Only a week into the job, the North Dakota Republican Party’s executive director has resigned after a media outlet publicized some of his social media posts that were demeaning toward women and dismissed concerns raised by Black people about racism.

The party announced the resignation Monday of Dave Roetman, who previously worked for the South Dakota GOP. He quit seven days after being hired and a few days after Forum News Service reported about his posts and replies on X, formerly known as Twitter. The posts dated from just over a year ago to as recently as this month.

Many of the posts and replies were about political issues. But they also included crass comments, such as replying “she seems nice” to several posts of women in revealing clothing, and responding unfavorably to a woman in a plus-sized swimsuit. In another reply, he speculated about whether women should be addressed as “broads” or “dames,” adding that debates about gender and language are why “men are distancing themselves from women professionally.”

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    In another reply, he speculated about whether women should be addressed as “broads” or “dames,”

    I didn’t realize they had social media in the 1950s.

    • Hominine@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Insta-gams

      Also, as sensational as the story is it feels like the lede is somewhat buried:

      Roetman had succeeded Samantha Holly, who resigned in September as executive director, citing “several obstacles that have made it difficult for me to continue working here” in her resignation letter.

      I want to know more about that.

  • Waldowal@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    With this type of publicity over his racist and misogynistic comments, he’s decided on a presidential run instead.

  • Stalinwolf
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    My wife and I strayed through North Dakota once on our way back to Canada. It was during a really intense heat wave several years back, so the trip through was nothing but tall grass and heat ripples stretching on and on toward patches of dense trees. This continued exactly the same way throughout the entirety of the state. There was little to no evidence of civilization anywhere. At one point during our search for gas we came across a tiny town of maybe twenty people who were setting up for quite the party at the general store/town hall/only functional building around. They seemed bewildered to see outsiders but were kind enough to explain that half of the signs pointing toward the nearest gas station no longer led to operational gas stations. This may have saved our lives as we pressed ever onward, now equipped with the knowledge of which signs were real.

    Eventually we even collided with a duck (purely by accident) and it ejected its anus (the entire organ, not just the contents) onto the grill of our vehicle where it remained as a small gift for untold miles. Then we were faced with our final dilemma; spending the night in the middle of North Dakota, or finding lodging on a rather unfriendly reservation in Montana, so we decided to just cross the border and take our chances in Saskatchewan. I really couldn’t tell you if that played out any better, but we did make it home eventually.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    NDRP: I don’t understand, we vetted him thoroughly!

    Everyone: did you read his Xitter posts?

    NDRP: . . .

    • runner_g@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      No. No. Don’t you see? They were “kinda buried”. I bet you could find the same content on his Facebook and truth social accounts, too.

  • CptOblivius@lemmy.world
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    As a North Dakota I’m surprised by the resignation. There is almost zero accountability here. The GOP and more so Maga has taken over. The DNC/NPL is basically dead here. The right gets free reign. ND is in a rough spot politically and I do not see a fix for decades. At one time we were a state that had to fend for itself and became a success story for socialist programs. Farmers coops, state bank and mill. Progressive prison system and produces top notch schools and exported highly educated people. It is all reversing because of greed driven by oil and gas. Write us off we as we will not help progress society or help this planet due to greed and corruption.

    • rjthyen@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Does North Dakota have as many religious “pro-life” nuts as SD? I find here that most the ppl against abortion rights were women, so ours possible ND GOP is worried they might lose access to their pro-life gravy train. One issue voters drive me absolutely nuts

  • carl_dungeon@lemmy.world
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    Who made him resign, it certainly wasn’t the GOP, they were too busy nutting over him owning black people and women.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Only a week into the job, the North Dakota Republican Party’s executive director has resigned after a media outlet publicized some of his social media posts that were demeaning toward women and dismissed concerns raised by Black people about racism.

    The party announced the resignation Monday of Dave Roetman, who previously worked for the South Dakota GOP.

    But they also included crass comments, such as replying “she seems nice” to several posts of women in revealing clothing, and responding unfavorably to a woman in a plus-sized swimsuit.

    In a post about a Black reporter who left a music festival after a man called her a racist word, Roetman replied, “Narcissist?” On a post of a news story about Black Americans moving out of the U.S., he replied with a meme that read, “Well… … bye.”

    North Dakota Republican Party Chair Sandi Sanford said she was “very disappointed” by Roetman’s posts.

    AP writer Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this story.


    The original article contains 411 words, the summary contains 166 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!