”
