Dear Democratic Party,
Jesus Christ.
You had the women voters delivered to you by the Republicans
on a silver platter made from the foil backs of birth control pills and you’re
now managing to alienate them swiftly and surely.
Why do you do this to yourselves? Why? This election should
be a gimme, why make it an uphill battle?
After waging a war on women’s reproductive rights to protect
religion’s rights by taking away a woman’s right to choose how many kids she
has, thus extending the role of the government while claiming to be the party
of small government (Irony was last seen downing a scotch), the female vote was
yours for the taking, Democratic Party.
And then here comes your Strategist and CNN Political
Contributor Hilary Rosen.
Rosen made what is, admittedly, a rather dumb comment about
how Ann Romney, a stay-at-home mom, has never worked a day in her life and thus
shouldn’t be who Mitt Romney consults on economic issues facing women. It’s a
dumb comment, a low-hanging-fruit jab that’s neither particularly inflammatory nor helpful to your cause.
Just because they’re stay-at-home moms doesn’t mean that they don’t have an
understanding of what’s going on in the world, economically and otherwise.
Plus, one could argue (and that’s exactly what I’m doing here), that
stay-at-home moms, often tasked with maintaining the family budget, probably
have a pretty good sense of how economically tough things are in the world
right now.
It could have ended there, if there was not the 24-hour news
cycle beast to feed. But media outlets love making mountains out of stupid
comments caught on tape (and I say this from nearly a decade of experience
feeding the beast in 10 hour shifts).
So now it’s a controversy. And, as such, Rosen has written an editorial
on CNN’s webpage trying to explain herself.
And this is where the Democrats need to learn how to shut
the hell up. Because instead of making it better, Rosen’s put her foot so far
in her mouth it’s coming out of her ass.
There’s something of a custom among us simple stay-at-home
moms that you never return a plate empty, meaning that if somebody brings a
dish to your house, when you return the dish, you should return it full of
cookies or muffins or something to say thank you.
Maybe that’s why she’s serving up platitudes on the same
silver platter Republicans sent the women voters over on.
“I admire women who can stay home and raise their kids full
time. I even envy them sometimes. It is a wonderful luxury (emphasis
mine) to have the choice.”
Aside from the condescending tone, these comments are
frustrating because she seems to think that all stay-at-home moms are ladies
who lunch wherever it is that the 1% eats these days. And, as a stay-at-home
mom that has had vegetarianism forced upon her as a result of her economic
condition, I have to call challenge.
Look, I know I have a biased here. But I also have a point.
Most of the stay-at-home moms I know (and the partners that support them) have
made tremendous changes in their own lives so that they can have one parent
stay at home and raise the kids. It’s a personal choice that’s very rarely a
luxury but a sacrifice. And who better to understand what’s going on in the
world of economics than families who have suddenly taken a 50% pay cut? Don’t
think that stay-at-home moms understand the economic climate? I have a much
better understanding of inflation now that I have to watch my pennies at the
grocery store. Talk to a mom who goes in to buy eggs, milk and bananas and
spends $40 to get a real understanding of how hard it is out there economically.
Drive around all day with a mom of 2 who tries to balance taking their kids to
play dates and soccer practice with the rising cost of a gallon of gas. Make no
mistake Democrats, stay-at-home moms understand today’s economic climate.
But it’s more than that. I am a strong liberal who would no
more think of voting for Romney than going to the moon. But there are a lot of
people out there who sit on the fence. And you know what? I may not agree with
a damn thing that’s ever come out of Sarah Palin’s mouth, but she’s never made
me feel like a simpleton for giving up my career and staying home with my kids.
And if you Democrats start
alienating women for the choices they make, you’re no better than the
Republicans who just alienated women for the choices they make.
Listen Democrats: your strategy for this election is so
simple it’s been made into an internet meme. President Obama killed Bin Laden.
He saved us from economic depression. He didn’t screw up the recovery effort
from a natural disaster. And he brought us motherf*ckers doughnuts. Don’t stray
from the message and let’s wrap this shit up in November. ‘Kay?
Hugs and Kisses,
Lindsay