Dan McLaughlin at RedState has nice rundown of how the left-wing political machine took a statement from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) wildly out of context and then blasted it around the Internet as yet another example of the Republican "War on Women."
Here’s what happened. After listening to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) launch into another tirade against the Koch brothers on the Senate floor, McConnell fired back, saying: "Instead of focusing on jobs, [the majority leader] launched into another confusing attack on the left’s latest bizarre obsession. … Democrats chose to ignore serious job-creation ideas so they could blow a few kisses to their powerful pals on the left."
As the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple explains, McConnell was clearly referring to Democratic "attacks" on the Koch brothers, but that's not how the Left saw it:
Mitch McConnell calls equal pay a "bizarre obsession" equivalent to blowing "a few kisses" http://t.co/yP2hvZVZ2P #kysen
— Justin Barasky (@JustinBarasky) April 8, 2014
McConnell: Equal Pay For Women Is 'The Left's Latest Bizarre Obsession' http://t.co/8YyVKfvalX
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 8, 2014
Wow, Mitch McConnell calls equal pay for women "the left's latest bizarre obsession." Grimes says "Thank you!" http://t.co/X3yPySuyiv
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) April 8, 2014
At best, this is simply an example of the obscure scientific theory known as "confirmation bias" recently discovered by VOX DOT COM editor-in-chief Ezra Klein. Some liberals honestly believe that Republicans are physically repulsed by the idea that the gender pay gap is declining. Of course Mitch McConnell would describe the concept of "equal pay" as a "bizarre obsession," and resort to blatantly sexists tropes such as "blow a few kisses."
At worst, it’s a shameless effort to extract political gain. Any reasonable person who actually read McConnell’s quote should have realized that he wasn’t referring to "equal pay." Consider the phrasing: He says Reid "launched into another confusing attack on the left’s latest bizarre obsession" [emphasis mine.] These liberals would have us believe that McConnell attacked Reid for attacking equal pay. Smart take, that.
The New York Times, the Hill, and Talking Points Memo all issued corrections after initially parroting the left-wing outrage machine’s interpretation of McConnell’s statement.
From the New York Times:
Great journalism from the Paper of Record. At least they issued a correction. You'll be shocked to learn that this piece by Salon editor Joan Walsh about how Republicans hate women has yet to be corrected. Here is the 2nd paragraph, more than 48 hours after it was published:
YOLO, I guess.