Cathy McMorris Rodgers, GOP Congresswoman from Spokane, WA, has been getting a lot of air time lately, claiming repeatedly that the GOP War on Women is a fiction created by Democrats. Like most Republicans, she's a pretty cool liar. She has her talking points down pat and when challenged, she is unrattled . . . until yesterday.
She appeared on Hardball in a segment that started out focused on reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, but naturally moved to the broader and very real GOP war on women. Smarmy McMorris Rodgers took the opportunity to introduce a new talking point/misdirection and Matthews didn't let it go unchallenged.
McMorris Rodgers tried deliberately to imply that it was Barack Obama who initiated the War on Women. Sorry, lady, you're not getting away with that crap.
I've included the relevant portion of the transcript below, tho it doesn't quite convey the visible discomfort she felt by being challenged. Full transcript of entire May 14 show is here.
Here's the relevant portion of the transcript. I bolded the specific exchange where she tried to pass off her new lie and Matthews calls her on it.
MATTHEWS: Right. Well, the liberal organization MoveOn.org is out with a new TV ad hammering Mitt Romney for his positions, his positions on women`s issues he took during the primaries.
Let`s listen to that add.
You can respond, Congresswoman Rodgers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MOVEON.ORG AD)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations, Mitt Romney. You`re the presumed GOP nominee, and all you had to do was:
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Threaten to let our employers take away our contraception coverage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Threaten to let our insurance companies charge us more just because we`re women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And threaten to get rid of with Planned Parenthood, a lifesaving source of health care for millions of women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, this November, we`re going to remember...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... how you threw women under the bus just to get the nomination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: What did you make of Mitt Romney`s performance, Congresswoman Rodgers, when he had to go get up against people of the further right like Santorum? Do you think he fought them or he joined them?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: Well, boy, the Democrats are creating a controversy here that doesn`t exist.
There is -- it is a myth to say the we`re waging this war on women. The Violence Against Women Act, I`m confident it will be reauthorized. There are women like me, Republican women, that are committed to it. It`s a very important program, and I believe that we can work out a lot of these issues that Gwen has mentioned on -- we support equal pay for equal work.
It`s been longstanding in this country and we will continue to stand up for that. It was the president who made the change through Health and Human Services on contraceptions. It wasn`t the Republicans. It was the president.
They`re creating distractions. They`re trying to divide America and really trying to distract women from the real issues that face this country right now. Women are concerned about the economy. They`re concerned about the debt.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: What`s wrong with women, as part of their insurance, having
the coverage for contraception? What`s wrong with that?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: What -- it was the president -- what I`m pointing out is it was the president that changed the policy.
MATTHEWS: He`s insisted that that coverage be there. What`s wrong with that?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: It was -- and he initiated the change. It wasn`t the Republicans that initiated the change.
MATTHEWS: Well, what`s wrong with the change?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: And it was...
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: You guys opposed it, though. What`s wrong with the change?
MCMORRIS RODGERS: The way he proposed it, it actually was infringing upon our religious freedom and it took on the faith of the Catholic Church and their beliefs that they should not be covering contraception in their health insurance plans.
But it`s more important to remember that it was the president who initiated this change.
MATTHEWS: Well...
MCMORRIS RODGERS: It wasn`t the Republicans that came along. No Republican is talking about taking away contraception from women. It is again the Democrats trying to distract and divide Americans and not talk about the economic issue.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: I can`t argue the obvious, except that`s what you did so.
That`s so on the record, it`s unbelievable. The Republicans had a problem with the president because he said health care coverage for women should include contraception, and you guys opposed it.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: Well, but it wasn`t the Republicans who initiated any kind of a change. It was the president who...
MATTHEWS: Well, they never are.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: ... through rules, through new rules, through new
rule-making...
MATTHEWS: I know.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: ... said the Catholic Church would have to cover contraceptions.
MATTHEWS: OK.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: And then if the president can take on an entire faith, an entire religion in this country, think what he can do for us individually. It`s scary.
MATTHEWS: OK.
Well, let me just tell you, I`m going to close this with the fact I believe women voters are rational. I look at the voting patterns of women over the years.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: They are.
MATTHEWS: They`re concerned not just for choice, but health care and education, child development...
MCMORRIS RODGERS: Yes.
MATTHEWS: ... their parents.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: Yes.
MATTHEWS: All those reasons lead to a gigantic gender gap. Women
vote Democrat for a reason.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: And they`re concerned about jobs and their future for their children that can`t find jobs.
MATTHEWS: Who isn`t?
MOORE: That`s true, Chris.
MATTHEWS: OK.
That`s right. We are concerned about jobs.
Hey, thank you. Please come back. I think on the issues of violence against women, I wouldn`t want to have to come back to my congressional district and say I voted nay.
Anyway, thank you, Representative Gwen Moore.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: And we won`t.
MATTHEWS: And thank you, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane, Washington.
MCMORRIS RODGERS: Thank you, Chris.
Overall, I'll give Matthews a solid A- for how he handled McMorris' bullshit. He did let her get away with "Catholic Church would have to cover contraceptions" which is overly broad and misleading.
I find Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers particularly annoying. I think she's just about the biggest sellout to women there is. I hope she gets more effective challanges as time goes on. Would love to see some dirt dug up that takes her out of the picture. I really hate this .