Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan had a lot to say about Iowa senator-elect Joni Ernst's appearance on Wednesday, during an interview on Newsmax's "America's Forum." The commentator likened Ernst's "attractiveness" to that of Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential election, just days after former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin was criticized for his remarks about the senator-elect's appearance.
"She's a gal with a real sense of humor, with a fighting spirit who was an underdog and came in to win," Buchanan said. "I think all the eyes will be on her in Washington, D.C., and I think she's got a real opportunity to be something of a national star."
Buchanan went on to praise Ernst's potential for leadership, not failing to mention her looks once again. "She has the same kind of attractiveness that Sarah Palin had at the start and that Michele Bachmann gained in the Iowa caucuses," he explained. "I mean being a very attractive, outspoken person, a woman in the GOP, full of passion and full of, you know, hard-core philosophy ... I think she's got a real potential to be that kind of leader."
Ernst was outspoken about her feelings on Harkin's comments earlier in the week, noting the discriminatory nature of commenting on a female politician's appearance. "I was very offended that Senator Harkin would say that,” Ernst told Fox News on Monday. “If my name had been John Ernst attached to my résumé, Senator Harkin would not have said those things.”
The senator-elect has yet to respond to Buchanan's remarks (but that doesn't mean nobody else can!). The conservative pundit's comments echo those of Sen. Harkin, which Ernst accurately characterized as resulting from a sexist double standard. Whether she seeks an apology is her business. But the gender issues in both remarks remain.
Watch Buchanan's Newsmax comments, via Right Wing Watch, below:
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