Why Leftists Have the “War on Women” Charge Exactly Backwards

Townhall Staff | July 10, 2014 1:15 PM

Editor’s note: This piece contains language some readers might find offensive.

President Obama secured his re-election in 2012, in part, because he won over a growing and important demographic: unmarried women. Exit polls showed "67 percent" of single women supported his re-election campaign. Furthermore, after a string of Republican gaffes, Democrats were all-too-willing to mislead the public into thinking Republicans were waging a so-called “war on women” for political gain. Despite zero evidence that such a “war” even existed, let alone was being waged, this narrative nevertheless took hold. And Republicans suffered the consequences on Election Day.

Now, however, in her new book, “Assault and Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Women,” Katie Pavlich explains why this narrative is complete nonsense. In fact, she writes, Democrats and their enablers on the Left have been guilty of the exact same charges they invariably level at Republicans. Three notable examples from her introduction:

Consider the case of MSNBC’s Martin Bashir, who in 2013 said someone should punish Sarah Palin by, in effect, defecating in her mouth…Bashir’s comments were well-planned, typed into a teleprompter, and approved by an entire production team before being broadcast to his ~~millions of~~ few viewers. But the women of MSNBC, including feminist heroine Rachel Maddow, never uttered a word of criticism.

In June of 2009, sixty-two-year-old Late Night creep and serial adulterer David Letterman thought it would be hilarious to make a sex joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter. “One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez,” Letterman joked. Palin went to that Yankee game with her daughter Willow, who was fourteen years old at the time.

And of course:

…Bachmann made an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to promote her book. Unbeknownst Bachmann—whose many virtues do not include an extensive knowledge of popular music—the show’s band led by a rapper named Questlove played “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” when Bachmann was introduced and while she walked across the stage. The song includes the charming lyrics “slut trash can bitch.” Neither Fallon nor the band believed anyone would think the prank was inappropriate, because after all, everyone hates Michele Bachmann. Right?

Too often, attacks against conservative women go either ignored or unchallenged. The point of her book, then, is to expose both the hypocrisy of the Left, and explain why "feminism" itself isn't enabling or empowering women, but holding them back.

To learn more about these important issues, pick up a copy of Katie's book here.