I don’t get it. Seriously, I just don’t get it. Republicans openly acknowledge that they have women issues. They don’t pretend they don’t exist, so why in the world is their new “wooing women” strategy based on insulting women? And the Republican statements over the gender pay gap give a stunning insight into how the GOP sees women.
Via TPM:
Neal Boortz, former shock jock, tweets out two statements that sum up the Republican “wooing women” strategy:
“What does it say about women voters that they’re so easily fooled and manipulated by the Democrats asinine “war on women” rhetoric?”
“Democrats to women: “Hey, we know you’re not, nor do you want to be informed, so we’ll push this ‘equal pay’ scam on you to get your votes.””
Easily fooled and manipulated? We know you’re not, nor do you want to be informed? That’s quite a serenade. Love the way he pretends that he’s not saying these offensive things – Democrats are. That’s straight out of the Huckabee playbook. Say something offensive (Uncle Sugar, anyone?) and then walk it back by claiming it’s what the other side said (which isn’t remotely true). Seriously, what is up with all these imaginary conversations in their heads? There are meds for that condition.
And while the former shock jock will be dismissed by the GOP as an entertainer (one of their favorite tactics), Boortz is merely parroting the Republican message to women. Let’s look at people the GOP considers “serious.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brad Dayspring tweeted Tuesday that the Paycheck Fairness Act being pushed by the White House and Democrats is nothing more than a “a political ploy designed to mislead women.”
Sabrina Schaeffer, executive director of the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, said Monday that the gender pay gap is actually a “myth” that makes women “feel weak.”
Are the words mislead, myth and weak really that different from easily fooled and manipulated and we know you’re not, nor do you want to be informed? Nope. They’re exactly the same.
Moving on to more serious Republicans:
Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), the House Republican conference’s vice chair:
Democrats’ push for pay equity between men and women is “condescending,” one of the top women in the House Republican leadership argued Tuesday, suggesting that the campaign for equal pay for equal work reflects a lack of understanding of women’s contributions to the workforce. […]
“Some folks don’t understand that women have become an extremely valuable part of the workforce today on their own merit, not because the government mandated it,” Jenkins said.
It’s condescending to women to be paid equal pay for equal work? It’s some sort of “pride” thing that insults women? So a woman doing the same job as a man and being paid less doesn’t need or want to be paid the same because that would be condescending?
But the War on Women wouldn’t be complete without the “women have babies” lifestyle argument.
Making matters slightly worse, American Bridge 21st Century PAC released a video today of Michigan’s Terri Lynn Land, the Republicans’ U.S. Senate hopeful, arguing, “Well, we all like to be paid more and that’s great. But the reality is that women have a different lifestyle. They have kids, they have to take them to get dentists’ appointments, doctors’ appointments all those kinds of things, and they’re more interested in flexibility in a job than pay.” [Update: An extended version of the clip with more context is availale here.]
So, Land not only sees women in traditional gender roles, but is also convinced that women aren’t especially concerned with receiving unequal pay for equal work – because “women have a different lifestyle.”
What he’s saying is: We value family and motherhood so much we’re going to pay women with children less. The flip side of that, of course, is the age old reason for paying men more – men need to support the family. Republicans really need to pick a side. Either they have family values or they don’t. (Psst… they don’t)
>And what about the women without children? Oops! I forgot. Those women just want free slut pills so they can have child-free sex and go against God’s will. They deserve to earn less because they didn’t procreate – and, besides, these childless women work along side men with families to support! It all just goes in circles. And the GOP’s logic only works if you believe in traditional gender roles and view unequal pay for equal work as a sort of punishment. This is, once again, linked to controlling women. I can almost see the movement to rescind a woman’s right to vote on the horizon. Keep an eye on Santorum (the guy who made contraception an issue) and Huckabee.
Basically, the Republican plan to get the women’s vote is to insult women into voting for them. They seem to believe that calling women weak, uninformed, easily fooled and manipulated, etc. will make women vote for them, because… they’d rather vote Republican than be called stupid? Good luck with that ridiculous reverse psychology.
Know when this double-dog-dare strategy worked? In middle school.