Charging sexism in the defense of Elizabeth Warren is no vice?
Obama gets the Scott Brown treatment for criticizing Elizabeth Warren.
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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Comments
It’s a case of the pot calling the kettle ,,, well you know.
WELL!
You can state that again!
The sexist, racist old pot calling the sexist, racist old kettle…… But kitchen utensils side….
Lizzie Borden Warren IS NOT smart and IS NOT capable…….
Two thoughts:
First, her peers probably understand her intelligence very well and are not impressed;
Second, Lizzie also understands her intelligence very well, and thus her limitations, and knows why she got the job at Harvard.
She would get battered in a presidential race and I think she knows it.
and “fried!” But many think she’s fried already… snark snark
IowaHawk tweets:
NAACP president: NOW president’s critique of Obama’s critique of Elizabeth Warren is racist
“And all around the cobbler’s bench, the monkey chased the weasel…”
Racist, sexist, can’t these Progressive greasy pole climbers just get along? Princess Running Bare is a redistributionist darling and sharp elbows beats brains any day.
You mean it would be sexist to call that bitch a douchebag?
Please don’t use the word “sex” ever in conjunction with Elizabeth Warren. The imagery is too …. well you know.
Man alive this is some funny s–t to watch. Get out the popcorn the progs are experimenting with eating their own in pulic.
Kind of reminds me of the quote from Sun Tsu’s “Art of War”. “Wait by the river long enough and the body of your enemy will float by.”
If you place two scorpions in a bucket they will fight till one or both is dead. I find this immensely entertaining.
Mine just made baby scorpions. Huh. Must be busted…
I don’t care who wins this one, as long as it goes on for a long time.
“Now Brown suggests that Elizabeth Warren is not really qualified to teach at Harvard.”
“Elizabeth Warren got the Harvard job because she was supremely qualified, as are most women who are attacked in this way.”
NO! Elizabeth Warren got the job because of the fake Cherokee claim – Brown was right. Harvard ALWAYS hires professors from TOP 10 [or nearly TOP 10] law schools. When Lieawatha graduated from Rutgers Law, it was ranked #187. #187 is nowhere near #10 or below. Explain that one, liberal a-holes.
Apart from the array of other real concerns about another progressive president, if she’s a woman, we’ll have to endure four or eight years of being silenced and attacked for any and all criticism of policy. SEXXIST!!
I’d love to see a woman president, but at this point, ONLY if she’s a Republican. The media won’t be worried about sexism if they’re the ones critiquing policy issues; indeed, they will use it themselves just as they use racist attacks against black Republicans.
It is sexist to call Elizabeth by her first name, but fortunately, Hillary is campaigning using her first name, so she is inviting everyone to use that name to refer to her.
That is a clever argument, but please note: Hillary has used her name only with respect to complimentary comments. She has not permitted her name to be used for negative comments. Using the name “Hillary” in a negative comment about her is, therefore, still sexist.
Not sexist, just condescending and insulting.
President Obama talks that way to and about pretty much everybody.
I think it was Paul Begala who said “politics is show business for ugly people”.
Since when does Obama care about free trade?
I guess I’m the only one cynical enough to think that this supposed Democrat infighting could be pure political theater intended to position the Cherokee Princess as the true progressive. The one with the strength, backbone and guiding principles to stand up to the sexist progressive president. Of her own party, even! Swooooon.
I could be wrong, of course, but it would not surprise me in the least if it’s all, or mostly, staged.