TAMPA — Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (Fla.) fanned the flames of the so-called "war on women" Thursday morning, accusing former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee of being "unfamiliar with the voice of a strong woman."
Huckabee had jabbed Wasserman Schultz, chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), during his remarks Wednesday at the 2012 Republican National Convention.
"Tampa has been such a wonderful and hospitable city to us," Huckabee told the convention audience. "The only hitch in an otherwise perfect week was the awful noise coming from the hotel room next door to mine. Turns out it was just Debbie Wasserman Schultz practicing her speech for the DNC in Charlotte next week. Bless her heart."
Asked about the joke Thursday morning during a press conference held at the DNC’s Tampa headquarters, Wasserman Schultz unloaded on Huckabee, saying the 2008 presidential candidate has an issue with "strong" women.
"It’s obvious Gov. Huckabee is unfamiliar with the voice of a strong woman," Wasserman Schultz said.
The controversial DNC chair went even further in a morning interview with U.S. News and World Report.
"Mike Huckabee has a problem with a strong woman's voice," Wasserman Shultz told the publication. "He must not be used to hearing the voice of a strong woman or comfortable with it."
Wasserman Schultz’s comments recall previous attempts by Democrats to portray Republicans and their policies as misogynistic, a campaign that was sidetracked by a public relations disaster earlier this year when Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen accused Ann Romney of having "never actually worked a day in her life."
Also in attendance at Thursday’s press conference was senior Obama campaign official Stephanie Cutter, who has come under fire in recent days after reports revealed that she is a source of much discord within Team Obama’s inner circle.
Cutter went to great lengths to portray Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan as a "repeated" liar.
"There’s no delicate way to say this," Cutter said. "Last night Paul Ryan lied."
Ryan, who methodically laid out the case against President Obama’s economic policies in Wednesday evening headline speech that received huge applause, was the Democrats number one target Thursday morning.
Ryan "didn’t introduce one tangible idea to move the country forward," Cutter falsely claimed, as she dubbed the vice presidential contender’s speech as "devoid of substance."
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) also took the podium.
The opening portion of Ryan’s speech "about his family story is compelling," Durbin said. "All of us were touched by it."
However, Durbin went on to accuse Ryan of intentionally lying about a General Motors plant that is currently shuttered, despite Obama’s promises to keep it operational.
"Blaming Barack Obama for closing that plant is unfair," Durbin said, echoing similar comments by Cutter and Wasserman Schultz.
Ryan, however, did not accuse Obama of closing the plant, despite multiple incorrect media reports claiming otherwise.
Rather, Ryan correctly chided Obama for promising to support the GM plant and keep it functional for the next "100 years."
"Candidate Obama said, ‘I believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another 100 years,’" Ryan said. "That's what [Obama] said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day."
Despite Democratic claims otherwise, media reports show that GM has promised to "keep its shuttered assembly plant" on "standby status."