How immature can Carly Fiorina get? She sounds like my six year old daughter on a bad day.
The Daily Beast reports:
Carly Fiorina, doing what she can to set back the cause of women in politics: The California Republican nominee for the Senate refused to apologize to Senator Barbara Boxer after she was caught on camera mocking her hair. Asked about the incident by Greta Van Susteren, Fiorina said, “I was quoting a friend of mine. My goodness, my hair’s been talked about by a million people, you know? It sort of goes with the territory.” She then brought up her battle with cancer, saying, “Especially when you don’t have any. As you remember, I started out with none.”
Carly Fiorina
So Fiorina’s friend said the hair comment first and that makes it OK?
Then Fiorina says that she’s been made fun of before, so she’s allowed to make fun of other people? Um, Carly: two wrongs don’t make a right.
Next: It “goes with the territory?” Meaning it’s just fine to make fun of women in power for the way they look? After all, everybody does it.
The point of getting women into power positions is to change that dynamic, not perpetuate it. (Not to mention lead, not follow.)
And finally, Fiorina attempts to switch the issue in a bid for sympathy, playing the cancer card.
Maybe I’ll invite Fiorina over for a playdate, hoping some better manners rub off on her. But I won’t be voting for her for California senator. Who wants mean girls in political office?
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I was thinking more about your “blame the feminists” comment, Morgan. It got me riled up – I think you’re right! I mean what are they going to want next? Equal pay for equal work? The right to vote? The right to run for office? Damn feminists. Thanks for putting it all into perspective for me.
Hey wait a second, are we still evaluating this logically? Last I checked, women had the right to vote, to run for office, and it was illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender in compensation, and enrollment, contracting & promotions too. From what I know about logic, this would mean there must be something more to the equation, because the feminist revolution is still rolling on.
You have two women saying snarky asinine things, one’s a democrat and one’s a Republican. Let’s see, what in recent history has provoked women to say snarky asinine things? You going to blame the patriarchy? How?
But this isn’t about snarky asinine things and it isn’t about mean things. How about some honesty; this about keeping Republican girls out of office.
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Wow, Morgan. Okay – this is not my blog – let’s make that clear, I’m a reader. I’m a reader because I have a daughter, because I am a woman. I cannot for the life of me figure out how you landed on this blog as I can see that you’re typically on right wing blogs whereas this is a non-political blog about empowering girls through media and product choice information.
Okay, so you don’t want wonderful people in office – if they’re crappy people but their politics are on your side, okay, which suits the Republican party well – and the Democrats well these days. Plenty of sleeping around, male prostitutes, children out of wedlock. But it’s the Republicans who came up with the Family Values mantra – so now you ditch it? Alrighty. I can see your point – let’s make it about the policies – but own that as well.
Now here’s the real insult and evidence you may be trawling for a fight. On this blog you leave this comment: “Some of our powerful women feel a burning need to show how snarky they are — hey, blame feminism.” That’s what feminism is to you – the right for women to be snarky? Wow. Please tell me you don’t have daughters. How the heck do you think your beloved Palin got where she is? Oh, and nice picture on your blog, I think I do get where you’re coming from. Shallow thinking indeed.
You’re all over the place in your response but primarily simply in attack mode. I’m sure the Brigadier General of the Army Corps of Engineers you’re so concerned about defending will be thrilled you’re on his side in this one. After all, I’m pretty damn sure he worked hard for his title as well. How about you? Military service? Perspective is pretty important here. And everywhere.
My only knee jerk reaction about your comments is revulsion to your perspective on women and feminism. As I am a woman I’m pretty sure I’m entitled to that opinion.
Heather,
Thank you for all of your smart words. Morgan seems unable to listen to logic.
My last blog post was in defense of a Republican who was treated in a sexist way by the media.
Morgan, please stop attacking Heather or I will not allow your comments anymore on this blog, which I can actually do because it’s MY blog!
Thank you,
Margot
Good advice.
If it’s about dignity…Ms. Fiorina could bellyache all day and night about hair, until she turns blue in the face, and she wouldn’t shed one tenth as much dignity as Sen. Boxer did with that whole “Don’t Call Me Ma’am” thing. Most people would agree with that, including democrats from California. That’s really awful. It says our senator doesn’t know how military personnel address superior female officers and civilians — she doesn’t know and doesn’t care. Slimes all of us. Fiorina didn’t know her mic was live; what was Barbara’s excuse?
You say this isn’t about party politics, it’s about dignity, being nice versus mean. Good for you. Had many objections to mean and/or liberal democrats lately?
Okay, obviously you’re not getting the irony of what you’re asking: it’s not about saying “Yeah, my person from party A said this BUT this person from party B said this (a year ago) so let’s move the spotlight, not be accountable, and stomp our feet about the inequity.” It’s not about party politics, it’s about gender issues – about a powerful, influential woman on a political stage acting disgracefully, making catty, immature remarks about how someone looks.
On an entirely different note (i.e. responding to what you referenced rather than what the original post was actually about) I am married to a Marine Veteran. We have a six year old daughter. I am a behind our troops 100% and have huge respect for the military. Barbara Boxer is a Senator and has every right to ask to be referred to as such. (Hmmm, perhaps this IS appropriate for this post – from the gender angle.)
Boxer was not disrespectful to the Brigadier General, she respectfully asked him to call her by her appropriate title, thanked him for doing so. If a male Senator asks to be referred to as Senator rather than Sir by a member of the military is it automatically a sign of disrespect for the military? I don’t think so. Was Boxer reacting out of proportion given that it was a member of the military? Perhaps. However, I’d much rather my six year old daughter (who we’ve taught great respect for the military) learn to be empowered to ask to be referred to by her appropriate title rather than learn how to insult someone’s physical appearance.
Hands down.
Glad you feel that way. A lot of military families do not. Incidentally, as you’re well aware the video of Sen. Boxer’s request is widely available. I’ve seen people make requests in that tone before. It doesn’t look respectful in any way at all; it looks peevish. And what I think a lot of people on the left tend to miss about this, is it’s an ugly thing to see in someone who’s supposed to be in an occupation of service to the rest of us. Sen. Boxer, in the opinion of all who see and recognize the problem, has lost sight of this. “I’ve worked hard for that title” is something you’d say if you saw the title as an asset, as your personal property.
Well, look. I can see from the title of your post that the important thing to you is to make sure our offices are filled with decent people, even if the resulting policies are terrible. More than a few people are coming around to my way of thinking on this…which is that this is precisely how we’ve gotten terrible policies, by worrying too much about getting “wonderful” people into those positions and keeping them there. So we have a difference of opinion there, and I respect yours. If you’re right and we should be arguing about the candidates’ inner decency, you’re right Ms. Fiorina did herself no credit here. Some of our powerful women feel a burning need to show how snarky they are — hey, blame feminism. Boxer’s done the same thing on more than one occasion.
We’re two years into an era in which Boxer’s party has been in control of everything that matters. If we’re supposed to like the results, Boxer can campaign on that. I hope she does. If we’re not, but we’re supposed to believe the results of the next two years are supposed to be somehow different from the results of the first two…she can campaign on that. Or she can show us how much of a more wonderful person she is than Fiorina. Point is, if you want to evaluate them that way, I think you should do it even-handedly. Only a shallow thinker would systematically excuse every single catty, churlish thing ever done by Boxer, while jumping on the equivalent things done by Fiorina like some hungry predator who’s picked up the scent of blood.
That would be the definition of knee-jerk partisan politics. It would also be the very definition of prejudice — to pre-judge. That isn’t what you’re all about, is it?
Oh, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Mr. House of Eratosthenes. This wasn’t a post about party politics. This was a post (and a blog in general) about teaching our daughters (and selves) to be empowered, about learning to treat each other respectfully as human beings, about not falling into ruts of stereotypical behavior that limits our potential as human beings. Let’s all try to work towards that last one especially – staying away from stereotypical behavior such as if one is a republican (as clearly evidenced by one’s blog), finding fault with every last thing the democrats do. And don’t do. And vice versa, of course. This is a post about changing the dynamics of power – and you’re clearly in a rut going down this same dusty path. LEARN from this post rather than knee-jerk reacting from a rigid political position. Let it empower your politics rather than frighten you. Demand more and better from your candidates.
Amen. I tell ya, this stuff is just out of control. Why just the other day I heard Barbara Boxer gave birth to a baby with Downs Syndrome, and a bunch of Republicans started rumors that the whole pregnancy was faked. And then a conservative reporter rented the house next door to where Barbara Boxer lives, just so he could spy on her while he wrote a book about her. And then when Barbara Boxer’s daughter got pregnant they started attacking her about her “family values,” and then some late-night (conservative) comedians started cracking jokes about Alex Rodriguez molesting Barbara Boxer’s daughter.
Oh…no, wait, that happened to someone else. Silly me, that changes everything, this stuff doesn’t count.
Carry on.