May

16

‘A woman’s place is in the House … and the Senate’

May 16, 2008 |

My Congresswoman had a baby yesterday.

He’s really cute, too.

Now, just to show you that there are still plenty of Neanderthals around, a gentleman by the name of Ron Blachut got his 15 minutes of fame last December (shortly after Congresswoman Gillibrand announced her pregnancy) by writing a letter to the editor saying, in part:

First of all, I must admit that I am a male chauvinist and that there are, thankfully, differences between men and women. There are many occupations suitable for women and their physical attributes. Carrying a weapon while serving in the Armed Forces and firefighting are not suitable lines of work for women to prove that they are physically equal to men. How many male police officers feel comfortable with a 100 pound female backup?

And now, I have to add serving in the U.S. House and Senate as an occupation that may not be suitable for women.

Mr. Blachut’s argument that we shouldn’t be using taxpayer dollars to cover the Congresswoman’s prenatal care — although, somehow it’s okay to use said taxpayer dollars to cover all the heart disease, cancer treatment and other maladies of her colleagues — is thin, at best. And it certainly caused an awful lot of folks to go straight up in flames.

But Blachut was not the only person who was crass enough to bring up the subject. When Gillibrand first made her announcement, the Schenectady Post Star reported:

The announcement brought a variety of reactions from her four possible Republican challengers, including one who questioned if she could balance between caring for a newborn and serving in Congress.

I’m just wondering how common these sentiments are, though? Is this peculiar form of retardation unique to upstate NY?

The last woman elected to the House of Representatives who gave while in office birth was Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, from the state of Washington. And, just so we know this is an equal opportunity issue, McMorris Rodgers is a Republican, while Gillibrand is a Democrat. They are, respectively, the fifth and sixth women in the history of the institution to give birth while in office.

Interestingly, McMorris Rodgers chose to conceal the fact of her pregnancy while she was running for office. As one (now evidently defunct) blog speculated, “Was she afraid it would affect her negatively? If so, was she correct in that fear?”

If we judge by Mr. Blachut’s reaction, the answer, regrettably, is ‘yes.’

It is worth noting that both women represent districts that are primarily rural, with a few fairly important urban areas tossed into the mix (Spokane for McMorris Rodgers and Albany for Gillibrand). Make of that what you will.

That said, the man’s fears about Congresswoman Gillibrand’s ability to do her job seem to have been entirely unfounded. She worked right up until she went into labor, evidently: she was on hand to vote for the Farm Bill and passed an amendment to legislation being considered by the House Armed Services Committee, on which she has a seat. The last vote of the day happened at 8 p.m.

The baby was born at 5 a.m. (I wonder if she was already in labor when she left the House floor?)

(Pause for musical interlude … )

It’s interesting, though, that there are still so many people (-ahem- men) who seem to think that hormones interfere with a woman’s ability to do a job but they don’t seem to think there are men (like, say, Elliott Spitzer) who might have the same problem.

Of course, some of these are the same people who say gender bias — whether we’re talking about glass ceilings or available opportunities for women-owned businesses — is a thing of the past.

Ya, right.

Anyway, congratulations to Congresswoman Gillibrand and her family. And, about that re-election campaign and upcoming work on Capitol Hill, all I have to say is: you go, gurl!

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Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Eileen on May 16, 2008 7:07 pm

    Congrats to Congresswoman Gillibrand from Massachusetts.

    These folks sure are showing their ignorance; It is actually more demanding to be a full-time parent than it is to do a “Man’s job” in the Congress. Compared to the non-stop physical and emotional demands of parenting, the brain-work of an office job is a cake walk.

    That Fish can pedal the bicycle with the baby riding in tow.

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