Granite State Progress Testimony on Rep. Robert Fisher, Red Pill Creator – and Some Amazing Tweets

Granite State Progress submitted the following written testimony to the House Legislative Administration Committee today, which heard overwhelming public support for the NH House to take action on Rep. Fisher. Only one person spoke in defense of Rep. Fisher during the public hearing: Rep. Fisher. Read on for our testimony followed by some of the best quotes from today’s public hearing.

Granite State Progress Testimony on Rep. Robert Fisher, Red Pill Creator
House Legislative Administration Committee
May 9, 2017

My name is Zandra Rice Hawkins and I am the Executive Director of Granite State Progress, a multi-issue advocacy organization working on issues of immediate state and local concern. Our organization encourages you to take the strongest action possible to make it clear New Hampshire does not support misogyny or rape culture in any form.

We appreciate that the New Hampshire House is sensitive to opening the door to reviewing the comments and actions of every New Hampshire elected official during and before their term of service. We would say that the situation of Rep. Fisher rises to an unprecedented situation and that putting a statute of limitations on his rape culture comments and the misogynistic forum he created is detrimental to this discussion. This is especially true in light of new information that Rep. Fisher continued to moderate the Red Pill, and the fact that Rep. Fisher was not honest and transparent with voters in his district regarding his viewpoints that women are of a lesser class than their male counterparts.

That said, our organization will not spend time repeating the disparaging remarks Rep. Fisher made then or now. Instead, we encourage the committee to read the original news story and the subsequent stories as well.

What we would like the committee to focus on is that Rep. Fisher, when confronted with his actions, took two steps that are unbecoming of an elected officer of the state. First, he lied to the public and media about his role with the Red Pill. Second, he took actions to cover his trail, thereby admitting guilt in the process. While Rep. Fisher has now admitted to his actions because he has no other choice, he was not so forthcoming before when he still thought he could get away with it. These knowing, willful, and purposeful acts of deception which were taken by Rep. Fisher during his current term in the Legislature bring dishonor and disrepute upon the New Hampshire House of Representatives and are by themselves sufficient to justify action by this body. This clear demonstration of his dishonesty further casts grave doubt upon the credibility of his claim to have no continuing connection with the Red Pill, when the facts indicate that he remains intimately involved with it.

We are also concerned about the potential illegal activity that Rep. Fisher may have undertaken or, at a minimum, encouraged. Rep. Fisher encouraged people to illegally wiretap by suggesting they film secret sex tapes. Rep. Fisher went so far as to instruct people on how to do so in what he determined to be a legally allowable way, even though it blurred the lines of consent. Rep. Fisher admits freely to being the alias under which he posted this illegal activity.

Rep. Fisher should do the right thing and resign. In light of his incredible ego and inability to see the error of his ways, the NH House should help him out. Rep. Fisher is by no means a representative of the values of the Granite State and allowing him to continue to portray himself as such sends the wrong message to women, men, and children in our state – especially survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence – as well as to families or small businesses which might be considering moving to New Hampshire.

Former NH GOP Chair Jennifer Horn said it well when she called Fisher’s words “despicable comments.”  She also stated, quote, “Having a state representative who actively advocates violence against women is an embarrassment to our state and contributes to a society that minimizes sexual assault and makes it more difficult for women to report these crimes and seek justice. Frankly, I am sick and tired of the repetitive nature of these stories and the way that too many in politics dance around this issue. This is not about free speech, partisan ideology, or anything else. This is about violence that primarily victimizes women and it has to stop. The only way that will happen is if politicians on both sides of the aisle make this a priority in our state.” (WMUR, 4.25.17)

We strongly encourage the committee to show a united, bipartisan rejection of Rep. Fisher’s actions.

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Citations

“The Daily Beast article states when Fisher was contacted by the online news and opinion site about his connections to the Red Pill, he denied involvement and claimed not to know what a pickup artist is. Shortly after he was contacted, the article states, all of the accounts researched and cited by the reporters disappeared … In a statement to the Union Leader on Tuesday, Fisher referenced these comments, saying he was misquoted, though he did not return calls or emails to clarify exactly what comment he is referring to … He also did not respond to questions asking if he was the creator of The Red Pill … After supplying the statement, Fisher did not respond to a second round of calls and emails posed by a Union Leader reporter asking him to confirm or deny he created The Red Pill.” (Union Leader, 4.25.17)

“But Rep. Robert Fisher, R-Laconia, said that many of the posts attributed to him in a story published on The Daily Beast website are untrue or taken out of context … Fisher declined to disclose his occupation and would not say whether he created “Red Pill” and posted as “pk_athiest.” (WMUR, 4.25.17)


Round-up of some of the best quotes from today’s public hearing: