SENIOR AIDE TO PAWLENTY CREDITS BACHMANN’S SUCCESS TO “SEX APPEAL”
It took only 8 days.
Barely one week after Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06) formally announced her candidacy for President of the United States, sexist attacks against her are already underway.
The offender – the first but unfortunately almost certainly not the last – is Vin Weber, a senior advisor to former Governor Tim Pawlenty, a fellow Minnesotan public servant and 2012 Presidential contender. In an interview earlier this week, Weber credited the ascent of Bachmann’s campaign to her “sexual appeal.”
Referencing the sexuality of any candidate is clearly inappropriate, but Weber’s claims that Bachmann’s success is based on how she looks is demeaning, diminishing, and plain backwards.
While both Weber and Pawlenty have since apologized for the sexist comment in the wake of a public backlash, it is truly alarming to think that a Presidential candidate and senior members of his team would not respect women enough – including and especially competitors – to make such insulting comments to begin with. Congresswoman Bachmann – and women everywhere – deserve better. What’s more, aspiring leaders of the United States and their most trusted advisors should know better, too.
Published by Kate McCarthy on 07/08/2011