Stay At Home Moms Devalued

[BCSpace]

Ann’s first tweet came just moments after Democratic strategist and DNC adviser Hilary Rosen lobbed an insult at Ann Romney, suggesting that the 64-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 16 had never held a job.

“Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life,” said Rosen, who was being interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the “war on women.”

And then, just like that, a familiar name popped up on Twitter: @AnnDRomney.

“I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work,” Ann tweeted.

................

Following the interview, Rosen herself tweeted, “I’ve nothing against @AnnRomney. I just don’t want Mitt using her as an expert on women struggling $ to support their family. She isn’t.”

Rosen kept tweeting, not appearing to back off of her comments.

“@AnnDRomney Please know, I admire you. But your husband shouldn’t say you are his expert on women and the economy,” said Rosen.

http://abcnews.go.co...dvisors-insult/

What a bunch of feminist nonsense. Stay at home moms are just as expert on women struggling to support their familes as single women. Heck, as often as not they are in charge of the finances anyway. And not being in control of the earnings is another worry for them. They have to take what is given and make it stretch. Any woman who's raised five boys is worth at least 20 professional women in the workplace minimum.

[Libs]

BC, I agree with you that the comment towards Ann Romney was insulting. But, it is also kind of insulting to compare her situation with a struggling single mom. I doubt Mrs. Romney had to ever worry about balancing the budget or paying for day care or just plain old struggling to buy groceries to feed the kids.

I certainly respect stay at home mom's (I was one, myself, for 16 years), but I had a husband to support me and few financial worries, compared to many others out there. And, as good as my situation was, financially, Ann's was surely a thousand times better.

That doesn't mean she can't relate to single women struggling. I don't think we have to experience something, in order to have compassion for those who are struggling, but your comment about raising children being worth 20 professional women (??) is the same kind of denigrating remark, against women, that you are railing against, when it comes to stay at home moms.

All women (working or staying at home) are "struggling" with life, just as we all do.

I always felt very lucky/blessed to be able to stay at home with my kids, because it was easier to not have to worry about both job and children...PLUS, some mothers have to worry about not having enough money for all the things they need. I was well aware that my situation was advantageous...as I would hope Ann Romney realizes, hers' was/is, as well.

[Calm]

But, it is also kind of insulting to compare her situation with a struggling single mom.

I don't think it's insulting (though it would depend on how it is done, of course), inaccurate perhaps, but don't see why it would be insulting.

The "never worked a day in her life" OTOH is insulting as the context does not define "work" as "paid employment outside of the house", but instead conjures up**** images of someone who lays in bed all day eating chocolates or shops for entertainment while any work is done by maids and nannies paid for by her husband's millions.

To then say she "admires" AR after that condescending remark comes across as hypocritical to me.

(***For example, Steven Wright's joke: Babies don't need a vacation but I still see them at the beach. I'll go over to them and say, 'What are you doing here, you've never worked a day in your life!'. http://www.pctechnician.com/wright2.html)

[altersteve]

My mom has never been stay-at-home. But a woman who can juggle being a mother of four and a secretary and research analyst for the state of Utah has all the respect and love in the world from me. I seriously don't know how she does it.

[thesometimesaint]

For those whom devalue women who work outside the home, or those who work inside the home.

[bluebell]

I can understand Rosen's annoyance at having the wife of a billionaire regarded as an expert on women struggling to support their families in this economy (its hard for me not to be annoyed at it and i am basically a stay at home mom myself), but her description of stay at home moms as non-workers is offensive.

[Log]

I'm going to suggest there is some tension among the sisters between heeding the siren call of Babylon and the warmth of the hearth.

[Buzzard]

There is a little bit of pot/kettle at work here as well. Ms. Rosen did not come from a disadvantaged background. This article make an interesting read:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.02/hating.html?pg=2&topic=&topic_set=

Besides the fact that she got her first governmental job because of her mothers political connections, it turns out that her main job for many years has been as the front person for the recording industry in suing private individuals (Including, I would guess, struggling single moms) who downloaded songs from websites like Napster. I'm not condoning piracy, just saying that she's not exactly in expert on the financial struggles of women-unless they are ones she caused.

[MorningStar]

I don't think Ann Romney was trying to say she knew what it was like to be a poor, single mother. She's just objecting to the statement that she has never worked a day in her life. Taking care of kids is lots of work. Just because it doesn't come with a paycheck doesn't mean it isn't hard.

[Calm]

There can be just as much juggling involved with SAHMs as well, if her kids have special needs or are involved in activities outside the home. And it is often the SAHM who is doing the chauffeuring for the kids of working mothers (and most are happy to help out their kids' friends) or even basic caregiving if the kids stay at her home a lot after school. I did a lot of this, both officially babysitting and then just having kids who considered our home friendly territory come by. We only really had one rule, they had to tell me if they ate the last whatever in the pantry or refrig so I knew what to restock.

Then there was the volunteer work at school. Same moms every year as room moms, choir helpers, library volunteers, tutoring...one could work as much as a full time teacher as a volunteer in some of the schools my kids were in, parent helpers were in such short supply....which is really sad as I think the number one indicator of success in school and often later in life is parental involvement. I didn't mind helping out with children other than my own, my health was erratic enough I couldn't take my own classes or have a part time job during the day when they were in school, but with volunteer work even my erratic health was sufficient enough and I got great enjoyment out of working with the kids, especially the new immigrants who I tutored in English who would just bloom as they picked up the language and in just a few months go from total introvert to acting as if they had always lived there (they only had one English speaking class in my daughter's school so I got to watch them all grow up as well and they got to know me very well).

I feel very blessed to have been able to be that involved in my children's lives, to get to know them so well not only at home, but outside the home and watch how they interacted with others....and I am willing to take a little credit for the compliments I got from parents about what good friends they made as well as seeing the affection that other kids had for them because I was able to help them recognize and stop behaviours that led to contention and even self-destructive ones because I saw them in context and it was much easier to pinpoint the causes and misunderstandings and deal with them.

My situation was unusual due to having only two children 8 years apart, it was almost like have two only children so I had it better than most SAHMs who families had kids much closer in age and thus needs often conflicted.

Parents who have to rely on second or third hand reports have it tough. I admire those who are willing to put effort into working with those limitations rather than just blowing them off out of frustration as not worth the effort.

[Libs]

I came across this article on Facebook. I think Greta is saying pretty much what I was trying to say.

http://www.huffingto...ref=media]Greta Van Susteren Defends Hilary Rosen Over Ann Romney Comments

On her Greta Wire blog, Van Susteren said that she was a friend of Rosen's, and that Rosen was being misunderstood.

"In making her remark about Mrs. Romney and her choice to raise a family and not work outside the home, I know Hilary knows raising children is hard work, really hard work...the absolute hardest work," she wrote. "Hilary has children. That is the best way to know the challenge of raising children - have them! Hilary is not anti-stay-at-home mom."

Van Susteren said she took Rosen's comments to mean that "raising children without financial pressure is easier than having financial pressure," and were not an attack on mothers who chose not to work.

[Zakuska]

Personally, Im tired of hearing about Romneys' Millions as a reason why Romney can't connect with the "average American". If thats the case then the Obama's who pulled in nearly a million in 2006 aren't "average" enough either.

The other thing people seem to forget is those who have millions create multimillion dollar corps. which employee the "average American". Tax them more and there are fewer jobs to go around.

[Calm]

Van Susteren said she took Rosen's comments to mean that "raising children without financial pressure is easier than having financial pressure," and were not an attack on mothers who chose not to work.

I just don't see how this equates to "his wife actually never worked a day in her life".

It may not be an attack on SAHMs, but it seems like an attack on Ann Romney, if not for being a SAHM, for being a rich woman who she is implying got others to do her work as a mother for her.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

What a bunch of feminist nonsense. Stay at home moms are just as expert on women struggling to support their familes as single women. Heck, as often as not they are in charge of the finances anyway. And not being in control of the earnings is another worry for them. They have to take what is given and make it stretch. Any woman who's raised five boys is worth at least 20 professional women in the workplace minimum.

My wife stays home and watches 3 granddaughters 5 days a week...I would rather work.

[thesometimesaint]

Zakuska:

At a 91% Federal Income Tax of the 1950's for millionairs there sure wasn't any jobs was there? Like boosting education to unseen levels, building an Interstate Highway System, fighting a Cold War, desegragating the public schools, buiding a Middle Class society that was the envy of the world.

[Zakuska]

Zakuska:

At a 91% Federal Income Tax of the 1950's for millionairs there sure wasn't any jobs was there? Like boosting education to unseen levels, building an Interstate Highway System, fighting a Cold War, desegragating the public schools, buiding a Middle Class society that was the envy of the world.

That must be why so many American companies are going over seas to get out from under the tax burdens of the IRS, huh?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74184.html

[Mark Beesley]

That must be why so many American companies are going over seas to get out from under the tax burdens of the IRS, huh?

http://www.politico....0312/74184.html

They weren't going overseas in the 50s.

The solution to businesses going overseas is the imposition of some hefty tariffs on imported goods. Countries that don't protect workers or the environment should not benefit from their poor stewardship.

[Skylla]

No politics.

Skylla

[Bob Oliverio]

Frankly, I thank this Rosen gal for saying what she did on national TV.  I can't think of a better way to flip the argument (women and their importance) and a better spokesperson (Anne Romney) to do it.  I hope the GOP exploits the hell out of this, without going overboard, to bring back the importance of grounded families.

Mitt will have a lot of challenges to defend over the next 6 months.  No question.  But his wife will prove to be a woman, a lady, a class act and foe that I believe will do in his challengers.  She will never have to admit she was "never proud about this country before...".  

And I saw where Barbara Bush came out on FOX today to defend Ann Romney and even this Rosen gal for her apology.  Ms. Bush empathized with her own verbal mistakes of mouth against Geraldine Ferraro in her husband's campaign.  She is a class lady as well. 

And while my wife and I have no children yet, I can't help to articulate a point that Barbara Bush made in her interview today -- "we had children long before we were wealthy."

I have to believe such was the case with the Romney's.  Mitt's success was in large part due to the abilities that his wife brought to their marriage very early on when, I suspect, they had difficulties making ends meet.

Obama will play the race, class and gender card this season.  No doubt.  Mitt and the Church will get hammered on racism claims. No doubt.  And Ann Romney will be a target of progressive womens' agendas for no other reason than they fear her and her influence.  But Mrs Romney will be the best running mate for the GOP nominee this year.  And liberals should fear her because they are not in her league!

[thesometimesaint]

Bob:

George H. W. Bush inherited a great deal of his wealth from his father Prescot Bush.

Mitt inherited a great deal of his wealth from his father George Romney.

TTBOMK. No spouce of a sitting President has ever been his running mate. Close intimate counselor yes, but no official role as VP.

[Mark Beesley]

No politics.

Skylla

Hey, I used the word stewardship in my post!

[Mark Beesley]

Must be springtime. Love is in the air. Apologies all around. Makes ya almost giddy.

[selek1]

I can understand Rosen's annoyance at having the wife of a billionaire regarded as an expert on women struggling to support their families in this economy (its hard for me not to be annoyed at it and i am basically a stay at home mom myself), but her description of stay at home moms as non-workers is offensive.

The problem with this explanation for Rosen's screed is that neither Candidate Romney nor his wife proclaimed her to be "an expert on women struggling to support their families in this economy".

The incident which ignited Rosen's scripted "outrage" took place when Ann Romney reported the concerns and statements made to her by women she encountered on the campaign trail.

Ann Romney was reporting the concerns and fears that others have expressed to her.

So who's more credible? A wife and grandmother who's spent the last year talking to men and women across the country?

Or a paid partisan political hack and corporate spin doctor who believes the edge of the civilized universe coincides with the edge of the Washington beltway?

The comments and concerns that Mrs. Romney is relaying contradict the carefully manufactured media narrative about the "War on Women" and the monolithic allegiance of women to the current administration.

For that high crime alone she (and every other heretic who dares question the feminist orthodoxy) must be discredited and destroyed.

What is also absent from the discussion is this incontrovertible fact: Militant feminists have spent the last forty years denigrating stay-at-home Moms.

Rosen's screed was not an isolated attack, but a much beloved, long-standing, and politically acceptable prejudice of the feminist Left.

This wasn't a new or novel slur.

This was the regurgitation of a hateful dog-whistle slander by a partisan ideologue who knew precisely what she was doing.

SometimeSaint:

You are conveniently forgetting that the Clintons boasted on national television that electing Bill was a "two-fer", since Hillary was part of the "package deal".

[Libs]

Apparently Hilary Rosen has apologized to Ann Romney.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/12/hilary-rosen-ann-romney_n_1420990.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

[Zakuska]

A good Follow up article:

Why the left fears Ann Romney.

http://www.cnn.com/2...romney/?is_LR=1