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Old 04-13-2012, 12:26 AM   #1
Ibby
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Ann Romney/Hilary Rosen

So, CNN contributor Hilary Rosen, commenting on Romney's repeated statements that his wife, being his chief council on women's issues, tells him the most important issue to women is the economy (and Obama's mishandling of it), said that since Ann had "never worked a day in her life", she doesn't really have a leg to stand on when speaking for women's economic hardships. Suddenly, it's a big deal to conservatives. Big enough that not only has Rosen apologised, but both Obama AND Biden have made strong statements against Rosen's comments.


...What the... everholylivingmotherofbloody fuck?
The entire controversy here is that using the word "worked" to be a synonym "employed" is... not allowed when talking about mothers?
Please, somebody, try to explain this one to me.
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:37 AM   #2
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Hilary Rosen is an ass.
She received and deserved criticism from BOTH sides, not just conservatives.
"both Obama AND Biden have made strong statements against Rosen's comments."
Good, she's an ass and they shouldn't want to be associated with her.
From what I remember, she pretty much failed at everything she did & was fired politely let go.
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:45 AM   #3
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What's wrong with saying that Ann Romney hasn't ever worked, in the context of her economic experience, classic? That's what I'm asking. I understand that Rosen's reviled. I don't understand what's wrong with the thing that she's being attacked for.
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Old 04-13-2012, 07:36 AM   #4
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Not Another Mommy War

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/12/opinio...tml?hpt=hp_bn7

Quote:
CNN commentator Hilary Rosen, who also is an adviser to the Democratic National Committee, uttered these words about the Romney campaign using the candidate's wife, Ann, as a surrogate on economic issues facing working women and working moms today:

"Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life."

I'm pretty sure Rosen would take those comments back in a heartbeat if she could, because now instead of talking about whether the GOP hopeful is really connecting with the economic struggles of real women, we're debating Mommy Wars 3.0.

I'm not going to defend Rosen's choice of words. Every mother is a working mother. Period. I know how much work my one daughter is, so I can't begin to imagine just how much time and patience it took to raise five boys (six if you count Ann's comments about Mitt in a recent campaign video).
Quote:
But the argument that so many of Rosen's critics are missing is this -- she was trying to make a point about whether a wealthy woman who has never had to worry about choosing between buying groceries or paying the electric bill is the best person to be the Romney campaign's surrogate on how women and families are struggling economically today.

It's a totally fair question to ask whether someone who has never had to work to earn money is the right person to advise anyone on the economic struggles of women today. Asking that question shouldn't be the start of a new skirmish in the stay-at-home mom vs. working mom debate.
Quote:
The real issue is whether the Romney campaign wants to understand the economic issues so many women are facing in this election year. Yes, he should have his wife reach out to women voters and try to connect as a campaign secret weapon, but it's a mistake for the campaign to suggest that Ann Romney is the one he relies on for economic advice. Remember how the right got so riled up over the idea of Hillary Clinton advising her husband on health care policy?
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Old 04-13-2012, 07:55 AM   #5
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Infi's nailed it.
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Old 04-13-2012, 09:47 AM   #6
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To get women voters, Romney needs to push the correct statistic that 92% of all job losses under the Obama Administration have been among women but make sure they never figure out why.

Quote:
Facing a double-digit deficit among female voters, likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has accused the White House of waging an economic "war on women." Since Obama took office in January 2009, he's charged, an amazing 92 percent of all job losses have been among women.

He's absolutely right. In the last 26 months, U.S. payrolls have shrunk by 740,000 jobs and of those, 683,000 belonged to women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But Romney should be careful with his talking point. All those women who lost work? About two-thirds of them were laid off from government jobs. And a lot of them lived in states governed by Republicans.

......

For a Republican who preaches the virtues of smaller government, it might seem a bit hypocritical to bemoan the loss of women's jobs that are mostly the result of ... smaller government. But the problem actually goes deeper. When it came to laying off government workers in 2011, there was a clear red state/blue state divide. According to the Roosevelt Institute, 40.5 percent of all state and local government job losses occurred in places where Republicans won control of the legislature in 2010. Call that the Scott Walker effect, after the Tea Party-backed governor of Wisconsin who has clashed fiercely with public sector unions. Meanwhile, another 31 percent of those government jobs vanished in Texas. Call that the Rick Perry effect. All other states combined accounted for just 28 percent of state and local layoffs.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...ckfire/255754/
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Old 04-13-2012, 11:13 AM   #7
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Yeah, Infi's found the quotes I'da wanted to find, and highlighted what I'da wanted to highlight.

Raising children is hard work.
Bloody hard work if you work all day and then have to still raise them single-handedly and do all the shopping and the housework - not because you're a single mother but because that's woman's work.

I did not grow up in that household. My dad did not "help" with the children or "help" with the dishes. The 'rents worked shifts (at work) to earn money and then worked shifts at home to bring us up. My bro wet his pants before school? One week Dad cleaned him up, cleaned it up, put the pants in the wash. I had a migraine and puked all over the cloakroom after lunch? My Mum brought me home.

My Mum is not an intellectual. She did not need work to fulfill her; work was a chore. Had she had the choice she would have stayed at home with us, but probably volunteered. Had she had viable childcare options (like pre-school) she might even have gone back into education - I said she wasn't intellectual, not that she was stupid. I wish she'd had the money to find something she loved doing.

She taught us all the read and write before we got to school. She was the driving force in my love of reading and of poetry. My Daddy taught me my times tables (multiplication) when they were making me cry. Had either of them stayed at home I'd never denigrate them by saying they didn't work. But what can you say otherwise. They worked double-plus-good?

ETA
One of Mum's fiercest and harshest ephitets is, "Of course she's never worked a day in her life!" Applied to friends, neighbours, pop singers, actresses et al. Even to the Queen Mum. I think this comes from the fact that Nanny didn't work until after Mum left home, which meant Grandad worked far longer and she never saw him. And she was forbidden to play with other children because "I don't want to be alone, what do you think I had a baby for?!"
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Old 04-13-2012, 11:26 AM   #8
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My mother stayed home when we kids were young. She said she never thought anyone could raise her kids better than she could herself.

And they sacrificed their asses off to make that happen. She didn't get to buy herself nice clothes, they didn't drive fancy cars or go to expensive restaurants.

There were no housekeepers or nannies or gardeners or any of the trappings of the mega-rich.

So yeah, I now like Ann romney less than I like Mitt romney. Good job Ann. You married money. Raising children is hard. But popping out kids isn't such a miracle. It's a little science involving sex and reproductive organs. People do it every day. I don't exalt her particular brand of 'poor hardworking mother.' Meh.
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Old 04-13-2012, 11:57 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ibram View Post
The entire controversy here is that using the word "worked" to be a synonym "employed" is... not allowed when talking about mothers?
Please, somebody, try to explain this one to me.
It's like when a gay person says "that's so gay" as an insult, or a feminist calls someone a bitch or pussy, due to habits acquired from pervasive phrases in society. Opposition will glory in it, and supporters will have to decry it.

"Not worked a day in [his/her] life" is a common phrase, and it's unfortunate that it doesn't take into account the worked=employment vs. worked=labored. Though, it is often used in a relative way, and a -for example- coal miner could use it with respect to an office worker.

I do wonder whether anyone who was outraged over Rosen's treatment of Romney ever thought of "welfare queens" as lazy people who should be forced to get a job, or if being a mother is only work if you're lucky enough to have a husband who can support you.
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:06 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy Monkey View Post
I do wonder whether anyone who was outraged over Rosen's treatment of Romney ever thought of "welfare queens" as lazy people who should be forced to get a job, or if being a mother is only work if you're lucky enough to have a husband who can support you.
This this this.
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:24 PM   #11
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I second (or fourth) Ibram's 'this' to HM's post.

Seriously true!
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:41 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy Monkey View Post
...being a mother is only work if you're lucky enough to have a husband who can support you.
I don't want to split hairs, but, I do take objection to the use of the word "lucky" as relates to one's position in life. The implication, whether intended or not, is that results don't account for hard effort and smart choices. One might even say that this is a central issue of perception that divides a certain two quasi-classes of people (not true "classes" but those who simply subscribe to differing schools of thought...and obvioulsy not two "discrete" sets of people either).

I can say I have personally observed that this can be a misstep in thinking which has cascading effects.
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:43 PM   #13
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You don't want to split hairs, but you do.

I'm sure HM would take back his hasty and unfortunate use of the word 'lucky' if he could. Oh wow, we're back to the OP.
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:45 PM   #14
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Okay, you caught me red-handed (but not red-herring'ed). I do love to split hairs, play devil's advocate, and other such "thought exercises" ...
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Old 04-13-2012, 12:46 PM   #15
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That's OK. Me too.
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