Maine House Republican Minority Leader Ken Fredette cited his manly mind on Wednesday to explain why he was opposed to accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage in the state.

Speaking on the House floor, he said debate over Medicaid expansion reminded him of the book Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Female lawmakers, he alleged, were thinking about the issue differently than their male counterparts. Unlike the men, the women were not considering potential costs.

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“As I listen to the debate today and earlier debate on this bill, I can’t help but think of a title of a book, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” he said. “And it’s a book about the fact that men sort of think one way in their own brain, in their own world. And women think another way in their own brain and in their own world. And it really talks about the way that men and women can do a better job at communicating.”

“Because if you listen to the debate today, in my mind, a man’s mind, I hear two fundamental issues,” Fredette continued. “From the other side of the aisle, I hear the conversation being about free. ‘This is free, we need to take it, and it’s free. And we need to do it now.’ And that’s the fundamental message that my brain receives.”

He concluded: “Now, my brain, being a man’s brain, sort of thinks differently, because I say, well, it’s not — if it’s free, is it really free? Because I say, in my brain, there’s a cost to this.”

Fredette’s comments were recorded by the liberal group Maine’s People Alliance and uploaded to YouTube.

Watch the video below:

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