Women's groups press Obama to fire Simpson

[t0dd]

Source: The Hill

Women's groups are slamming President Obama for not booting Alan Simpson from the White House fiscal commission.

"The problem lurking behind all of this is President Obama," said Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), during a conference call Friday. "I find this deeply disturbing that he has not fired Alan Simpson."

The calls on Obama to fire Simpson followed an e-mail the commission co-chairman sent to the head of the Older Women's League. Simpson said Social Security needed to be reformed because it had "reached a point now where it's like a milk cow with 310 million tits!"

"Call when you get honest work!" added Simpson, who served as a senator from Wyoming and as a Republican whip.

O'Neill said the president should have acted as soon as he found out about Simpson's "abusive and misleading" e-mail.

"He should have stepped up and said, 'I know women elected me to office, and I know Simpson has gone beyond the pale and needs to be removed,' " she said.

Liberals have been critical of the White House fiscal commission since Obama created it last spring, fearing that it could lead to cuts in entitlement programs that seniors, the middle class and the poor rely on. The left has increased criticism of the bipartisan panel, tasked with producing a deficit-reduction plan, since Simpson's controversial remarks.

"Mr. Simpson has demonstrated for decades a consistent and offensive attitude toward seniors and women," said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), on Friday's conference call. "He needs to be removed, and with that removal, we also bring into question the function, purpose and eventual product of this commission."

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/801-economy/116091-womens-groups-press-obama-to-oust-simpson-from-debt-panel

[lob1]

1. Why do they keep calling this a bipartisan committee?

Is there one liberal on this committee? Aren't they all the same as Simpson?

[SpiralHawk]

2. Simpson is like a bent Peckerbrain with a circumcised foreskin

Obviously, got a wicked bad case of Republicon Family Values.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fHDyVv88n6I/TAhagRInaUI/AAAAAAAAANE/Ihvo0MzZ8n0/s1600/2010+Peckerhead+road+shots+004.jpg

[Schema Thing]

3. why are these women comparing themselves to cows or calves?

and why don't they fucking stop so as to not look brain dead?



There is good criticism to be had of Simpson's comparison between retirees (who are mostly old people who contributed their entire lives to the pool of milk from which they may now be drinking) and calves (who are baby cows). This "hey look, women have tits!" line of thought is not it.

[JDPriestly]

9. They are not brain dead.

Here is the connection. In case you haven't heard, "teat" is the word for the breasts of certain animals.

Adult human women have full breasts, intended for providing milk to human infants.

"Tit" is a vulgar word used to refer to the human female breast.

(That's how you can definitely tell women from men if you aren't otherwise capable of distinguishing a person's gender.)

Alan Simpson's comment referred in a derogatory manner to breastfeeding, a uniquely feminine function.

We women are very "touchy" about references to our breasts just as we are at stares at our breasts.

Some mean little boys tease some of us about our breasts when we are in our early teens and altogether insecure about our appearance and our femininity and the changes to our bodies. So we women have a whole array of emotional issues about our bodies and our breasts in particular.

We do not like it when someone like Alan Simpson refers to breastfeeding in a context that demeans the act of breastfeeding.

I had the privilege of nursing two children. It was a great experience. Alan Simpson makes fun of breastfeeding and demeans the babies and mothers who do it.

He is a vulgar, crude, nasty, selfish, mean old man, and Obama demonstrated very poor judgment in appointing him to the Cat Food Commission.

But then, Obama showed very poor judgment in forming the commission in the first placed. It was unwise to put the nation's obligations to its elderly -- which are fulfilled through the Social Security and Medicare programs -- on the table when talking about balancing the budget.

Society's duty to take care of the disabled and the elderly transcends all other duties other than its duty to take care of children.

I-phones, the internet, cable TV, even soap are far less important than caring for the very young and the very old.

The young must be cared for because they are the future. The old must be taken care of because they are our past - - our memory -- our history -- our lessons to be learned. And the disabled must be cared for because they are all of us at our most vulnerable and they remind us to keep humble and to be grateful for the simplest things in life.

Social Security is not the problem. Greed and dishonesty are the problems.

[Schema Thing]

10. Alan Simpson did not make fun of breastfeeding

he compared SS recipients to calves and the United States federal government to a milk cow.


Even if he had used a human mother as an example (which he pointedly did not), he would not have been demeaning the human mother, he would have been demeaning the millions of adults who payed into and, more importantly, NEED Social Security to survive.

[JDPriestly]

11. You aren't responding to my post. I am explaining that this is an

emotional issue for women. You are attempting to put something that is visceral, emotional into a rational, thinking framework. That is why you are confused by this.

Either that, or you simply don't want to understand.

To use a farm metaphor that my farmer grandfather used to use: Alan Simpson needs to be put out to pasture. He needs to retire and shut up -- enjoy God's green grass. The only use he could possibly have is to eat and fertilize the earth with his manure.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. Intentional obtuseness. nt

[Mendocino]

15. Another barnyard metaphor:

Simpson is like what hangs between a bulls rear legs.:)

[amandabeech]

31. Actually, he's like the opening under the bull's tail.

Obama needs to kick him off the committee and apologize to everyone, but especially women, for appointing the asshole to begin with.

[No Elephants]

16. I agree about the insensitivity of the metaphor but I fear you may be letting Schema's

unfair framing of what the OP article says influence you. Please see Reply 13.

[Schema Thing]

17. .

[femrap]

23. You and Alan must both

have penal challenges.

[No Elephants]

13. They're not. That's your spin and framing, nothing more.

"This "hey look, women have tits!" line of thought is not it."

Oh, please. Trivialize much?

From the OP article:


"The calls on Obama to fire Simpson followed an e-mail the commission co-chairman sent to the head of the Older Women's League. Simpson said Social Security needed to be reformed because it had "reached a point now where it's like a milk cow with 310 million tits!"

"Call when you get honest work!" added Simpson, who served as a senator from Wyoming and as a Republican whip.



"Mr. Simpson has demonstrated for decades a consistent and offensive attitude toward seniors and women," said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), on Friday's conference call."


<snip>

Simpson's controversial remarks were made in an e-mail to Ashley Carson, head of the Older Women's League. He apologized to Carson in a letter Wednesday.

"I can see that my remarks have caused you anguish, and that was not my intention," he said. "I certainly did not intend to diminish your hard work for the Older Women's League. I know you care deeply about strengthening Social Security, and so do I, just as deeply."


Simpson's controversial remarks were made in an e-mail to Ashley Carson, head of the Older Women's League. He apologized to Carson in a letter Wednesday.

"I can see that my remarks have caused you anguish, and that was not my intention," he said. "I certainly did not intend to diminish your hard work for the Older Women's League. I know you care deeply about strengthening Social Security, and so do I, just as deeply."


Sounds as though the crux of the matter for women was Simpson's clear implication that advocating for senior women is not honest work.


nothing in the OP article supports your claims about women comparing themselves to cows, but don't confuse what the Hill writer says--or your own imagination--with what "women" are upset about.

[Schema Thing]

18. You are right.

I spoke out my ass.

[JDPriestly]

21. But the "tits" remark is what really irks women.

It's condescending and crude and inappropriate coming from the mouth a former senator. Doesn't Alan Simpson at least have respect for his own service in the Senate if not for women?

[whathehell]

27. I agree. Completely...This was demeaning as hell.

[Schema Thing]

19. Post #13 answers my question...

...and makes me look like the brain dead idiot that I am :blush:

[SoapBox]

4. CONTACT the White House here...

and tell them to get rid of Mr. SimpleBrain:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

[activa8tr]

7. I agree, fire that asshole, but I doubt Obama will respond to

such demands.... he still wants to dance with Republicans.

Don't have a clue as to why, but he's living in a dream world, I guess.

[Iowa]

5. Since Obama is sitting on his hands and doing nothing about this...

...he may as well have said it himself.

[BlueIris]

25. The President needs his "me" time.

Quit your whining.

[Iowa]

29. Right! Good one.

:headbang:

[JDPriestly]

6. The real danger on the commission is Bruce Reed. He authored

Clinton's welfare reform bill. Remember welfare to work? Poverty has increased since 1996. Bruce Reed is a Republican hiding in the Democratic Party. Check him out. His internet profile is low but he is a big problem. He and Rahm Emmanuel are not our friends.

[scarletwoman]

8. The whole commission needs to go. Going after Simpson is about drawing first blood.

I want his bloody scalp. We need a victory to boost our morale in order to gird ourselves for the bigger fight.

sw

[defendandprotect]

20. No matter where they "hide," Obama seems to be able to find enemies of Social Security....

and Medicare and PLOP them onto this Cat Food Commission he created!!!

This is obviously the B Team to destroy Social Security which the A Team wasn't able

to do!!

[brentspeak]

14. Afghanistan isn't the only totally unnecessary war Obama is waging

His Catfood Commission is forcing citizens to divert time and resources to prevent Social Security cuts that should never happen in the first place.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

22. Exactly

What a time-waster! Barack is really pissing people off - not just women - with this appointment and the commission. Didn't Social Security used to be the third rail? We have such an impotant mid-term coming up, and this and the "mosque" and Glen Beck are all you hear about.

[Faryn Balyncd]

24. K & R Thanks for posting

:hi:



:kick:

[BillH76]

26. Talking about tits doesn't bother me. But....

what bothers me is that Obama appointed ex-Senator Alan Simpson (R Wyoming) to the White House fiscal commission. Simpson is as right-wing as anyone can get and still be in American politics. WTF?

[whathehell]

28. It's crude and rude...Maybe your sensibilities are as well...In any case,

one thing doesn't cancel out the other...One can be bothered by BOTH the wording AND the fact of his appointment

[MellowDem]

30. Wow, NOW is pretty dumb to get angry over this....

Simpson was talking about a cow, which does indeed have tits. And he said 310 million, as in all Americans, not just 170 million or whatever women-tits. This ranks pretty high on the outrage-over-nothing-o-meter. I suppose the whole of the American population should be pissed for being referred to as tits. Or they can just grow a brain and realize that it's an analogy and not some name-calling competition.

Whatever Simpson's other actual wrongs, it seems pretty obvious that NOW just doesn't like him and is looking for anything to get rid of him. Personally, I find the tactic dirty and stupid, something that Repubs do, not us.

If someone could explain to me why this stand-alone sentance is so offensive to women, rather than seniors or Americans in general, without me laughing, I'll give them credit.

[WhiteTara]

32. good luck, Sisters! n/t