Mike Huckabee and Women
Over at the American Thinker, Kyle-Ann Shriver notes that she'd rather be "hog-tied" than vote for Mike Huckabee, as he lacks the experience (and, I'd add, the common sense, as Hugh Hewitt's interview with AEI's Michael Rubin makes clear) to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
But there's also plenty to be disturbed about when it comes to Huckabee's views on women. I'm not necessarily talking about his newly-famous exhortation for women to "submit graciously" to their husbands. That's a theological statement that requires a good deal of unpacking to be properly understood, and I've said repeatedly that American politics are poorly served by theological inquisitions (although it's also true that those, like Huckabee, who attempt to exploit religious divisions for political advantage can't complain when the same trick is played on them).
No doubt the "submission" stuff would be used (and abused) by the media to convince every woman in America who's not steeped in Huckabee's religious tradition that he believes women are inferior to men. But what's more concerning are the suggestions that Huckabee actually did oppose equal pay for equal work. Not only is such a position unjust, but it adds credibility to those who would charge that his own sectarian beliefs are directly reflected in his public policies in a way that's out of step with modern life.
As any regular reader of this blog knows, I'm pretty socially conservative. But as a woman, I am appalled (and shocked, actually) atthe suggestion that, in this day and age, a man who wants to lead this country would oppose in any way the concept of equal pay for equal work. It's reminiscent of an experience that I once had at a radio station when another host told me that he -- not I -- should be receiving mroe work because he had a family to support and I didn't.
Many, many women in America have had similar experiences, and the idea that they'll just ignore them and embrace Mike Huckabee is fantasy of the first order. I've never been a Huckabee fan . . . but this really deepens my reservations about him to something approaching outright opposition.
But there's also plenty to be disturbed about when it comes to Huckabee's views on women. I'm not necessarily talking about his newly-famous exhortation for women to "submit graciously" to their husbands. That's a theological statement that requires a good deal of unpacking to be properly understood, and I've said repeatedly that American politics are poorly served by theological inquisitions (although it's also true that those, like Huckabee, who attempt to exploit religious divisions for political advantage can't complain when the same trick is played on them).
No doubt the "submission" stuff would be used (and abused) by the media to convince every woman in America who's not steeped in Huckabee's religious tradition that he believes women are inferior to men. But what's more concerning are the suggestions that Huckabee actually did oppose equal pay for equal work. Not only is such a position unjust, but it adds credibility to those who would charge that his own sectarian beliefs are directly reflected in his public policies in a way that's out of step with modern life.
As any regular reader of this blog knows, I'm pretty socially conservative. But as a woman, I am appalled (and shocked, actually) atthe suggestion that, in this day and age, a man who wants to lead this country would oppose in any way the concept of equal pay for equal work. It's reminiscent of an experience that I once had at a radio station when another host told me that he -- not I -- should be receiving mroe work because he had a family to support and I didn't.
Many, many women in America have had similar experiences, and the idea that they'll just ignore them and embrace Mike Huckabee is fantasy of the first order. I've never been a Huckabee fan . . . but this really deepens my reservations about him to something approaching outright opposition.
posted by LadybugUSA at 9:44 AM
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