http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=573583B3-634A-410C-A7DE-D3C7934CBB4BRush: Democrats 'war on mothers'
By: MJ Lee
April 12, 2012 01:58 PM EDT
Rush Limbaugh jumped into the firestorm on Thursday created by Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen’s jab at stay-at-home-mom Ann Romney as the radio talk show host accused the Democratic Party of launching a “war on mothers.”
Limbaugh spent the bulk of his three-hour afternoon program griping about Rosen’s charge Wednesday that Mitt Romney’s wife has “never worked a day in her life,” telling listeners that the comment summed up the Democrats’ position on women’s role in society.
“This is big because it’s such a teachable moment. It’s such an illustration of who these people are, the left. It’s such an illustration of phonies of feminism. It is an illustration of the absolute hostility that the left has for women who stay at home,” the conservative radio host said, speaking before Rosen issued a statement apologizing to Ann Romney.
He continued, “Obama and the Democrats are not content to just divide men and women. They want to go deeper and dive working mothers from stay at home mothers. And they want to attach the virtue to working mothers and assign no virtue to stay at home moms. Now you talk to most women, even those who consider themselves feminists … they will tell you that they thought that was a battle they fought and won and ended years ago.”
Limbaugh also personally defended Ann Romney, referring to her as a “role model.”
“They’ve gone after the wrong woman here. Ann Romney is not disliked. Ann Romney is not unlikeable. Ann Romney isn’t controversial. Ann Romney isn’t telling anybody how to live. … Ann Romney’s a role model. Don’t care what you think of Mitt. That’s not the point here. She is a role model for living and trying to live a fulfilling life,” he said.
(See also: 10 things about Hilary Rosen)
The controversy began Wednesday when Rosen said on CNN that Mitt Romney’s wife had “never worked a day in her life.” Ann Romney fired back on Twitter, saying, “I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work,” and the two women continued to duel on the airwaves Thursday morning, with Rosen initially standing her ground and refusing to take back her original comment.
Later in the day, Rosen said in a statement, “I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended.”
But Republicans had already jumped on the opportunity to assail Democrats using Rosen as the scapegoat, while Democrats had launched into defense mode, distancing themselves from the consultant’s remarks and flooding supporters with statements aimed at demonstrating their solidarity with all women, regardless of their occupation.
On his radio show, Limbaugh called out Democrats for practicing a double standard in their rhetoric about female public figures and motherhood by way of Sarah Palin.
“These are the people, the same people, folks … who hammered Sarah Palin for daring to go to work when she had a Down Syndrome child. These are the same people who hammered Sarah Palin for daring to go to work when she had so many kids to raise. You couldn’t do both if you were a Republican. You couldn’t do both,” he said.
Limbaugh also said of Democrats, “This is who they are. This is exactly how they think. This is how they feel. They are angry and they are hostile and they are not compassionate, they are not nice, they have no manners. In the basics of human existence, they are reprobates. They don’t understand politeness. They are rude, they are crude, they are thoughtless, they are selfish they are mean.”
He added, “And it has all come out in one display, one appearance — Hillary Rosen on CNN.”
