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Wednesday, Dec 16, 2015 4:56 PM UTC
GOP sexism on fire: The renewed War on Terror allows Republicans to let their inner misogynist caveman come screaming out
After months of pretending to respect women, the terrorism-centric debate let GOP sexism come roaring out Tuesday
Topics: Republican debate, War on women, Election 2016, War on Terror, republican sexism, Chris Christie, steve deace, Andrea Tantaros, aol_on, Elections News, Media News, News, Politics News
Ever wary of the “war on women” charge, Republican presidential candidates this year have been mindful to keep up the pretense that they aren’t sexist and certainly do not have massive hang-ups about gender, no sir. They haven’t always been successful — check out this Mother Jones supercut of Republican candidates acting condescending towards women during the debates — but, except for a couple of outbursts from Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee’s “take my wife please” schtick, the pretense of non-sexism has been maintained.
But that was before the reigniting of the War on Terror, sparked by the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. Republican excitement over the chance to demagogue about how we’re all going to die was palpable during Tuesday night’s CNN debate. The candidates didn’t even bother to conceal their glee at having an opportunity to play at being caveman, bragging about how they were going to beat their vaguely defined enemies with very big sticks.
Terrorism isn’t just an excuse to let the war braggadocio out, though. Being big caveman also means giving up the pretense that you think women are equal. Wallowing in retrograde fantasies of masculine toughness and feminine weakness was the order of the night, for both politicians and pundits. If any of you feminists dare say boo about it, they will no doubt be happy to remind you that this is WWIII we’re facing. No time for your fancy ideas about women’s equality when there’s a war going on!
Chris Christie set the tone of the evening during his opening statements, which focused on the bomb threat that shut down Los Angeles schools, a threat which Christie treated with the utmost seriousness, even though the threat, which had a dick joke in it, was obviously a hoax.
“Think about the mothers who will take those children tomorrow morning to the bus stop wondering whether their children will arrive back on that bus safe and sound,” he waxed poetic, mistaking 21st century Los Angeles for a black and white sitcom from the 1950s. “Think about the fathers of Los Angeles, who tomorrow will head off to work and wonder about the safety of their wives and their children.”
A touching image indeed. I dabbed my eyes with my apron while hearing him talk before resuming my daily vacuuming duties.
Opening statements also caused a Twitter eruption when Ted Cruz supporter and talk show host Steve Deace spewed his masculinity insecurities everywhere in response to Carly Fiorina’s opening statement.
Wow…Fiorina goes full vagina right away
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) December 16, 2015
Having a bunch of middle-aged men spending three hours boasting about how manly-tough they are like a bunch of teen boys at a skate park trying to pretend they aren’t virgins? Couldn’t be more appropriate. Simply noting that you’re a woman? Gross. No one wants to hear that. After getting dog-piled for awhile about it, Deace, manly man that he is, offered a simpering non-apology, apparently after being browbeaten by his mommy-wife, about his use of naughty words to refer to lady parts that no good boy should ever think about.
. @amydeace tells me while on point about Carly and gender card I was too vulgar and need to apologize. And my wife is ALWAYS right. So I do
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) December 16, 2015
Women: They may not be tough enough to fight scary terrorists, but they sure are experts at nagging!
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