Grayson apologizes for calling lobbyist 'whore'

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) has apologized to a lobbyist he called a "whore" during a radio interview last month.

The recently-turned-verbal jouster has been known for his piquant quotations. He recently said former Vice President Cheney has "blood that drips from his teeth" and that "Fox News and their Republican collaborators are the enemy of America" and "the enemy of peace."

Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski explained the congressman's comments earlier Tuesday, saying, "She attacked the Congressman and his efforts to promote a Republican bill to audit the Federal Reserve... She actually questioned his understanding of the difference between fiscal and monetary policy.

"She had the audacity to attack a Congressman who used to be an economist," Jurkowski added. "She's a career lobbyist who used to work for Enron and advocates for whatever she gets paid to promote."

Grayson issued this statement Tuesday evening to the Orlando Sentinel.

"I offer my sincere apology to Linda Robertson, an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women."

"This characterization of Ms. Robertson, made during a radio interview last month in the context of the debate over whether the Federal Reserve should be independently audited, was inappropriate, and I apologize."

Republicans went over the top in criticizing Grayson for the remark.

"Alan Grayson is a vile and vulgar man whose behavior brings shame to Central Florida on a near-daily basis," National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Sere was quoted as saying. "His insistence on belittling an accomplished woman with such an insulting remark is final confirmation -- as if it was needed -- that he has no business near the United States Congress or any other position of public trust."

Grayson took center stage after he said the Republican healthcare plan involved encouraging patients to "die quickly."