Bill O’Reilly last night insisted the "war on women stuff is a ruse," and there’s no pay disparity between women and men. But just when you might have wanted to start shouting at the TV set, he smacked down Republican Kate Obenshain with an impassioned argument that it’s time for the GOP to support raising the minimum wage. Or else forget winning the White House for decades.
O’Reilly started with his Talking Points commentary about President Obama’s State of the Union address of the night before. O’Reilly characterized it as “heavy on grievance.” He went on to say that facts show “we really don’t have a gender salary discrepancy in this country.” O’Reilly declared, the “war on women stuff is a political ruse.” He accused Obama of using the gender pay issue “to mobilize the base” because he needs their vote.
Sadly, Democrat Kirsten Powers helped advance O’Reilly’s claim. She agreed that Obama had used “skewed” numbers. She said it’s a “much more complicated picture for why women are making less money.”
Later Powers opined:
“I think you’re right that the president is sort of cynically doing this to, you know, excite the base, the women’s base… I don’t like it. I mean, I have never been a big fan of the war on women because I think it’s a sort of cynical way to try to exploit women’s fears. And I think this is a perfect example of it.”
I’ve got no problem with Powers’ opinion per se. But I do have a problem with the venue she chose to say it. If she really cares about cynically exploiting issues for political gain, what’s she doing at Fox? There’s almost no subject that Fox doesn’t exploit for political purposes.
Furthermore, the “war on women” meme is at least as much – if not more – about Republican attempts to restrict abortion rights, do away with funding for Planned Parenthood and the contraception mandate in health insurance. Speaking of that contraception mandate, O’Reilly’s attacks on its best known advocate, Sandra Fluke, just about makes the case, alone.
However, Powers did add that “91 cents on the dollar,” the pay disparity between women and men, “still isn’t OK.”
But before you get too caught up in that, consider the rest of the segment. When O'Reilly turned to his other guest, he began hammering Republicans about opposing a minimum wage hike: “When are these pinheads in the Republican party going to wise up?” O’Reilly asked Obenshain. He said $10 an hour is not too much money in any part of the country. He called “baloney” when Obenshain argued that jobs will be lost and that pay should be left to the “free market. Babysitters earn that much, he observed.
Republicans are “putting themselves on the wrong side” of the issue, O’Reilly warned. “If your guys keep doing this, the next election they’ll win will be 80 years from now. They need to wise up.”
OK, I get that even though he emphasized raising the minimum wage is just the right thing to do, he was also looking out for Republicans here. But good for him nonetheless.
It will be interesting to see if any of the other Fox News talking heads/GOP whisperers follows suit.
“If your guys keep doing this, the next election they’ll win will be 80 years from now. They need to wise up.”
Read more at http://www.newshounds.us/bill_o_reilly_there_s_no_war_on_women_but_pinhead_republicans_better_wise_up_and_raise_the_minimum_wage_01302014#ElzeOsMOTT4Zrfvj.99
YOUR guys? The evidence is that they are also YOUR guys, Bill. Or did you forget that you are a conservative, traditional, republican?
Wimmin are paid good, real good! As what’s her face … Andrea ….