ADVERTISEMENT

Ellison's Must Read of the Day

Ellison must read
July 11, 2014

My must read of the day is "Megyn Kelly: Nancy Pelosi ‘guilty’ of sexism," in Politico:

Kelly went after Pelosi’s remarks, saying "Nancy Pelosi either doesn’t know what she’s talking about, or she’s intentionally misleading you," and called the gendered attack an "attempt to stoke resentment."

"First of all, the gender of the justices in the Hobby Lobby majority is totally irrelevant," Kelly said, pointing out that the justices who ruled in the majority for Roe v. Wade were also men. "Does Ms. Pelosi think those justices were ill-equipped to fairly decide that case? Or is it only when a judge disagrees with Ms. Pelosi that his gender is an issue."

She added, "If Speaker John Boehner made a similar comment about the female Supreme Court justices, Nancy Pelosi would be crying sexism — and that’s what she is guilty of here."

The most valuable point here is Roe v Wade. It's a brilliant comparison that I have not heard anyone else make; if male justices didn't discredit that ruling it is irrelevant for this one as well. Kelly is right; this a political tactic Pelosi is using in an effort to illicit a strong, visceral reaction from her base and energize them for the midterms, but deeming these comments sexist is also a mischaracterization.

Sexism is "prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex."

Pelosi's inconsistency in rejecting a ruling that impacts women when it is decided by a largely male court makes it apparent that she holds no real gender based prejudice (in this particular context). Pelosi knows the gender of the justices is irrelevant; she's just trying to rile people up. She should be called out for that, but it shouldn’t be labeled as sexist.

Calling something or someone sexist as a rebuttal to their idiotic argument helps to perpetuate the practice of falsely labeling criticisms as sexist. Kelly's comment garners attention, but distracts from a very valid argument. That's unfortunate.

Published under: Nancy Pelosi