Just next door in New Hampshire, Republican state rep. Martin Harty, who was about 25 years old in 1945, offers an idea whose time has come (and gone). The Concord Monitor (owned by Newspapers of New England, which also owns the Advocate), got the right no-nonsense headline and confirmed with Harty that he made said comments:
Lawmaker Advocates Eugenics
…Barrington Republican Martin Harty told Sharon Omand, a Strafford resident who manages a community mental health program, that “the world is too populated” and there are “too many defective people,” according to an e-mail account of the conversation by Omand. Asked what he meant, she said Harty clarified, “You know the mentally ill, the retarded, people with physical disabilities and drug addictions – the defective people society would be better off without.”
…Harty said nature has a way of “getting rid of stupid people,” and “now we’re saving everyone who gets born.”
…Omand said she called Harty, who represents her district, to tell him her concerns about the House Finance Committee’s proposed cuts to mental health services. Omand said Harty said he disagreed with her and made the comments about eugenics.
Omand says Harty then stated, “I wish we had a Siberia so we could ship them all off to freeze to death and die and clean up the population.”
At least he’s not hiding behind innuendo–you know what you’re getting instead of the usual back-pedaling from extreme positions. In some respects, I hope someone will actually defend Mr. Harty, adding to the refreshing candor about exactly whom we’re dealing with.
Interesting as well to compare the positions and climates of New Hampshire in the U.S. and Siberia in Russia. What exactly is he suggesting?
UPDATE: Harty resigned.
