Carol Anne Costa: Say it Isn’t So, Renee

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Carol Anne Costa, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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Congresswoman Ellmers

Every so often, one can be channel surfing the news and catch a snip-it of a story that makes the ears perk up and ask, “what did she just say?’  As if to doubt one’s own hearing ability, sometimes a double take is required to really confirm the utterance. Such was the case recently, as I perused the news and North Carolina Congresswoman Renee Ellmers’ statement regarding the general capabilities of women had me nearly fall off my sofa. Ellmers is the current chairwoman of the Republican Women's Policy Committee (RWPC), which is a caucus comprised of all 19 female Republican US House members, including a couple of my “would be”  inductees into the “What did she just say” Hall of Fame: Michele Bachman, and Virginia Foxx, who have uttered some real doozies in their tenure on the hill.

For those who do not remember, it was Congresswoman Foxx who delivered a swing and a miss on the floor of the US House of Representatives, while speaking on the Matthew Shepard “Hate Crimes Act” by completely distorting the facts and using the word hoax as it related to Mathew’s brutal murder, because he was gay. She stated in part in her floor speech, “I also would like to point out that there was a bill- the Hate Crimes Bill that's called the Matthew Shepard Bill- is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. The Hate Crimes Bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills."  Another head scratcher from Foxx was this pearl, "There are no Americans who don't have healthcare. Everybody in this country has access to healthcare." Yikes! I hope she did not get the Congressional congeniality award.

And, then there is the golden goose of “HUH” that rolls right off the tongue of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Who could forget her rant about anti-American folks serving in Washington DC, where Hardball’s Chris Matthews' head nearly exploded, when calmly offered this: “The news media should do a penetrating exposé and take a look. I wish they would, I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out are they are pro-America or anti-America.” Then there was the Obama and the swine flu intimations. Said Bachmann, “I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence.” Oh those nasty partisan germs, I love it. So here's my point, you have to a long way to get in this league.

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Do the Urkel

Not to be outdone, Congresswoman Ellmers contribution to was rolled out to the public as part of a panel of conservative women, gathering to discuss women's issues and how the Republican Party can better address those concerns as a party, going forward.  So in order to attract more women to the GOP it was Ellmers who tendered this advice: “Men do tend to talk about things on a much higher level. Many of my male colleagues, when they go to the House floor, you know, they’ve got some pie chart or graph behind them and they’re talking about trillions of dollars and how, you know, the debt is awful and, you know, we all agree with that.” Stating further, “We need our male colleagues to understand that if you can bring it down to a woman’s level and what everything that she is balancing in her life-  that’s the way to go.” 

I know, perhaps soccer ball pie charts would help those working moms better understand the debt stuff. Please stop. “Say it isn’t so, Renee.” Well apparently it isn't, as Ellmers does her damage control in full Steve “did I do that” Urkel style. In her response, she indicates it was not her at all- turns out it was the “Liberal” reporter who relayed Ellmers words to the public who is really to blame. Here is the audio and transcript (link here). Seems like an accurate translation to me, but you must decide for yourself.

As women and men, we need to challenge these public statements and call these lawmakers out. When decision makers in the halls of Congress imply that women can’t think, speak, understand, or interact at a “higher level” we should collectively cringe and counter. I am certain that Chair of the Federal Reserve and Brown’s own Janet Yellen can create great pie charts and unpack complex economic trends, as well as understand all that debt talk on a high level. Guess what? URI’s Christiane Amanpour uses and understand really big words. If the GOP wants to attract more women, Ellmers’ recipe needs a rework.

I guess I am not surprised that these three lawmakers share another bond: each voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Welcome to the “What did she say” Hall of Fame!

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Carol Costa is a public relations and community outreach specialist; she has experience in both the public and private sectors. She is the Chairwoman of the Scituate Democratic Town Committee and has extensive community affairs and public relations experience. She previously served in the Rhode Island Judiciary for nearly 17 years. Carol also enjoyed a successful development stint at the Diocese of Providence as Associate Director for Catholic Education and is currently the Executive Director of the Warren Housing Authority. Her work has been published in several local outlets including GoLocal, Valley Breeze, The Rhode Island Catholic, and Currents Magazine.

 

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