Monday, April 16, 2012

Hilary Rosen, a victim in war on women

From: Sara D. Roos [mailto:roos@biology.ucla.edu]

Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012 2:00 AM

Subject: the subsequent Level 5 mommy pandering

 
Rosen victim in war on women
 
"His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing, (italics mine-DW) in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and why do we worry about their future.” - Hilary Rosen

 
Let’s imagine in some nightmarish scenario that Sarah Palin was the Republican nominee for president. Now let’s imagine she tells Katie Couric that stay-at-home husband Todd is her go-to adviser on economic policy.

Palin would be pilloried, and rightly so. After all, while Todd may be a great dad who works hard raising the family, he’s no expert on the economy.

But Mitt Romney, who has a problem with women voters, has been telling everyone that his wife knows What Women Want. According to Ann, it’s the economy, stupid. It’s strange that Mitt must discern the concerns of women with the aid of his female interpreter wife, as though we’re an alien species, but so be it.

“My wife has the occasion, as you know, to campaign on her own and also with me,” Romney has said. “And she reports to me regularly that the issue women care about most is the economy.”

Well, thank you, Ann, for so succinctly translating our concerns to your husband, who may well be a Vulcan. Of course, Mitt’s dependence on his wife is intended to endear him to women, as we apparently melt en masse when a big, strong, guy defers to the missus.

Then along comes poor Hilary Rosen, a respected Democratic strategist, who discussed this dynamic with CNN last week. And it’s important to use her entire quote, to provide some context:

“What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country, saying, ‘Well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues, and when I listen to my wife, that’s what I’m hearing.’ Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing, (italics mine) in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and why do we worry about their future.”

Immediately, the Republicans pounced, pretending that Rosen was attacking stay-at-home moms. The cable news stations went wild and claimed that the comment unleashed a “firestorm,” even as they shamelessly stoked it like an Eagle Scout on crack. Conservative pundits such as Rush Limbaugh, always the calm voice of reason, accused the Democratic party of “waging a war on mothers.”

Rosen was eventually forced to apologize for this latest manufactured controversy, even though it’s obvious that she wasn’t criticizing stay-at-home moms. She was simply making the legitimate point that Ann Romney has never had to struggle to support a family, that she’s had the luxury of deciding to stay home, and so may be ill-suited to relate to the financial challenges of working mothers.

The observation is hardly controversial. But political campaigns have become so cynical and absurd that faux outrage is now the name of the game. Whoever can drum up the most, wins.

The Romney campaign is aiming for the fence. In an email titled “War on Moms,” Romney’s former chief of staff asked for $6 for a bumper sticker that says, “Moms Drive the Economy.” The email reads, “If you’re a stay-at-home mom, the Democrats have a message for you: you’ve never worked a day in your life.”

But women shouldn’t be angry about Rosen’s comment. They should be angry about the subsequent Level 5 mommy pandering that has, incredibly, reached the highest levels of the Oval Office.

“There’s no tougher job than being a mom,” President Barack Obama has since announced. He wasn’t actually chucking Michelle under the chin; it just seemed that way. Michelle, meanwhile, dutifully wrote on Twitter that “every mother works hard.”

Well, stop the presses. I know of no one who doesn’t think that raising kids is hard work, and the mommy wars ended years ago. As for the “firestorm,” I polled a few girlfriends, one of whom stayed home for years to raise a family before re-entering the work force.

“I am bored out of my mind about this,” she said. “I don’t know if I’m just old and tired, but it seems so ridiculous and such a waste of energy for all women. I don’t know any women who are debating this.”

Outside of the beltway and cable news, neither do I.

So maybe the next time Ann huddles with her hubby, she should tell him that this phony firestorm is patronizing to women, as will be the next time politicians condescend to us, rather than clarify. We’ve had lots of experience, and have grown adept at knowing the difference between a demeaning debate, and one deserving of our attention.

Mitt may find us foreign, but female voters aren’t frivolous.


 
 
 

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