Conservative Catfight Knocks Women Down

GOP female pundits attempt fight over party's future, end up in degrading spectacle

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Mar 18, 2009 1:23 PM CDT

(Newser) – Female Republican pundits squabble over the future of their party and it descends into a snarkfest over age and weight? "You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding," writes Dahlia Lithwick in Slate. Meghan McCain and Laura Ingraham's catfight is the reason why men don't see women as serious political thinkers. "Until we remember to and speak as though what we have to say matters to men as well as to the viewers of America's Next Top Model, we'll never be taken seriously."

Can you see Rush Limbaugh on The View, she continues, "surrounded by four supportive men, lamenting that men should help one another out more and that weight is the 'last socially accepted prejudice' in America?" Political fights should be political, writes Lithwick, and "here's a useful litmus test: As long as the media continue to cover women's political differences in their 'Health' sections, we are probably doing something wrong."

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (3)]

In this Nov. 17, 2005 file photo, conservative political commentator Ann Coulter is seen in Tyler, Texas. (AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman, file)

Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham poses on the red carpet upon arrival at a salute to FOX News Channel's Brit Hume on January 8, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

Megan McCain, left, daughter of Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., listens to her father's speech in Stratham, N.H. Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

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It's one thing to air your dirty laundry. But are we really stupid enough to be having a front-page battle over a plus-size thong? - Dahlia Lithwick

Can you imagine the Y-chromosome version of Meghan McCain's recent appearance on The View? With Rush Limbaugh sitting at a round table surrounded by four supportive men? - Dahlia Lithwick

McCain's problem isn't her weight, or her views , or even the fact that she doesn't know a lot . It's that she suddenly holds a rather enormous megaphone without understanding that the person most likely to be smacked on the head with it is herself. - Dahlia Lithwick

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 7 comments

Rob

Mar 19, 2009 12:39 PM CDT

Actually the male term for cat is “Tom” or “Ram” but I did not know that “Queen” referred to female cats. The word “Cat” is generic and refers to both sexes.

Rob

Mar 19, 2009 12:34 PM CDT

Yes, the same strategy as democratic high brows like Al Franken, Rachel Maddow and Steve Olbermann use. Shrieking accusations is a tried and true strategy employed across the political spectrum. Don't get fooled again.

prowlerzee

Mar 19, 2009 2:24 AM CDT

Lithwick indeed is a part of the problem...she's an apologist. The MSM had at least two all-male blowhard panels to discuss whether their coverage of this last election was sexist. Not even one token female amongst them. Of course they prided themselves on not being sexist. And Lithwick says the problem is how these two women behave? Um, maybe it's the other way around, you tool. Maybe this is the only topic that garners women any attention. There are plenty of other women out there, experts of every stripe, speaking on issues of every importance. The reason they're not being heard is because they're women...women aren't being taken seriously, all right, but it's not because they're "only" concerned with weight issues.

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Conservative Catfight Knocks Women Down