MOMMY CAGE MATCH: Reality vs. Romney

On Wednesday night, I warned folks on the Pundit On Point page to be on the look-out for a tempest in a teapot. It is happening – The Mommy Cage Match. In case you missed it, Hilary Rosen made a correct observation that Ann Romney is not, cannot be, an accurate thermometer for the struggles of the average American woman. Unfortunately, Hilary Rosen had to gild the lily by insisting that Ann Romney has “never worked a day in her life.”

But in the interests of fairness, where was all of this concern for the treatment of candidates’ wives in 2008 when the media was savagely attacking Michelle Obama’s every move and word? She was a working mother who clearly fiercely loves her intelligent, well-mannered daughters, but there was no full throated defense of her choices from Mama Grizzlies and the like.

Sigh…

I hope that all of America has evolved to the point that we realize that all mothers are full-time mothers. But some mothers have the economic opportunity to remain at home. Other women do not have the same alternative. Some women simply make the choice to remain in the workplace after they have children.  Haven’t we grown up enough to accept all of these choices?

Enter Mitt Romney. He is suffering the worst gender gap in recent presidential politics. The statements of Rush Limbaugh, which Mitt never firmly repudiated, deepened the gender gap. Then of course, the assault on women’s reproductive health by the state legislatures across the country,  but the most Mitt has to say about the issue is that he wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood. The list of politically aggressive acts against women goes on and on, and women are paying attention. He needs his warm, approachable wife, Ann, to humanize him.

I have some respect for Ann Romney’s story. She did raise 5 sons. She is living with Multiple Sclerosis, and is a breast cancer survivor. But she did all of the above with the resources that having an extremely well-connected, unbelievably wealthy husband can provide. Ann Romney’s story has nothing to do with my reality. Her home in La Jolla, California, which has been the subject of much discussion, will have a 4-car elevator. Fine, but the Romneys paid $22,000 for a lobbyist to secure the permits for the car elevator. So I doubt that Ann Romney changed all the diapers, made all the PB&J sandwiches, sewed on any buttons, or did any of the grunt work for her sons that most moms deal with in reality.

What if she had to do raise her family, and survive her health issues with the average family income of $54,620 for non-Hispanic whites for a family of four? She wouldn’t be able to get health insurance if her husband lost his job; and the Affordable Care Act is overturned by the Supreme Court. She would be deemed irresponsible for having so many kids since she doesn’t have the resources to care for them. It would have been extremely difficult to pay for a college education for all of her sons, which would have caused them all to incur substantial educational debt. It would all be so different…

There are real issues that we need to discuss. Any potential offense to Ann Romney is not one of them. I want to hear about tax reform, especially as I hear that the Romney’s effective tax rate is 15.4% for 2011. I want to hear about job creation, because the GOP’s job creators aren’t creating jobs. I want to hear about what’s going to be done about the housing crisis…remember the housing crisis…the foreclosures, the illegal evictions, the blighted neighborhoods, the shattered families, and lost wealth?

Let’s forget the Mommy Cage Match. The real contest we need to see is the REAL MITT ROMNEY vs. Reality.

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