'Suck it up, buttercup' lawmaker hangs up on Canadian radio show
An Iowa lawmaker who has been getting a ton of publicity for his self-named "suck it up, buttercup" bill got a little touchy this week when he hung up on a Canadian radio show that was pressing him for details.
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, intends to file legislation that would target Iowa universities that spend taxpayer dollars on grief counseling for students upset at the outcome of the presidential election.
Kaufmann previously told the Register that he found the post-election “hysteria to be incredibly annoying. People have the right to be hysterical … on their own time.”
But his patience ran out this week when the Canadian radio show "As It Happens" interviewed him over the phone on his legislation, seeking specifics from him on why it was needed.
According to a transcript on the show's website, Kaufmann had the chance to explain his bill, but he hung up when he was pushed to identify schools that allegedly used taxpayer money to help students with their post-election grief, including, Kaufmann said, the use of a therapy horse.
When the show called back, Kaufmann told them: "I don't speak to media outlets with an agenda," according to the show's website.
Kaufmann said before the interview he told a representative of the show that he would not identify any schools until he could verify all the facts with university representatives, he said in interview with the Register on Thursday.
"Maybe I should have been a little less blunt, but it just got under my skin," he said, adding that he felt rushed because he had calls to return to Iowans and other media outlets.
Kaufmann said he has had 80 interview requests from news outlets across the country on his proposed "suck it up, buttercup bill."
It also would establish new criminal penalties for protesters who shut down highways, like those who briefly closed Interstate Highway 80 in Iowa City during a protest against President-elect Donald Trump last week.
The Iowa lawmaker has been featured on several national media outlets, including The Washington Post, Fox News and The Christian Science Monitor, among others. So far Kaufmann has conducted 65 interviews in 19 states, he said.
The third-term state representative estimates he's received 500 emails from Iowans and another 500 emails from people around the country expressing a range of opinions. He's also getting phone calls approximately every 20 minutes.
"It's been the most contact I've had on any issue," Kaufmann said. "I'm absolutely flabbergasted at how much attention it's gotten."
He said he knew the "suck it up, buttercup" label would grab headlines. It's a phrase he uses on the farm in Wilton, he said.
"I really do hope to find a middle ground where we can have dissent, we can have protest and we can have disagreement, but we can do it in a way that doesn’t piss people off," he said.
Spokesmen for Iowa's public universities said although they have held a number of events to help students discuss and process the election results, they are not spending additional state resources to do so.
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