With protesters dressed as Handmaids – female slaves in a Margaret Atwood novel – watching from the gallery Thursday, the New Hampshire House quickly and quietly ended an explosive debate that began when then-Rep. Robert Fisher was unmasked by the Daily Beast as the creator of the popular mysogynistic online forum called “The Red Pill.”
Fisher, a Laconia Republican, resigned in May immediately after the House Legislative Administrative Committee voted narrowly not to discipline him for his role in “The Red Pill.” He also swore under oath he was no longer its moderator, but media reports led to calls for a perjury investigation.
Statements attributed to Fisher included that women had “sub-par intelligence,” and comments that suggested he videotaped sexual encounters to avoid false rape accusations.
The committee had also been charged with investigating Rep. Sherry Frost, a Dover Democrat, for comments she had made on Twitter, including one where she said that men “telling me to ‘calm down’ & ‘not take it hard’ are making me homicidal.”
The decision to insert Frost into the Fisher inquiry enraged Democrats, who called it a ploy by Republicans to distract from Fisher’s actions. A hearing held by the committee in May was beset by profanities shouting and finger-pointing as Democrats accused Republicans of hypocrisy and Republicans suggested Frost’s tweets went too far.
Over the objections of Democrats, the committee bundled making a recommendation about Frost and Fisher together, and voted not to discipline either.
House members by voice vote on Thursday tabled the committee’s report. If the body doesn’t vote to bring the matter back before the end of the session – which it isn’t expected to do – the report will effectively die.
Frost took to Twitter to celebrate the decision.
“Just like that, it’s done. Leg. Admin report tabled. To vote on it would give it legitimacy it doesn’t deserve,” she wrote.
(Lola Duffort can be reached at 369-3321 or lduffort@cmonitor.com.)