It’s so sad, isn’t it, that Republican women in Congress sometimes have to answer for the ragingly sexist and misogynist positions taken by so many men in their party? Sometimes they even have to answer for their own votes against equality and women’s rights, if you can believe it!
“I found that our brand was so damaged that it was almost like they couldn’t even hear us,” said [Rep. Cathy] McMorris Rodgers, of Washington State, who juggles considerable responsibilities on Capitol Hill with three young children age 8 and under.
Who would have thought that you might lose credibility with women for making common cause with sexism? Terrible. But congressional Republican women have a plan! And that plan is human interest stories in women’s magazines. They set their media strategist to pitching stories to magazines, and they are reaping the rewards:
The story of how Representative Diane Black, Republican of Tennessee, struggled through a divorce and was raising three young children on her own before reconnecting with a Marine she first met at a high school dance was featured in January’s Good Housekeeping. The January issue of Elle contained a profile on Representative Martha McSally, a former fighter pilot from Arizona, and emphasized some of her practical political views under the headline: “Martha McSally is Not That Kind of Republican.”
The new issue of Elle includes Ms. McMorris Rodgers in a list of the “10 Most Compelling Women in Washington Now,” including her with the likes of Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, and Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. It points out that Ms. McMorris Rodgers is the champion of legislation that would provide more funding for the National Institutes of Health and ease approval of new drugs.
Okay. What about the Paycheck Fairness Act? The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act? A minimum wage increase (more than half of the people who stand to get a raise a women)? Can we talk about Diane Black voting against the Violence Against Women Act in 2013? Or are we just supposed to be touched by her individual struggle as a woman and decide we don’t care about her opposition to policies that help lots of women?
Sorry, that was a silly question. We’re talking about a Republican PR effort, here. The answer is as obvious as the cynicism of the entire puff piece project.