While I tend to like Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and don't care for the secrecy behind the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) trade deal, I found the Ohio senator's recent attack on President Obama to be nothing short of ridiculous.
After Senate Democrats placed a temporary halt to the bill yesterday, Senator Brown accused President Obama of being sexist when he referred to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as "Elizabeth."
President Obama's full quote in question was this: "The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else. And you know, she's got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that. And on most issues, she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don't stand the test of fact and scrutiny."
Here was Senator Brown's response:
"I think the president was disrespectful to her by the way he did that. I think that the president has made this more personal than he needed to. I think referring to her as first-name, when he might not have done that for a male senator, perhaps? I've said enough."
If President Obama seemed to speak in such a manner with only female politicians, then Sherrod Brown may have a point. However, history has shown that not to be the case. As a matter of fact, the president has referred to the Ohio senator by just his first name on at least three occasions:
- "I came out here with the-a number of members of the Ohio congressional delegation, but I want to make a special note of my former colleague when I was in the Senate, who is just as passionate about working people as anybody in the country, Sherrod Brown. Give Sherrod a big round of applause." - March 6, 2009 at a police academy graduation in Columbus, Ohio
- "And it's pretty - it's timely to be able to see you because I was in Cincinnati today - came up to Columbus this afternoon, and in both places we announced the work that we've done, in conjunction with Sherrod, to make sure that we're filing a new WTO case challenging China's illegal trade and subsidies in auto and auto parts." - September 17, 2012 at a union convention in Columbus, Ohio
- "And your Senator Sherrod Brown helped us to create that first manufacturing hub in Youngstown. And he's now leading a bipartisan effort with Senator Blunt of Missouri to move more of these manufacturing innovation hubs all across the country. And Congress should pass Sherrod's bill. We should be doing everything we can to guarantee the next revolution in manufacturing happens right here in Cuyahoga, happens right here in Ohio, happens right here in America." - November 14, 2013 at a mining company in Cleveland, Ohio
Not only that, but the surrounding context of President Obama referring to Senator Warren as "Elizabeth" was of respect. He stated that the two of them agree on most everything, that she has a right to her opinion, but he simply disagrees with her in this instance. The president has referred to the Massachusetts senator in this manner before where his words were nothing but praise for her, as the following two quotes will showcase:
- "And I just want to thank Elizabeth for that introduction and let you know how lucky all of you are to have a chance to vote for her in the next election. Nobody fought harder for Wall Street reform-the reform that is now law and protecting consumers all across the country-than Elizabeth, reform that will end taxpayer bailouts, make sure folks aren't being taken advantage of by mortgage lenders and credit card companies. She has been a fierce advocate, since before I knew her, for the middle class. She has been advocating on core issues that matter to families her entire career. She is going to be an outstanding Senator from Massachusetts, and everybody here has got to turn out for her." - June 25, 2012 at a fundraiser in Boston, Massachusetts
- "But to give even more student borrowers the chance to save money requires action from Congress. I'm going to be signing this Executive order. It's going to make progress, but not enough. We need more. We've got to have Congress to make some progress. Now, the good news is, as I said, there are some folks in Congress who want to do it. There are folks here like Jim Clyburn, John Tierney, who are helping lead this fight in the House. We've got Elizabeth Warren, who's leading this fight in the Senate. Elizabeth has written a bill that would let students refinance their loans at today's lower interest rates, just like their parents can refinance a mortgage. It pays for itself by closing loopholes that allow some millionaires to pay a lower tax rate than middle class families."
So, while I tend to side with "Sherrod" on the TPP debate, his claim that "Barack" was acting sexist by referring to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as Elizabeth is ridiculous. Debate the merits of the trade deal, but let's not take a trip to silly-town while doing so.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/first-name-basis#.hwbQOQVjd
After Senate Democrats placed a temporary halt to the bill yesterday, Senator Brown accused President Obama of being sexist when he referred to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as "Elizabeth."
President Obama's full quote in question was this: "The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else. And you know, she's got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that. And on most issues, she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don't stand the test of fact and scrutiny."
Here was Senator Brown's response:
"I think the president was disrespectful to her by the way he did that. I think that the president has made this more personal than he needed to. I think referring to her as first-name, when he might not have done that for a male senator, perhaps? I've said enough."
If President Obama seemed to speak in such a manner with only female politicians, then Sherrod Brown may have a point. However, history has shown that not to be the case. As a matter of fact, the president has referred to the Ohio senator by just his first name on at least three occasions:
- "I came out here with the-a number of members of the Ohio congressional delegation, but I want to make a special note of my former colleague when I was in the Senate, who is just as passionate about working people as anybody in the country, Sherrod Brown. Give Sherrod a big round of applause." - March 6, 2009 at a police academy graduation in Columbus, Ohio
- "And it's pretty - it's timely to be able to see you because I was in Cincinnati today - came up to Columbus this afternoon, and in both places we announced the work that we've done, in conjunction with Sherrod, to make sure that we're filing a new WTO case challenging China's illegal trade and subsidies in auto and auto parts." - September 17, 2012 at a union convention in Columbus, Ohio
- "And your Senator Sherrod Brown helped us to create that first manufacturing hub in Youngstown. And he's now leading a bipartisan effort with Senator Blunt of Missouri to move more of these manufacturing innovation hubs all across the country. And Congress should pass Sherrod's bill. We should be doing everything we can to guarantee the next revolution in manufacturing happens right here in Cuyahoga, happens right here in Ohio, happens right here in America." - November 14, 2013 at a mining company in Cleveland, Ohio
Not only that, but the surrounding context of President Obama referring to Senator Warren as "Elizabeth" was of respect. He stated that the two of them agree on most everything, that she has a right to her opinion, but he simply disagrees with her in this instance. The president has referred to the Massachusetts senator in this manner before where his words were nothing but praise for her, as the following two quotes will showcase:
- "And I just want to thank Elizabeth for that introduction and let you know how lucky all of you are to have a chance to vote for her in the next election. Nobody fought harder for Wall Street reform-the reform that is now law and protecting consumers all across the country-than Elizabeth, reform that will end taxpayer bailouts, make sure folks aren't being taken advantage of by mortgage lenders and credit card companies. She has been a fierce advocate, since before I knew her, for the middle class. She has been advocating on core issues that matter to families her entire career. She is going to be an outstanding Senator from Massachusetts, and everybody here has got to turn out for her." - June 25, 2012 at a fundraiser in Boston, Massachusetts
- "But to give even more student borrowers the chance to save money requires action from Congress. I'm going to be signing this Executive order. It's going to make progress, but not enough. We need more. We've got to have Congress to make some progress. Now, the good news is, as I said, there are some folks in Congress who want to do it. There are folks here like Jim Clyburn, John Tierney, who are helping lead this fight in the House. We've got Elizabeth Warren, who's leading this fight in the Senate. Elizabeth has written a bill that would let students refinance their loans at today's lower interest rates, just like their parents can refinance a mortgage. It pays for itself by closing loopholes that allow some millionaires to pay a lower tax rate than middle class families."
So, while I tend to side with "Sherrod" on the TPP debate, his claim that "Barack" was acting sexist by referring to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as Elizabeth is ridiculous. Debate the merits of the trade deal, but let's not take a trip to silly-town while doing so.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/first-name-basis#.hwbQOQVjd
Comments
Post a Comment