Well, that was fast! All the good feelings and sympathy Democrat Hilary Rosen accidentally engendered for Ann Romney last week when she insulted the stay-at-home mom for "not working a day in her life" just got blasted right out of the water. Turns out Ann's own husband, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, doesn't think much of women who stay at home to care for their kids either. You know, women like his wife.
We've got a reminder courtesy of a reporter with a good memory that it was just this past January when ol' Mittens was smacking moms for sitting on their hineys and hanging with their kiddos! Eeesh. So much for that "early birthday present," Ann's been calling the love from moms who were righteously indignant on her behalf (and rightly so!) and rallying behind her husband's campaign.
In a speech at a town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, just after the new year, the candidate made clear his disdain for women who accept welfare checks so they can stay home with their children. And he threw an extra jab at women like his own wife when he made it clear this is not about saving taxpayer dollars. Nope. Mitt says he'd be willing to have the state PAY for childcare for these kids, thereby negating the "savings" of getting these moms of welfare because, well, I'll let him say it:
Even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work ... I'm willing to spend more giving daycare to allow those parents to go back to work... I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.
Cough. Sputter. Cough. He sounds an awful lot like, well, like Hilary Rosen for one, doesn't he? So much for the groundswell of mom support for the Romney campaign. He doesn't want us. At least not if we think it's pretty dang dignified to spend your days changing diapers, singing the alphabet song, and molding a future member of society.
But it isn't just Mitt's castigation of womankind in general that stands out here. Frankly, I think women have come to expect that from a guy who would take away our reproductive freedom and considers the guy who repealed the equal pay enforcement act in the State of Wisconsin a hero.
I'm having an even bigger problem with the fact that Mitt doesn't even respect his own wife and her choices, nor does he value what she's given their children. That should send the voters running in the opposite direction in droves. Ann Romney is the mother of his own kids. She's the woman he's spent decades of his life with -- by choice. And he speaks of her life's work with such disrespect ... in public, no less?
If you think you can tell a lot about the measure of a man by how he treats his own wife, Mitt Romney's insistence that moms should get their hind ends to work should tell you all you need to know about him. He'll badmouth the person closest to him, and he'll do it right out in public. If he can't be there for his own wife, how can we expect him to be there for us, strangers?
Watch some of Mitt's Manchester speech:
What do you think of Mitt Romney's insistence that moms need to experience the "dignity" of work?
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Comments 24
I'd like to punch him in his head. This is yet another situation where he proves he has NO IDEA what people ACTUALLY live like.
Guess what, !@%^@$%^? Up until two years ago, we qualified for WIC but not food stamps, and yet I still couldn't AFFORD to work. Now, I HAVE A JOB and have for years, but we get state health insurance and the max amount of food stamps. Hear that? HAVE A JOB.
And besides, being a mother IS dignified work. Apparently your momma didn't teach you that there is value in raising healthy, empathetic children, even if it doesn't bring in money.
Grr.
On a semi-related note: why was John McCain there? It looks like he was photoshopped in.
I watched that video clip. He did not say things the way you wrote them. He was referring to people on Welfare.
I agree with Lynette. What you wrote was WAY out of context. But, good try.
WOW Jeanne. I always expect WAY more from you than to purposely post out of context information. I am seriously disappointed.
melissa not once did he mention "moms". He said "individuals" and "parents" and was strictly refering to those on welfare. Hello! THEY SHOULD work out side of the home if they are able just like ANY other able bodied individual that is receiving tax $$ to live on and not PAYING into that pool. If they get to the point where they have a choice AWESOME. They worked hard to get there just like those of us who pay for it. If they can't get a job initially, OK, I get it, but they have to wok just as hard to find a job, ANY JOB, while they are living of the system. I know lots of people work their rear ends off to find a job, but MANY MANY don't and elect to continue to live of the system because it' easier. There has to be a way to combat those people.
I don't think this is out of context..she cited everything and even included a video. Not sure how that could be out of context.
She may have quoted it correctly, but reread the title again, and her entire article. SHE made it about "moms" as a whole. He did not, and was talking about a specific group of people. No where in there did he put down someone for choosing to stay home and raise a child.