April 12, 2012

Framefail in the "war on women" — reframed by Drudge.

This has been up all morning at Drudge:



Let's look at those links. 

The first small-print one — "Adviser to Obama, DNC Attacks Ann Romney" — goes to this video clip of DNC advisor Hilary Rosen, trying to say that Mitt Romney "doesn't connect" on the issue of women struggling economically: He's "running around the country, saying, well, 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." She pauses, then blurts out the unfortunate line, which she clearly thinks is a great zinger: "Guess what? His wife has actually not worked a day in her life." She ends with "He seems so old fashioned."

That's the framing of Mitt Romney that the Obama campaign wants: Who are these out of touch people? Ironically, it was profoundly out of touch with the many women who work in the home (and with the many women who've professed to respect the choice that some women make to devote themselves to homemaking). This is the problem with these framing efforts. You have to brainstorm, imagining all the ways in which your opponents can use it against you. Framefail.



Drudge has done the obvious reframing. His large-print link goes to: "Ann Romney Fights Back: Debuts on Twitter to Counter DNC Advisor's Insult." Ann's first tweet is damned near perfect: "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work." Choice. She spoke their word. Hard work. Putting it simply. Who can argue? (Follow her here.)

Let's go to the rest of the Drudge links. The next one is "Rosen frequent White House visitor...," an item at NRO by Jim Geraghty, who's checked the White House logs and found "Hilary Rosen" there 35 times, much more often than, for example, Petraeus or Panetta.

The second small link is "ANN: 'She should have come to my house -- it wasn't so easy'...", which goes to an article summarizing Ann Romney's appearance on TV this morning. ("She should have come to my house when those five boys were causing so much trouble. It wasn't so easy.... Maybe I haven't struggled as much financially as some people have, but I can tell you, I've had struggles in my life. I would love to have people understand that Mitt and I have compassion for people that are struggling.") Also at that link, Rosen stands by her marginalization of Ann. ("Most women in America — let's face it — don't have that choice. They have to be working moms and home moms.")

Next: "POLL: Nearly 2 of 3 stand with wife..." This refers to a little poll they're doing at a WaPo blog:
Was Hilary Rosen out of line with her comments that Ann Romney "has never worked a day in her life."?

Yes, raising a family is a lot of work.

No, Ann Romney is out of touch with the economic issues facing working women.
It's not 2 out of 3 anymore. It's 96% calling out Rosen. Drudge-driven traffic, of course. But that's my point. Rosen's frame set up a reframe. Disastrous framefail.

This is creating so much interest in Ann Romney now, shining a sudden bright light on her, and she is so ready. She's a great persona, better than Mitt at talking to people and generating warmth.

The final link is: "OBAMA: 'We Didn't Have The Luxury For Michelle Not To Work'..." A Harvard Law graduate is going to position himself as empathetic, saying his wife had to work? Michelle didn't choose? That makes no sense. It's not that they "didn't have the luxury," it's that they wanted luxury. She worked to achieve greater wealth. That was not necessary. It wasn't wrong either, but own it.

Despite its appearance among the Drudge links, that was not an effort by Obama to fix the framefail. The linked article is from April 9. Now, I think in that clip Obama sounds nicely empathetic to the way working mothers feel:
"Once I was in the state legislature, I was teaching, I was practicing law, I'd be traveling... And we didn't have the luxury for her not to work. And I know when she was with the girls, she’d feel guilty that she wasn’t giving enough time to her work... And when she was at work, she was feeling guilty she wasn’t giving enough time to the girls. And like many of you, we both wished that there were a machine that could let us be in two places at once. And so she had to constantly juggle it, and carried an extraordinary burden for a long period of time."
I'm sure that was hard work. But Michelle was making $300,000+ doing "community affairs" at the University of Chicago Medical Center. That was no ordinary job, and that money bought a lot more luxury than most women have. Plus, there was choice. Obama didn't have to take the kind of work he did, making less money and traveling as he built his political career speedily, while the girls were still very young.

But let's keep following this "out of touch" meme. Who's really more out of touch with the likely voters of America?

264 comments:

1 – 200 of 264   Newer›   Newest»
Hoosier Daddy said...

Yeah that will connect women voters with Obama. Especially those stay at home moms.

X said...

millionaire lesbian to millionaire stay at home mom: you're doing it wrong.

pm317 said...

Ann, looks like you slept through an overnight twitter battle. Get on with the game alright (this is not just a Drudge headline).

Q said...

The final link is: "OBAMA: 'We Didn't Have The Luxury For Michelle Not To Work'..." A Harvard Law graduate is going to position himself as empathetic, saying his wife had to work?



Wait .... when did Michelle Obama actually "work"?

I'm not counting her lavishly paid patronage position with University of Chicago Hospitals, a transparent means of sending money to then Senator Obama which the media (surprise!) have shown zero interest in.

In 2005 Michelle Obama was given $316,962 for her "job" as "vice president for community affairs". Nudge nudge, wink wink.

Thorley Winston said...

Given what we’ve seen recently about the Obamas taking separate foreign vacations (on our dime), claims of “it was hard because we really wanted to spend more time together as a family” don’t seem to ring very true.

Pastafarian said...

They're going to have a tough time portraying Romney as Chauncey Fauntleroy, Esquire, dressed like the little Monopoly guy, on the one hand; and matching up Michelle Obama, with her make-work $300,000 job she received only after her husband won election to the state senate (a job that was never filled after she left it) against Ann Romney raising 5 boys.

The fabulous vacations and designer dresses of Michelle Obama won't make it any easier.

But I'm sure the media will find a way to make it work.

Chip S. said...

There's a sense in which Michelle was forced to take a job: An offer of $300,000 for a bullshit job like "community affairs" is an offer you can't refuse.

Mr. Forward said...

This topic needs a theme song.

"You don't know what's going on
You've been away for far too long
You can't come back and think you are still mine
You're out of touch, my baby
My poor discarded baby
I said, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

Well, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
I said, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
You are all left out
Out of there without a doubt
'Cause baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

You thought you were a clever girl
Giving up your social whirl
But you can't come back and be the first in line, oh no
You're obsolete my baby
My poor old-fashioned baby
I said baby, baby, baby you're out of time

Well, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
I said, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
Yes, you are left out
Out of there without a doubt
'Cause baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

I said, baby, baby, you're out of time"

Rolling Stones

Scott M said...

She's a great persona, better than Mitt at talking to people and generating warmth.

And much less of a linebacker physique than Michelle. What's not to love in this potential First Lady?

Brian Brown said...

How hard has Obama worked again?

Capt. Schmoe said...

The key word is luxury. My wife made the choice to stay home and raise our kids and I guarantee we did it on a lot less than 162 large per year.

I guess that was not enough for the elitist Obamas.

Funny, I never sent my 11 year old kid to Me4xico for spring break either.

I have nothing but contempt for this president, the sooner we are rid of him the better.

Patrick said...

To answer your question, I don't think either of those two men are anything close to "in touch" with the typical American.

I'm not sure it matters, though. It has been a very long time since anything like an "ordinary" person has become President, people don't expect it. They want someone who has some idea of what is wrong, some plan to do something about it, and a direct way of explaining all of that.

Or, maybe I'm just projecting.

TANSTAAFL said...

So, Hilary Rosen doesn't have kids.

garage mahal said...

So single unemployed moms have full time jobs? Somehow that doesn't fit into right wing framing. Never underestimate the right wing fake outrage machine though. It's always fired and ready. I AM OUTRAGED! LOL

gerry said...

I have nothing but contempt for this president, the sooner we are rid of him the better.

The first lady is nothing to be admired, either. The sooner they are sent packing out of the White House by the electorate, the better!

Ann Althouse said...

pm317 said... "Ann, looks like you slept through an overnight twitter battle."

Yeah, I should sit up all night monitoring Twitter feeds.

Sorry. I'm impressed by the impact Drudge is making this morning as his page remains stable with that set of links and that photograph.

Twitter chatters on, nothing staying in place. Back and forth like blog comments.

I'll point at what I choose, when I feel like it. That's the way a blog works. Thanks for reading, but no thanks for complaints about what I should have looked at instead.

Anonymous said...

And living, not even in Hyde Park, but in Kenwood! They were forced to live in Kenwood, right?

And a $300,000 a year job at a hospital.

Raising the price of medical care for all the people in South Chicago.

Oh, yes, these Obama folks are really compassionate and caring people.

Hoosier Daddy said...

"... Plus, there was choice. Obama didn't have to take the kind of work he did, making less money and traveling as he built his political career speedily, while the girls were still very young..."

Of course he had to do that kind of work. If not he would not have become President and healed the planet.

And Michele would have never been proud of her country.

Piercello said...

Hi Garage,

Project much?

paminwi said...

Hilary Rosen doubles down as they say: "Look, Mitt Romney brought his wife into this conversation.”

So now, this is all Mitt's fault.

SHUT UP, HILARY BABY!

Holmes said...

The Left wants choices for women, as long as they are the correct choices, the ones the bien pensants would make. 1) You can choose to have an abortion, or not, but you must definitely abort your mentally handicapped baby (Palin). 2)You can stay home or work, but you should definitely work. 2b). If you do decide to work, you shouldn't work for some grubby corporation, only a grubby nonprofit.

gerry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rusty said...

garage mahal said...
So single unemployed moms have full time jobs? Somehow that doesn't fit into right wing framing. Never underestimate the right wing fake outrage machine though. It's always fired and ready. I AM OUTRAGED! LOL



One democrat beclowning herself is enough for now, garage. Give it a rest.

pm317 said...

Ann Althouse said...
------------

Come on, don't be offended. It is THE big twitter battle of the day blowing up in Obama's face and Drudge is just an afterthought. I was waiting for you to put something up on this all morning.

{for the record I don't have a twitter account, never will and I don't monitor it but surprised and pleased at how this thing developed overnight to Romney's advantage.}

gerry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe said...

Anne Romney also has MS and battled breast cancer.

The lack of reaction from Obama is pathetic. Of course, he's busy trying to stir up class warfare and this fits with his meme.

gerry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gerry said...

Thanks for reading, but no thanks for complaints about what I should have looked at instead.

But, Professor, leftists always know what's best for others to do!

David said...

I get cancer treatment at U Chicago hospital. During and before the 2008 election, I heard a number of unguarded comments about the lack of heavy lifting in Michelle's job and the promotion and salary double she got when Barack was elected to the Senate.

People got a lot more guarded after Obama got the nomination.

It is true that Michelle's job was not refilled after she vacated it.

Generally I have not repeated this because who knows if these comments were accurate. But since this is how the game is played now by the Obama people, I think Michelle is "fair game," to use term that was applied to Cheney's daughter.

(Pasta, I believe she got the 300k job after he was elected to US Senate. State senate was worth about half that.)

It is the Chicago way.

It would also be fun to see an audit on who is buying Obama's books each year. Those royalties are holding up pretty well. Could it be that Friends of Obama are pumping up the sales? The new transparency does not extend nearly that far.

How do you like the view from under the bus, Ms. Rosen?

Beta Rube said...

So we can criticize a stay at home who is married to a guy who works.

What about a stay at home mom with 5kids living off the largesse of taxpayers? They seem to be sacrosanct in this discussion.

Weird.

Known Unknown said...

"I'm not sure it matters, though. It has been a very long time since anything like an "ordinary" person has become President, people don't expect it. "

Clinton came from very humble origins, as did Nixon. However, by the time they reached the presidency, neither would be in the "normal" class of person.

Elliott A said...

While the gaffe itself may not be directly attributed to Obama, they have clearly elevated Ann Romney to new heights and now she can lead the charge to reach out to women voters. They may or may not like what they hear, but now they will listen! The preemptive strike has failed. It is ironic that when you force the comparison of Mrs. Romney to Mrs Obama, Mrs. Romney's accomplishments in life in spite of her illnesses are substantial and Mrs Obama's not so much.

Patrick said...

Garage, outrage is always fake when you don't share it. (I think it was Jim Treacher who said that).

The episode just goes to show that the left is not about "choice" unless the choice is one of which they approve.

By the way, is it fake outrage from David Axelrod? From Debbie Wasserman Schultz?

Matt Sablan said...

If I were trying to make conservatives like Mitt more, I could not have staged a better story than if I had him water ski to save a bunch of people (and their pet dog!) from drowning.

Oh, wait.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

My outrage is always genuine. Yours is always fake.

Scott M said...

The lack of reaction from Obama is pathetic. Of course, he's busy trying to stir up class warfare and this fits with his meme.

The reason he didn't get personally involved in this fracas is because Ann Romney doesn't look like him.

pm317 said...

Apparently Debbi WS is tweeting, MO is tweeting.. That Hilary Rosen is so under the bus and out of work. She is done for this campaign season and she runs a PR firm, oh the irony. She can go spend more time with her family now.

edutcher said...

Welcome to the real War on Women - any woman not on the Demo plantation.

The feminazis have always hated those stay at home, happily heterosexual, breeders who refused to abort their kids.

Ann Althouse said...

She's a great persona, better than Mitt at talking to people and generating warmth.

That's probably why they want to go after her early. She's the one who's going to tell people how her husband is a far better human being than the petty egomaniac currently in the White House.

Joe said...

Anne Romney also has MS and battled breast cancer.

While she was raising 5 sons.

Yeah, she worked hard.

Prof Jacobson says she started her own Twitter account over this. Welcome to the woman who doesn't need a speech written where she proclaims she could have stayed home baking cookies or is finally proud of her country.

machine said...

"Yes, this is real. Republicans are now super pretend outraged because Democrats are attacking a woman's right to make her own choices, especially about family planning.

Thanks, Republicans. This is kinda exactly what we've been saying all along."

rehajm said...

I call BS- this one reeks of staged theatre. No matter how stupid you think she is, a professional communications director doesn't make that kind remark off the cuff. You get a shill low in the pecking order so you won't suffer permanent damage from the consequences of the 'gaffe'. You calculate and find the specific framing of the 'gaffe' that plays well with elements of the base while still allowing Team Obama to swoop in and save the day for the rest of us. Win/win...at least that's how it used to play out on The West Wing. I would have believed it more if they'd just let Joe Biden loose.

Zachary Sire said...

Oh, boo hoo. Let's all rally behind the multi-millionaire lady who "chose" to not work because she didn't have to, and who has 5 housekeepers!

David said...

In Garage's defense, I think he was making a joke.

Probably.

Maybe.

Not that it was funny to me, but to each his own.

It was a joke. Really.

garage mahal said...

The episode just goes to show that the left is not about "choice" unless the choice is one of which they approve.

Um, Ann Romney has maids and car elevators. She can make any choice she wants because she is filthy rich.

Here is how I would frame this:

"Ann Romney: do single unemployed moms have full time jobs as well, and are they entitled to the same medical care and doctors you received? Yes or no? Until you can answer that unequivocally, have a big cup of shut the fuck up".

Matt Sablan said...

"Oh, boo hoo. Let's all rally behind the multi-millionaire lady who "chose" to not work because she didn't have to, and who has 5 housekeepers!"

-- So, denigrating women is OK as long as they are women you don't like. Got it. I'd've thought misogyny would at least be hidden.

Scott M said...

But, Professor, leftists always know what's best for others to do!

That's pretty much the working definition of the left.

Matt Sablan said...

"Ann Romney: do single unemployed moms have full time jobs as well, and are they entitled to the same medical care and doctors you received? Yes or no? Until you can answer that unequivocally, have a big cup of shut the fuck up".

-- I don't understand; shouldn't the hateful misogyny dripping from your words embarrass you? Just a little? Why do men seem to think they can decide what counts as a "Real Woman?"

Richard Dolan said...

"But let's keep following this 'out of touch' meme."

On second thought, let's forget the whole silly thing. It's the 'Queen for a Day' idea (I mean the old '60s sob-story TV show, not the prosecutorial exercise) that takes over American politics whenever polticos want to avoid talking about something that might, you know, actually matter. I suffered more than you! I worked harder! Nobody knows the troubles I've had! Oh, please.

As others upthread have noted, neither the Obamas nor the Romneys have led lives typical of the American middle class. So what, and why would anyone posit that as a sensible criterion for electing a president?

For that matter, most 'typical' Americans have not led typical middle class lives -- the whole discussion is a formless, standardless miasma of meaningless blather, the latest version of bias confirmation pretending to be something else.

David said...

So Richard is the War on Women meaningless blather too?

machine said...

Ann Romney: “we need to respect choices that women make.”

Wow, maybe they are Democrats! Thanks GOP...

Matt Sablan said...

I wonder if Mrs. Obama will be offered a similar cup of STFU that Garage seems to be offering to all well off women, or if his hatred isn't for women but for women with specific ideas. At least that bigotry is a bit less vile.

Hoosier Daddy said...

".. Ann Romney: do single unemployed moms have full time jobs as well, and are they entitled to the same medical care and doctors you received? Yes or no? Until you can answer that unequivocally, havea big cupof shut the fuck up".."

You really have become a hateful person.

Q said...

Republicans are now super pretend outraged because Democrats are attacking a woman's right to make her own choices, especially about family planning


Come on, when Democrats say "family planning" they mean "don't have children". They do not mean "have five kids and be a full time mother".

edutcher said...

garage mahal said...

The episode just goes to show that the left is not about "choice" unless the choice is one of which they approve.

Um, Ann Romney has maids and car elevators. She can make any choice she wants because she is filthy rich.


Like raising 5 sons while she had cancer and MS?

She chose all that, right?

So many filthy rich women do, y'know.

machine said...

Ann Romney: “we need to respect choices that women make.”

Wow, maybe they are Democrats! Thanks GOP...


No, Demos respect no one's choices unless they choose to stay on the racial plantation, in the gender kitchen, the linguistic and cultural barrio, or the sexual closet.

Dust Bunny Queen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matt Sablan said...

"Republicans are now super pretend outraged because Democrats are attacking a woman's right to make her own choices, especially about family planning."

-- No, Republicans are mildly angered that Democrats will hypocritically attack Ann Romney while pretending family are off-limits, all while snidely pretending her choices are of less value because she is not a "real woman." We are used to this sort of judgmental scoffing, it is -old-. We just rarely get to point and laugh when someone does it on TV, and actually gets called out for their shameless buffoonery.

Henry said...

This post offers a great contrast to the strange attack on upper class breastfeeding moms courtesy of Amanda Marcotte the other day.

What didn't happen in that comment thread is what is happening here - the assertion of working class authenticity to trump a losing position.

Marcotte attempted to preempt that attack by immediately granting that working class moms don't have the time to put breastfeeding-peer-pressure on salary-wonks like her.

But really, her position is far more fragile. She doesn't just want respect. She wants anyone who threatens her world view to shut up already.

And lookie here. Garage has joined her in the resentment booth:

Until you buy into my policy prescriptions, have a big cup of shut the fuck up.

Thanks for the clarification Garage.

ndspinelli said...

"I could have stayed home and baked cookies." Hillary Clinton circa 1992

I know you were w/ Hillary back then. I guess you have evolved? devolved? Or, maybe just dissembling.

Unknown said...

Drudge is the king of framing.
The libs are still defending this.

Brian Brown said...

garage mahal said...
Never underestimate the right wing fake outrage machine though. It's always fired and ready. I AM OUTRAGED! LOL


Coming from the Sandra Fluke crowd, no less.

Right, because we all know left wing outrage is real, garagie!

All the time.

Every time.

Flashback:
SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. -- In the angry life of Maryscott O'Connor, the rage begins as soon as she opens her eyes and realizes that her president is still George W. Bush

Oh how I love that picture...

garage mahal said...

Sure. Single unemployed women who have children (you left that part out) are (hopefully) working hard at raising their children.

Are single unemployed mothers entitled to the same medical care that Ann Romney received for cancer? If no, why not? Ann Romney seems to believe that no, they aren't.

Roger J. said...

With respect to Ms Rosen's comment, I do attribute to it any underlying scheme--Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity alone. Interesting that Messina and Axlerod were on this one like turkeys on a june bug. This contretemps, they probably judge accurately, hurts the war on women thing.

I do have to wonder who important tweeting is in the campaign--I dont have an account and it isnt worth my time to engage in tweeting. Apparently, some believe that tweeting is a way to reach out. I am less certain.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

"Ann Romney: do single unemployed moms have full time jobs as well, and are they entitled to the same medical care and doctors you received? Yes or no? Until you can answer that unequivocally, have a big cup of shut the fuck up".


Sure. Single unemployed women who have children are (hopefully) working hard at raising their children.

However, if you are single and unemployed, with or without children, you are not raising those kids alone....We the taxpayers are forking over money for you to NOT work.

You might say thank you once in a while.

Money that I have worked for and earned and would have LOVED to be able to stay home and raise my family.

Mitt Romney worked and earned the money that enabled his wife to be a stay at home mother. They are an economic unit called the family. Yes. An old fashioned concept.

I don't recall volunteering to be the sole support of the single unemployed woman....with or without kids. We are not Family, despite what Sly and the Family Stone said. We are not your Momma, your Daddy, your substitute Husband or Boyfriend either.

So the answer is yes. It is work. No you do not deserve to take MY money.

Get a job in the workforce (I did why can't you??) or make your own family. You are not part of mine.

Big steaming cup of shut the fuck up....back atcha.

Matt Sablan said...

Also, remember this on Mother's Day, when all those articles go around about the work mothers do, and how valuable it is. The hundreds of thousands of dollars of useful labor attributed to mothers. Now we know, it doesn't count if you are not one of the real women.

Garage, Zachary: This is one of the times where you let one of your own go. She said something monumentally stupid. Cut your losses, condemn her. The smarter people on the left already have. Even the dimmer ones, like DWS, got the memo. Give her up, for the cause.

Tom from Virginia said...

Wow. It's still April and they've already slimed Ann Romney.

What's the over-under for the date on which some other regime apparatchik let's slip on CNN that Mormonism is a satanic cult?

Brian Brown said...

Ann Romney: do single unemployed moms have full time jobs as well, and are they entitled to the same medical care and doctors you received? Yes or no? Until you can answer that unequivocally, havea big cupof shut the fuck up".."


Hysterical.

That's right dummy, everyone in America is "entitled" to the same doctors!

And, and, and, all doctors treating rich Republicans are equal!!

It is pathetic you're not even the slightest bit embarrassed by your moronic play ground logic.

BarryD said...

What's interesting, and I'm sure not lost on any of the 3 or 4 average non-political-junkie people who are even paying attention to this, is that, had she worked a conventional job in an office all day, and left the kids with a nanny, she would have been attacked for THAT, too. Surely the Romneys didn't need a second income, etc.

Matt Sablan said...

"Are single unemployed mothers entitled to the same medical care that Ann Romney received for cancer? If no, why not? Ann Romney seems to believe that no, they aren't."

-- You don't know what she believes, so don't make it up. Your hatred of women does not let you also read their minds.

Patrick said...

No, Garage. President Obama's adviser ripped on Ann Romney for choosing to work at home. That's the issue. The rest of your questions amount to shouting "hey but what about --->___________!!

Brian Brown said...

garage mahal said...
Su
Are single unemployed mothers entitled to the same medical care that Ann Romney received for cancer?


Hey idiot:

I know you think this is a clever "gotcha" you read at the Daily Kos, but it isn't.

The drool is all over the place.

The hate is palpable.

You can quit while you're behind.

Q said...

Here is how I would frame this:


"Ann Romney: do single unemployed moms have full time jobs as well ..?"


Dear God, you're stupid.

This flap was started when Hilary Rosen claimed that Ann Romney "never worked a day in her life".

Your question "do single unemployed moms have full time jobs as well ..?" is a either a lame attempt to change the subject or else reveals the usual liberal inability to understand simple sentences written in English.

Take your pick.

Patrick said...

"Ann Romney seems to believe that no, they aren't."


Do you mean Ann Romney, the woman married to the man who signed MassCare (or whatever it's called) into law?

Blue@9 said...

are they entitled to the same medical care and doctors you received?

There's that word, entitled.


Let's edit Obama's statement to make it more accurate:
"Of course Michelle wasn't going to turn down that job! For fuck's sake, they created a $300,000 fake job just for her, just because I got elected-- what kind of dumbass would turn that shit down?"

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Are single unemployed mothers entitled to the same medical care that Ann Romney received for cancer? If no, why not? Ann Romney seems to believe that no, they aren't.

You are entitled to, evidently, raid my pocket book for basic health care for those who cannont work and I do not object to paying for basic health care including cancer and life saving treatments.

I do object to paying for those who WILL NOT work.

Other people are entitled or able to donate to your care to raise it to a higher level if they want to.

You are not entitled to things you haven't worked for or for things which you haven't earned.

You are not entitled to a new cadillac paid for by others.

You are not entitled to a big fancy house for free.

You are not entitled to lobster for dinner.

You are not entitled to anyone else's life or life style if you haven't earned it.

You are not entitled to my life

I don't owe you anything.

You are NOT ENTITLED really to anything.

Charity is voluntary. Income restribution is slavery.

Anonymous said...

some other regime apparatchik let's slip on CNN that Mormonism is a satanic cult?

Do you think they'll clear that first with Harry Reid?

Or Obama's departing Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, Larry Echohawk, another Mormon?

Just asking.

MayBee said...

For some reason, when Democrats talk about women, we become such sad sacks.

Suddenly "women" are single mothers (what is the definition of single mother, by the way?), struggling along only with the help of pell grants and Head Start.

Is this how they talk about men? I don't think so.

garage mahal said...

Do you mean Ann Romney, the woman married to the man who signed MassCare (or whatever it's called) into law?

Her husband promised to repeal the ACA. On DAY ONE. Does she agree? I'm assuming so. Maybe that would be a great question for a fearless press corps.

Matt Sablan said...

We know Obama doesn't think people are entitled to the same doctors he can get. That's why he signed a law that exempted Congress and has allowed waivers to go through. Some people are more equal than others.

I'm unaware of anything Ann Romney has said that makes me think one way or the other about her opinion on healthcare.

Roger J. said...

Mr Romney was clearly to the manor born--but as I understand it, he tithes his income with his church--compare that, if you will, to Joe Biden's 347 dollars of charitable donations. Oh--and slow joe's praise of Al Franken as a leading constitutional scholar. What a fucking joke.

Anonymous said...

michelle made 300k+ at a hospital.

i wonder what the average doctor made at said hospital.

Matt Sablan said...

"Her husband promised to repeal the ACA. On DAY ONE. Does she agree? I'm assuming so. Maybe that would be a great question for a fearless press corps."

-- Why does the Press Corps only ever ask Republican spouses about their policy positions, while tossing soft balls to Democrat's spouses? Also, you're forgetting the replace part of repeal and replace. Romney wants to implement something that will work. Try and stay informed. He does not want to merely repeal it then laugh at people as they die.

Roger J. said...

going after Ms Romney is one stupid move--even axlerod and messina recognize that.

Q said...

Her husband promised to repeal the ACA. On DAY ONE. Does she agree? I'm assuming so. Maybe that would be a great question for a fearless press corps.


Or to be more concise: "Quick, let's change the subject! We're getting killed here!"

Dust Bunny Queen said...

For some reason, when Democrats talk about women, we become such sad sacks

I agree. This is most irritating.

They portray women as retarded children who can't take care of even the most basic tasks. Stupid helpless inferior beings who must be taken care of by the big benevolent government.

Matt Sablan said...

For example Garage, I think a great question for Michelle Obama would be: "Why does your husband pay women on his staff nearly 20% less than the men? Why has the White House been identified as fitting all the criteria of a hostile work environment? Is your view on gay marriage evolving, like your husband's, or do you have a view already?"

But, I somehow think you'd think asking her difficult questions would be bad-wrong.

MayBee said...

Michelle made $300K kicking poor people out of her emergency room and turning down the test for Gardisil because of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.

But that's not all! David Axelrod also made money from the hospital on those programs, as did Susan Sher and Valerie Jarrett.

Compassion over money!

Anonymous said...

Maybe that would be a great question for a fearless press corps.

There isn't a fearless press corps left, dont-cha-know, Garage.

They're all fearful that Obama won't invite them to his next White House BBQ.

They're all fearful that they'll be left off a list of invites to a Georgetown party.

They're all a bunch of sniveling sycophants.

chickelit said...

Ann Romney seems like a warm personality who can connect with people. Michelle Obama is a glowering tower of harshness and judgement. It has nothing to do with race or geography. Oprah Winfrey, for example, projects more warmth and empathy than Michelle, IMO.

These are tough public images to counteract, but that's exactly what's going on here.

Q said...

Maybe that would be a great question for a fearless press corps.


Perhaps, after asking Obama for his college transcripts, the fearless press corps could ask him a few probing questions about his wife's "job" with University of Chicago Hospitals.

Blue@9 said...

Why does the Press Corps only ever ask Republican spouses about their policy positions, while tossing soft balls to Democrat's spouses?

No doubt. And how patronizing to limit these questions just to "women's issues." What does Michelle think about Barack's position on gay marriage? What about his failure to close Gitmo like he promised? How about his use of the state secrets privilege and the imprisonment of Bradley Manning?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Methadras said...

garage mahal said...

I AM OUTRAGED! LOL


No, you're just stupid as illustrated by your stupid comments on fake outrage. A DNC Spokescunt just uttered the words that Ann Romney never worked a day in her life. So why don't you tell the millions of women out there that gave up their paying jobs, to take up a more precious job of becoming mothers. You think being a mother isn't a full time job? If that's the case, then your mother was a fucking fail and it clearly shows.

Brian Brown said...

Her husband promised to repeal the ACA. On DAY ONE. Does she agree? I'm assuming so. Maybe that would be a great question for a fearless press corps.


Considering that a majority of the country wants said law repealed, that idiotic sentence doesn't mean what you think it means.

Watching you beclown yourself on topic after topic is getting passe.

edutcher said...

FWIW, Rosen is a principal at the same PR firm that handles Ms Fluck, so you can bet this one was approved by Barry and Moochelle.

drozz said...

michelle made 300k+ at a hospital.

In a joke job, as Hatman would say.

Roger J. said...

I fail to see why spouses should even be brought into the politics of a campaign. Alas, that does seem to be the reality.

DADvocate said...

So single unemployed moms have full time jobs? Somehow that doesn't fit into right wing framing. Never underestimate the right wing fake outrage machine though. It's always fired and ready. I AM OUTRAGED! LOL

WTF? Do you have any idea what you're talking about? No one else does. You just pull stupid shit out of the air and think you're clever or something.

Blue@9 said...

Michelle Obama is a glowering tower of harshness and judgement.

I wouldn't go that far. Despite the criticisms lobbed at her, Michelle still enjoys very high popularity.

I don't really care to go after a politician's spouse, nor do I think it's very good politics. It's one thing if a spouse is actively involved in policymaking, a la Hillary, but Michelle hasn't done much of that aside from the usual health/education initiatives and giving rah-rah speeches for her husband.

garage mahal said...

I do object to paying for those who WILL NOT work

Plenty of people work full time w/o health insurance benefits being provided from their employer. I think it's down to 59% of employers that do. It would be nice to hear from Ann Romney where those people are supposed to go to receive the same medical care she did.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The Anchoress sums it up nicely

I am inclined to take offense at the notion that a woman who finds her first vocation in child-rearing has surrendered her intellect, and therefore has nothing to say to the room. And make no mistake, that is precisely the sentiment that rests at the heart of Rosen’s remarks — an ugly disdain wholly at odds with the standard feminist rhetoric about the dignity of women and their choices.

The truth is, for women like Rosen, increasingly beholden to a utilitarian point of view, a woman’s worth is predicated on her title, her accomplishments and how far she has penetrated what used to be masculine strongholds; there is no real respect, no authentic valuation for women — either the well-off or the struggling, the well-educated or not — who have judged full-time motherhood to be a job equal in importance (and more necessary and socially relevant) than being an attorney or a lobbyist. Rosen betrays the truth of it in a hasty clarification written last night:


I have nothing against Ann Romney. She seems like a nice lady who has raised nice boys, struggled with illness, and handles its long-term effects with grace and dignity.

The breathtaking condescension! “A nice lady who raised nice boys…grace and dignity.” Let’s just pat Ann Romney on the head and then get back to talking about real women, shall we? M’kay?


Rosen is a prime example of why I have no respect for those women who bleat about feminism and then show their true and nasty colors.

bagoh20 said...

I don't like this gotcha crap. We need people to be free to talk so that we can know what they really think. Therefore, I'm not gonna play this game here.

I know what she meant. I'm not gonna pretend like I don't. She meant Ann Romney never worked at job for pay that she had to apply for, or worry about losing or finding. That's the only way the discussion makes sense. They were talking about the economy as it relates to working (employed) women.

I'm not surprised that she doesn't appreciate home keepers as much as conservatives do, she's a feminist in the left sense. We all know what that means. And it's no reason to get all gotchamatic. (and I claim invention of that word on this day, on this blog.)

Unknown said...

New frame: Obviously 96% of the people are homophobic.

DADvocate said...

Are single unemployed mothers entitled to the same medical care that Ann Romney received for cancer?

Are you entitled to the same care as Obama? Or, John Kerry? Or, Warren Buffet? If you're not a federal employee or member of Congress, are you entitled to the same health insurance, retirement benefits and pay scale? What has Obama done to rectify that inequality?

James said...

If I were Reince Priebus I'd send Hilary Rosen a fruit basket with a nice note telling her to keep talking.

garage mahal said...

Are you entitled to the same care as Obama? Or, John Kerry? Or, Warren Buffet?

Strictly speaking of medical care, yes. Do you? Id your health less important than Obama's or Kerry's?

Revenant said...

Are single unemployed mothers entitled to the same medical care that Ann Romney received for cancer?

If they pay for it, sure.

Q said...

Plenty of people work full time w/o health insurance benefits being provided from their employer. I think it's down to 59% of employers that do. It would be nice to hear from Ann Romney where those people are supposed to go to receive the same medical care she did.


Somebody is still in "Change the goddamn subject!" mode.

The subject is not healthcare.

MayBee said...

It would be nice to hear from Ann Romney where those people are supposed to go to receive the same medical care she did.

Not at Jarrett, Axelrod, and Michelle Obama's hospital, that's for sure.

Jim said...

Going after Ann Romney is not only despicable, but dumb. First of all, she's not running. Secondly, her choice to raise a family is an admirable one and doesn't make her less qualified to speak about women's issues.

I know Obama's seeking a way to exploit his lead among women, but this isn't it. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Roger J. said...

As rev suggest, it is entirely possible that Ms Romney's coverage was paid out of pocket. Thats what happens when you have lots of bucks. I am glad the Romney's have the financial werewithall to cover this sort of thing.

Q said...

I know what she meant. I'm not gonna pretend like I don't. She meant Ann Romney never worked at job for pay that she had to apply for, or worry about losing or finding.


Hilary Rosen never did that.

Roger J. said...

this is easy: Hilary Rosen is a bint.

case closed--and now the obama machine has to pick up behind her.

bagoh20 said...

Let it be known that if you get one of those "conflicting edit" pieces of shit when you go to post, you will lose your comment.

I just lost mine, and it would have shaken the very foundation of mankind if posted. Now, I just don't feel like it anymore. So you and the planet just lost the opportunity of a lifetime, because Blogger's new system is a raging crap-fest of bugs and non-functionality reminiscent of the Soviet Economy half way into a five year plan. Good day, Comrades. I said good day!

Patrick said...

"Are you entitled to the same care as Obama? Or, John Kerry? Or, Warren Buffet?

Strictly speaking of medical care, yes. Do you? Id your health less important than Obama's or Kerry's?"

To me, my health is at least as important as the President's, or Sen Kerry's. I am certain, however, that to them, mine is less important. I would not expect it to be, nor do I think I am entitled to any care they receive merely because they are wealthy beyond belief. I do not expect them to take care of me. Nor would I want to yield that amount of control to them.

Brian Brown said...

Rosen is a prime example of why I have no respect for those women who bleat about feminism and then show their true and nasty colors.


Rosen is openly gay and knows as much about raising a family as Obama knows about economics.

LilyBart said...

What is it with the Obama team that they are always pitting groups against each other? Ethnic groups , gender groups, economic group all divided and positioned against each other. Its done for political gain, but in the long run, it will be a disaster for the health and well being of this country.

I hate it!

James said...

The heat must be really on... Hilary Rosen finally apologized to Ann Romney after doubling down on her comments since last night.

LilyBart said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matt Sablan said...

"Hilary Rosen finally apologized to Ann Romney."

-- Surrendered, not apologized. Big difference.

bagoh20 said...

A case of friendly fire in the war on women.

MayBee said...


I know what she meant. I'm not gonna pretend like I don't. She meant Ann Romney never worked at job for pay that she had to apply for, or worry about losing or finding. That's the only way the discussion makes sense. They were talking about the economy as it relates to working (employed) women.


So women are now defined as working (employed) women, and the economy is different for them than it is for men.
And women who stay home don't have economic concerns.
Women who don't bring home a paycheck are economically more secure.

Women are: single mothers and female workers. All who need help from the government to ward off the scary parts of life.

Is that what you are trying to say on behalf of Ms Rosen?

I'm Full of Soup said...

"You really have become a hateful person."

Agreed - he never concedes anything and always takes the librul side no matter how wrong or weak.

At a minimum, most of the conservative commenters here will voice disagreement or diasapproval with bigwig Repubs on some issues and will castigate Repubs that deserve it.

Commenters like Garage will never do that - his side is right 100% of the time.So he is not worth engaging.

chickelit said...

LilyBart said...
What is it with the Obama team that they are always pitting groups against each other?..

It's strategy, pure and simple. A house divided cannot stand...divide and conquer...polarize, attack, depolarize.

It's a mechanism for foisting change.

garage mahal said...

The heat must be really on... Hilary Rosen finally apologized to Ann Romney after doubling down on her comments since last night.

This is why Democrats should never apologize. R's will say it was Obama putting Rosen up to it, and R's will pretend Rosen never apologized anyway. Not to mention they never have to apologize for anything the loons on their side say every day. "Obama better have a bullet proof teleprompter! Hahahah".

damikesc said...

My family is not rich --- at all --- and my wife is stay-at-home, raising our two kids.

Obama couldn't do it making considerably more than I do?

*looks at Obama's spending*

Yeah, I can absolutely buy that.

I'm also still impressed that Obama is saying Romney inspired his healthcare bill --- but he is ALSO a radical conservative.

edutcher said...

Apologies are for Conservatives and Libertarians or, more properly, RINOs in Uncle Saul's universe.

In this case it means, "Oh, fuck, they're all siding with HER!!!!".

This should get wife-and-mom turnout way up this Fall. As I say, the Demos are on a real cold streak.

James said...

Here's the text of Hilary Rosen's apology.

Once again garage mahal and machine look like fools...keep defending her.

" “Let’s put the faux ‘war against stay at home moms’ to rest once and for all. As a mom I know that raising children is the hardest job there is. As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen. In response to Mitt Romney on the campaign trail referring to his wife as a better person to answer questions about women than he is, I was discussing his poor record on the plight of women’s financial struggles...

“As a partner in a firm full of women who work outside of the home as well as stay at home mothers, all with plenty of children, gender equality is not a talking point for me. It is an issue I live every day. I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance.”"

WildWillyC said...

"I LOVE THIS BLOG!!"

--Winston Zettimore, Ghostbuster (retired)

Geoff Matthews said...

Of course Michelle had to work.

“I know we’re spending — I added it up for the first time — we spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we’re spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements and so on and so forth,” Mrs. Obama tells the women. “And summer programs. That’s the other huge cost. Barack is saying, ‘Whyyyyyy are we spending that?’ And I’m saying, ‘Do you know what summer camp costs?’”


Michelle worked, partly, to afford piano, dance and summer camp for her kids.
Also, arugula.

Q said...

Prior to joining the RIAA in 1987, Rosen operated her own consulting firm. From 1981 to 1986, she was vice president of Liz Robbins Associates, a Washington lobbying firm, and before that, worked for former New Jersey governor Brendan Byrne. She has also served on the transition teams of U.S. Senators Bill Bradley and Dianne Feinstein.


Rosen is a founder and current board co-chair of Rock the Vote, an organization encouraging young people to become more involved in the political process. A dedicated and committed advocate, Rosen serves on many non-profit boards including LifeBeat, The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the National Music Council, the National Advisory Council for Artists for a Hate Free America, Y.E.S. to Jobs, and the National Cancer Foundation.


Rosen has made a very lucrative career out of being a lefty activist. She doesn't have a clue about how "working women", or working people, live their lives.

Brian Brown said...

We didn't have the luxury for [Michele] not to work

Well, when you have to send your kids to private school and buy that vacant lot from Tony Rezko, hell yeah!

Unknown said...

Never held a "job"?
Hmmmm...let me see.
Which would be a tougher "job":

A.) raising 5 kids or

B.) being a test dummy for a flamethrower company?

Temujin said...

It's not that they "didn't have the luxury," it's that they wanted luxury. She worked to achieve greater wealth. That was not necessary. It wasn't wrong either, but own it.

Thank you. When I hear that 'I/we didn't have the choice' I think they have it exactly backward. With a few exceptions, most all of us have choices and are exactly where we are based on the choices we've made in our lives. To say you thought it was more important to live in, let's say, Manhattan- and work for a consulting firm is fine. But understand- that was your choice. It was not a sentence.

bagoh20 said...

MayBee said: "Is that what you are trying to say on behalf of Ms Rosen?"

I'm saying that Mitt was implying that she had some insight into the economic situation for working women. Rosen pointed out that didn't make much sense since she not one of them. I think it's a fair point, and Mitt was pandering because he was using his wife's gender alone to give her authority on a subject that is only half gender-dependent and for which she lacked the other half.

It's just true. I'm sure I don't agree with Ms Rosen on anything, and I'm gonna vote for Mitt, but that's some lame reasoning that he should have a better answer for at this point.

He's in a damned war for women, so he needs better ammo than "I have a wife, and she's a woman."

Q said...

As a partner in a firm full of women ..


Perhaps the fearless question asker garage will ask Hilary Rosen why her firm is "full of women" and whether she believes in the principle of non-discrimination.

Q said...

I'm saying that Mitt was implying that she had some insight into the economic situation for working women. Rosen pointed out that didn't make much sense since she not one of them


Rosen is not "one of them" either.

Sigivald said...

Ah, but in order to do that, you'd have to actually understand your opponents at a level greater than a caricature.

The Progressives, corporately, haven't shown the slightest ability to do that.

viator said...

Ann Romney is a grandmother with sixteen grandkids? I must be getting old, some of these grandmothers don't resemble my childhood memories of grandmothers.

Grandmother Romney:

NNDB

Grandmother Palin:

NNDB

Q said...

Mitt was pandering because he was using his wife's gender alone to give her authority on a subject that is only half gender-dependent and for which she lacked the other half.



Ronsen's authority on working women is half gender-dependent and she lacks authority on the other half.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Let it be known that if you get one of those "conflicting edit" pieces of shit when you go to post, you will lose your comment.

I just lost mine, and it would have shaken the very foundation of mankind if posted. Now, I just don't feel like it anymore


LOL!!!

Ditto.

Besides. I'm sending off our personal and corporate taxes today so, I'm double pissy about everything.

DADvocate said...

Bottom line is that the left hates women who stay home and raise their own kids. It robs the left of the chance to indoctrinate the kids into the left's dogma. Free thinkers are non grata.

bagoh20 said...

"Rosen pointed out that didn't make much sense since she not one of them

Rosen is not "one of them" either."


Fine, so she talking out her ass too, but she's not running and Romney didn't claim her as an adviser.

Kansas City said...

I don't want to be too shallow about this, but Ann Romney also looks gorgeous in the photograph at the Drudge site. And, I assume Mitt looks pretty good to the ladies.

I love it when a democrat blurts out the truth and it is so bad that it causes a major fail for their efforts to deceive the country.

MayBee said...


I'm saying that Mitt was implying that she had some insight into the economic situation for working women. Rosen pointed out that didn't make much sense since she not one of them.


Mitt was saying that women are interested in the economy, and that Ann talks to these women. He is not saying he has insight into working women, he is saying women are just like people.

As I see it, he's fighting back perfectly from the conservative perspective. Women have the same kind of varied concerns as men.


All women are women. But some women, I guess, are more women than others.

kjbe said...

I’m happy for Ann – that she had the choice to stay home. The reality is that she could afford the economic dependence to make that choice. I believe her when she tweets that the raising of 5 boys is hard work, but if she is such a great spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, she seems to not understand that most middle class families (and more so, lower class families) can’t necessarily make that same choice. They might also have 5 boys, but have to make hard choices about how to pay for health insurance, food on the table, transportation, shelter, etc. I expected a little more compassion from her.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Stay at home mom usually, more often than not, also balances the checkbook.. Stay at home mom pay the bills.. when you pay the the bills, you are intimately in touch with economic issues.

Obama's campaign is clueless.

Matt Sablan said...

"I expected a little more compassion from her."

-- Rosen is the one who called her a shiftless, lazy person. Ann Romney merely said, no, I did do things. Rosen is the only one who has done anything wrong here. Don't blame Ann Romney that Rosen's attack failed.

MayBee said...

So does anybody here think Rosen or her partner couldn't have made the economic choice to stay home?

bagoh20 said...

My point is that this is the kind of thing from Romney that's just sub-par, and he will get killed if he doesn't up his game.

Obama could use it, and get away with it, but Romney is vulnerable to this stuff and should have been ready with better a long time ago. This War on Women has been raging for a month now. There are dead womens all around. Some have even zombified. My representative, "Maxine Waters" is walking around with such a smell of decay that my dogs won't eat. It's uncivilized.

James said...

>>I’m happy for Ann – that she had the choice to stay home. The reality is that she could afford the economic dependence to make that choice. I believe her when she tweets that the raising of 5 boys is hard work, but if she is such a great spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, she seems to not understand that most middle class families (and more so, lower class families) can’t necessarily make that same choice. They might also have 5 boys, but have to make hard choices about how to pay for health insurance, food on the table, transportation, shelter, etc. I expected a little more compassion from her.<<

Where I live in Wisconsin, there are lots of middle class and lower middle class families who make the decision that the wife should stay at home with the children. Its called sacrifice and deferred gratification.

In any event the marginal income from a working spouse isn't that much unless she is highly educated when you consider daycare, second car, the tax penalties, and a host of other expenses. When people think of it rationally they see the wisdom in the wife staying home with the children.

Calypso Facto said...

A case of friendly fire in the war on women.

More like a horribly bungled fragging.

Roger J. said...

Looks like the bint got her ass handed to her--one wonders what axelrod told her--probably made her offer she couldnt refuse.

Q said...

I believe her when she tweets that the raising of 5 boys is hard work, but if she is such a great spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, she seems to not understand that most middle class families (and more so, lower class families) can’t necessarily make that same choice. They might also have 5 boys, but have to make hard choices about how to pay for health insurance, food on the table, transportation, shelter, etc. I expected a little more compassion from her.


That's not an argument which Hilary Rose gets to make. It's not an argument which the Democratic party gets to make.

Maybe you should expect a little more compassion from them.

Matt Sablan said...

I don't think Axelrod had any role in this. He is smart and knows this is bad for him, hence his tweet. It's simple: Rosen said something stupid. I'll repeat: Let her go, chalk up her loss, do not fight to defend her. Leave her, move on. You're only wasting rounds trying to save the lost.

Rusty said...

garage mahal said...
The heat must be really on... Hilary Rosen finally apologized to Ann Romney after doubling down on her comments since last night.

This is why Democrats should never apologize. R's will say it was Obama putting Rosen up to it, and R's will pretend Rosen never apologized anyway. Not to mention they never have to apologize for anything the loons on their side say every day. "Obama better have a bullet proof teleprompter! Hahahah".



AAAAAnnd the beclowning is complete.
Are those cartoons on Nicklodeon?

Christy said...

In my experience, women with financial security and leisure do a lot of volunteer work. My little ladies-who-lunch group focus on a shelter for women and children. Friends who volunteer have a pretty clear understanding of the issues facing these women and frequently do battle for them. Don't discount the understanding of privileged women.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

They might also have 5 boys, but have to make hard choices about how to pay for health insurance, food on the table, transportation, shelter, etc. I expected a little more compassion from her.

And exactly where was Ann Romney UNcompassionate?

Please make a reference and link so we can see the horrible uncompassion of Ann Romney.

Original Mike said...

"Who are these out of touch people?"

Pot. Kettle.

Q said...

Fine, so she talking out her ass too, but she's not running


Ann Romney is not running, you clown.

and Romney didn't claim her as an adviser.


No, Obama did. She's a fucking Democratic party strategist with very long and very deep ties to the party. What part of this are you failing to understand?

Brian Brown said...

What is even funnier is that "authentic" woman Rosen is defending this:

This place would be in court for a hostile workplace,” former White House communications director Anita Dunn is quoted as saying. “Because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.”
...

“I felt like a piece of meat,” Christina Romer, former head of the Council of Economic Advisers, said of one meeting in which Suskind writes she was “boxed out” by Summers.

Dunn told Suskind that the problems began during the 2008 campaign. At one point she was viewing a television ad with other campaign officials and was shocked to see no women in the spot.

“There isn’t a single woman in this ad,” Dunn said. “I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t like they were being deliberately sexist. It’s just there was no one offering a female perspective.”

The ad was later reshot, with women included.

“The president has a real woman problem,” an unnamed high-ranking female official told Suskind. “ The idea of the boys’ club being just Larry and Rahm isn’t really fair. He [Obama] was just as responsible himself.”


Also note the Obama WH pays female staffers 16% less than the males.

OOPSIE!

Kansas City said...

James makes a terrific point that many people don't realize, sometimes even the spouses who work instead of staying at home:

"In any event the marginal income from a working spouse isn't that much unless she is highly educated when you consider daycare, second car, the tax penalties, and a host of other expenses. When people think of it rationally they see the wisdom in the wife staying home with the children."

This is exactly correct if the principal wage earner makes decent money, like $50,000 or more. The lesser earning spouse often works for very little net additional income.

Jane the Actuary said...

Wasn't Ann Romney's original comment that Real Women are concerned about the economy, and which candidate has the best chance of improving the economy, so that Democratic scare tactics that Republicans are after your Ladyparts won't work? Which means that Rosen's comment was really just another ad hominem attack unrelated to the substance of what AR said in the first place. AR was hardly saying "the economy is just fine" in a way that would merit an accusation that she was out of touch, but was saying the opposite: "women are worried about the economy."

Seeing Red said...

Meeshell could barely give her daughters ballet lessons on $300k/yr. This is Chicago, not NYC or SF.

Under the old mortgage rules,

Hubby's income would give them a $450K house, with both incomes, over a million.

Where's Rezko?

Q said...

Hilary Rosen is precisely the sort of woman which feminism aims to advance - a lesbian who has spent her entire life "working" in political activism.

If the GOP had any sense (there's a hypothetical) it would do its best to link Rosen to Obama and the Democratic Party in the public mind. It's not like this would even be a difficult task - just look at her bio which I already posted here.

You could make very potent attack ad just by describing all the Van Jones and Hilary Rosen type figures who represent the true base of the Democratic party.

furious_a said...

For $312K/year for a Chicago Machine no-show patronage job some people would leave their kids in a bus shelter all day.

Doesn't matter to me who's more "in touch" with the average Joe (admit it, neither of them are), but rather who pretends more transparently to be so.

One comes from wealth. The other has skated on Affirmative Action privileges and Chicago patronage. I'm still waiting to see who is more transparent.

First round to the Romney's though -- nothing rallies a skeptical base like one of the other guy's proxies attacking your guy's wife.

MayBee said...

Exactly, Jane.

Watching a panel on Fox just now, I saw a woman saying that yes, of course women who stay home with their kids are real women.

And if Romney really wants to prove he understands them, he should start laying out his program to help them.

They just can't help themselves.

Seeing Red said...

SOPA! RIAA! GOP is the stupid party!

furious_a said...

1. Ran a successful private equity firm.
2. Rescued the Salt Lake City Olympics from insolvency.
3. Stood successfully as a Republican for the governorship of the Bluest State in America.
4. Wife able to remain home to raise five boys.

They're prettier, more successful and more fertile than us. We hates them, Precious, we curses the Romneyses! Forever!

Scott M said...

They're prettier, more successful and more fertile than us. We hates them, Precious, we curses the Romneyses! Forever!

I don't say this often, but...

Thread Winner

Humperdink said...

What is it with Lesbian women named Hilary?

leslyn said...

The Rosen remark was ignorant, sexist, and unkind. Raising five kids?
She should be slammed by both parties, I don't care what kind of excuse Rosen or anyone else tries to come up with for her. No excuses.

furious_a said...

@Scott M: Thank you. My first Threadie at @Althouse.

P.S. Has anyone else noticed that the no-bot validations are getting
as complicated as launch codes?

furious_a said...

Make Hilary Rosen the new Willie Horton (who, btw, was Al Gore's idea first).

Unfortunately, the Republicans need a complicit media for that.

Roger J. said...

Dont think Ms Rosen's sexuality is or should be an issue. Her intelligence, on the other hand, is fair game.

This would make a great Hitler video when Hitler learns someone has sabotaged his war on women campaign.

leslyn said...

Jane said...

Wasn't Ann Romney's original comment that Real Women are concerned about the economy, and which candidate has the best chance of improving the economy, so that Democratic scare tactics that Republicans are after your Ladyparts won't work? Which means that Rosen's comment was really just another ad hominem attack unrelated to the substance of what AR said in the first place. AR was hardly saying "the economy is just fine" in a way that would merit an accusation that she was out of touch, but was saying the opposite: "women are worried about the economy."

This is the most clear and true statement about this issue I've seen on the thread. Thank you for stating it so well.

Plus ad hominem should go into the thread sweepstakes.

4/12/12 1:46 PM

garage mahal said...

She should be slammed by both parties, I don't care what kind of excuse Rosen or anyone else tries to come up with for her. No excuses.

Not one single person alive gives a flying fuck what Rosen, a DC insider/lobbyist/PR person said about the stay-at-5-homes Ann Romney. Not one. Please.

Roger J. said...

Ahem. Garage--apparently Messina and Axlerod did. Enough to repudiate her.

So there at least two people that gave a flying fuck.

Not that they are significant mind you.

Matt Sablan said...

"Not one single person alive gives a flying fuck what Rosen, a DC insider/lobbyist/PR person said about the stay-at-5-homes Ann Romney. Not one. Please."

-- A lot of people seem to care what Rosen, a DNC adviser and proponent of SOPA, had to say about Ann Romney. That's why she was forced to surrender and offer a sacrifice of her pride. It's why DWS, Axelrod and others slammed her. She could get away with SOPA and supporting the RIAA, but for some reason, they could not defend her on this. Because too much care was being given.

Scott M said...

Not one single person alive gives a flying fuck what Rosen, a DC insider/lobbyist/PR person said about the stay-at-5-homes Ann Romney. Not one. Please.

Complete and utter bullshit on your part, GM. Seriously, snark aside. Crapola burning on a astroturf welcome mat.

Axlerod certainly cared enough to tweet about it himself and that's just the first single person alive (reportedly) that I can think of.

Please.

James said...

Not one single person alive gives a flying fuck what Rosen, a DC insider/lobbyist/PR person said about the stay-at-5-homes Ann Romney. Not one. Please.

Michelle Obama cares or she wouldn't have weighed in...

"Michelle Obama ‏ @MichelleObama


Every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected. –mo"

Calypso Facto said...

"Not one single person alive gives a flying fuck what Rosen, a DC insider/lobbyist/PR person said ..."

"There are no tanks in Baghdad!"

Front and center news on Wall Street Journal, NYT, and USA Today pages, but you must know best (or have the most wishful thinking). What color's the sky in the bubble today, GM? ;)

bagoh20 said...

Q said: "No, Obama did. She's a fucking Democratic party strategist with very long and very deep ties to the party. What part of this are you failing to understand?"

If Romney doesn't get better you will get more like her running the show, so wise up and read more carefully.

I don't care about Obama and his lame ass leftists. I want Romney up to speed, with better reasons why women should vote for him than that he has close friends and associates that are women. He needs to explain how his policy will be good for them beyond: my wife thinks I'm cool.

Nobody cares about your hatred of the left except both ends who haven't changed their vote for decades. The sweet spot is in the middle. Romney needs to explain to them why they should move right. It's not that hard - it's the smart thing, and women can be smart despite their recent silliness.

Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bagoh20 said...

Of course this is a good little episode for Romney, but for no other reason than Rosen screwed up, and it will be forgotten in 24 hours. That's not gonna win this election.

And frankly, I don't want anyone who can't beat Obama at this time in history. It should be a walk in the park for someone who is conservative and knows why.

Original Mike said...

"Not one single person alive gives a flying fuck what Rosen, a DC insider/lobbyist/PR person said about the stay-at-5-homes Ann Romney. Not one. Please."

Dems care A LOT (others have provided ample evidence of this) because it steps on the message they believe will save them from Obama's economy, to wit, "The Republicans hate women!"

garage mahal said...

Ahem. Garage--apparently Messina and Axlerod did. Enough to repudiate her.

Democrats are spineless cowards. Nothing new there. But they don't really care either.

Humperdink said...

"Don't think Ms Rosen's sexuality is or should be an issue."

Sorry Roger J., I turned in my civility merit badge about 6 months after OweBama (pronounced Owe Bama) was immaculated.

garage mahal said...

Front and center news on Wall Street Journal, NYT, and USA Today pages, but you must know best (or have the most wishful thinking). What color's the sky in the bubble today, GM? ;)

I'm just saying nobody from either side truly cares what Hilary Rosen actually said. That is undoubtedly true. Sure, lots of people are pretending to care. I will say the lame apologies are worse than the faux outrage though.

Scott M said...

I will say the lame apologies are worse than the faux outrage though.

That's okay. We all think you're better to have around than a thoughtful person.

garage mahal said...

That's okay. We all think you're better to have around than a thoughtful person.

Coming from someone that constantly makes front of Michelle Obama's looks, I think I'll wait for another commenter's opinion.

Scott M said...

Coming from someone that constantly makes front of Michelle Obama's looks, I think I'll wait for another commenter's opinion.

Show me one...ONE...comment that I have ever posted. JUST ONE, GM, in which I make front of Michelle Obama's looks. Just one.

James said...

Garage Mahal....

More bad news for you. Graeme Zielinski admits that the Dems can't win on the collective bargaining issue.

Mother Jones interview:http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/scott-walker-recall-wisconsin-democrat-union

In an interview, an official with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin downplayed the importance of the anti-union provisions in Walker's "budget repair" bill in the Democrats' broader recall strategy. "Collective bargaining is not moving people," says Graeme Zielinski, a Democratic Party spokesman. And in the party's new strategy memo (PDF) for defeating Walker, there's little mention of collective bargaining or organized labor in the Democrats' messaging plans.

Walker's controversial anti-union legislation, known as Act 10, curbed collective bargaining rights for most public employees and made it harder for unions to recertify and collect dues from their members. (A federal judge later ruled that the recertification and dues provisions weren't legal.) When Walker introduced the bill—"dropped the bomb," as he put it—and threatened to sic the National Guard on angry public workers, tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Madison, the state capital; thousands more occupied the Capitol rotunda.

Original Mike said...

"And in the party's new strategy memo (PDF) for defeating Walker, there's little mention of collective bargaining or organized labor in the Democrats' messaging plans."

Of course, because the issue is a loser for them. If Walker's smart, he'll make it a big issue.

James said...

Bring on Kathleen Falk.

traditionalguy said...

A good woman who likes her man is always seen as an impressive part of that man's resume.

As Palin notes, Ann Romney has that ability more than most. She is truly Mitt's "better half."

So any disdain or ridicule worthy memes about Ann Romney are a necessary Obama tactic and will be tried out. If his campaign can get her ridiculed in a SNL skit next weekend, that will help Sweet Old Barack's re-election odds tremendously.

garage mahal said...

Show me one...ONE...comment that I have ever posted. JUST ONE, GM, in which I make front of Michelle Obama's looks. Just one.

This thread?

"And much less of a linebacker physique than Michelle. What's not to love in this potential First Lady?"

Original Mike said...

Falk! Falk! Falk!

Scott M said...

And much less of a linebacker physique than Michelle. What's not to love in this potential First Lady?"

And how, pray tell, is that "making front" of the First Lady. For that matter, just what the hell is "making front" anyway?

K in Colorado said...

Just to follow up on Ann having MS. My wife has MS, and what most people don't realize about MS is that a common symptom is fatigue, and extreme fatigue at that. Imagine raising 5 boys when you wake up in the morning feeling like you've already run a marathon.

garage mahal said...

More bad news for you. Graeme Zielinski admits that the Dems can't win on the collective bargaining issue.

Except every Dem candidate is promising and campaigning to restore the bargaining rights. The ones the court didn't already strike down that is.

A lot of squawking lately from the right about the John Doe case. Must mean the hammer is soon to fall? Getting all ready to rally around an indicted governor? We know you will!

Original Mike said...

"... a common symptom [of MS] is fatigue, and extreme fatigue at that. Imagine raising 5 boys when you wake up in the morning feeling like you've already run a marathon."

Yeah, that was one of the first things that came to my mind when I heard Rosen's comment.

janetrae said...

More about the "framing" Ann - I watched Ms. Rosen whose remarks to Cooper Anderson began with the statement that the meme "war on women" is made up the by GOP and that the Dems never said or used that phrase, ever, ever, -- and on the right hand column of Drudge are two links to Dem re-election campaigns asking voters to reject the Republican "War on Women". So, not only is Ms. Rosen an idiot for characterizing someone who was a stay-at-home mom as "never having worked a day in her life" -- she is a proven liar to boot.

P.S. In guardianship court in Cook County, Illinois last week I was asked by the (woman) judge if both parents were employed and brining in money to the household. (It was an unusual guardianship in that the money was a windfall from an uncle and the family is going to bank it because they are going to use it for college for the very young children involved.) So I paused, looked at the judge and said, "the Dad has a full-time job outside the home, and the Mom is a stay-at-home Mom who has a job being a Mom to an 8, 5 and 3 year old." The judge's response: "That is very hard work. Thank you for pointing that out."

James said...

Except every Dem candidate is promising and campaigning to restore the bargaining rights. The ones the court didn't already strike down that is.

Yeah, that's a winner.

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