Elizabeth Warren had a reputation in academia as a climber with sharp elbows, said New York Magazine in 2011 (“A Saint with Sharp Elbows), and The Boston Globe in 2012:
Behind the scenes, some of her peers bristled at her ascent, viewing her as smart and capable but also as a climber with sharp elbows.
Warren brought those sharp elbows to her 2012 Senate campaign against Scott Brown, and when Brown elbowed back he was accused of sexism.
Brent Budowsky at The Hill accused Brown of “sexist slime” for raising the obvious question as to whether Warren’s false claim to be Native American in a law directory used for hiring might have juiced her career. Budowsky wrote:
First Brown implied that Warren was a Harvard elitist. Presumably Brown would attack John F. Kennedy for the same reason. Now Brown suggests that Elizabeth Warren is not really qualified to teach at Harvard. Huh? Brown’s using the old Karl Rove-style “dog whistle” attack, suggesting Warren just maybe got the Harvard job because of affirmative action.What sexist garbage it is that Scott Brown is trying to sell?Elizabeth Warren got the Harvard job because she was supremely qualified, as are most women who are attacked in this way.
The Warren campaign made the same sexism charge:
“Once again, the qualifications and ability of a woman are being called into question by Scott Brown who did the same thing with the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan. It’s outrageous.”
Well, most women who make it to the top don’t make false claims to be a minority for hiring purposes. And Liz never has released or authorized Harvard to release her full hiring file.
When Brown was raked over the coals for appearing semi-nude in Cosmo during college, that was fair game, but when Brown joked that “thank God” Warren didn’t have to do that to get through college, the sexism charge was leveled:
Two words uttered in seeming jest by Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) about Elizabeth Warren on Thursday have infuriated women’s rights groups, with some even calling for the senator to drop his reelection bid.In an interview with WZLX radio, Brown had laughed and said, “Thank God,” in response to Warren’s recent comment in which she said she didn’t have to take her clothes off to pay for law school — a reference to Brown having posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine in his 20s.This is the kind of sexist misogynistic attack that we have very sadly come to expect from politicians whenever there is a strong woman who is capable and really dedicated to the betterment of all the people,” Terry O’Neill, president of National Organization for Women, told POLITICO.“And I really think that the biggest apology he owes is not to Elizabeth Warren — she is strong, trust me, she can take it — he owes an apology to the women of Massachusetts,” she said.
Get that? Warren jokes about Brown taking his clothes off and Brown was the SEXIST for responding. Warren thought so highly of the sexism charge leveled against Brown for the comment she cited the incident in her book.
Warren’s campaign also heavily promoted a doctored video purporting to show Brown telling Warren not to speak, when in fact he was telling her to stop lying about his record. Again, the sexism theme.
Warren’s 2012 campaign showed that Warren and her supporters can throw sharp elbows, but don’t hesitate to use accusations of sexism when elbows come back at her.
And that is exactly what is happening now.
Warren has been throwing sharp elbows at Obama’s attempt to get fast track trade authority. After Senate Democrats led by Warren defeated an early procedural vote that would have allowed debate to commence, Obama hit back with criticism of his own.
And then came the charge of sexism … against Obama.
First from Democratic Senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown:
Democratic senator Sherrod Brown is subtly accusing President Barack Obama of sexism in his attacks on Senator Elizabeth Warren, also a Democrat. “I think the president was disrespectful to her by the way he did that…made this more personal,” Brown told reporters.”I think referring to her as her first name, when he might not have done that for a male senator, perhaps–I’ve said enough.”
National Organization for Women (NOW) president Terry O’Neill on Wednesday called President Obama’s critique of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sexist. O’Neill told The Hill she took issue with Obama calling Warren by her first name during an interview with Yahoo News published Saturday.
Now Obama wants an apology for the sexism charge:
Welcome to Elizabeth World, Barack.
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