Before President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress last Tuesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi strolled the corridors of the Capitol proudly adorned in an all-white outfit, tweeting a photo of her fellow white-wearers with the caption “Tonight, our Democratic #WomenWearWhite in support of women’s rights — in spite of a @POTUS who doesn’t!”
But as the week progressed, that fervent commitment to women’s rights seemed to wane.
How else do you explain Pelosi’s refusal to condemn the sexist attack on Kellyanne Conway made by Rep. Cedric Richmond? The only alternative explanation I can think of is that Pelosi’s feminism extends only to those women who share her political beliefs.
Could it be true?
Last week, Richmond made a joke in front of a large audience asserting that Conway looked “very familiar” kneeling on the Oval Office couch. The quip was condemned so widely that even Chelsea Clinton chimed in to criticize Richmond.
Nevertheless, when asked by Jake Tapper whether Richmond owes Conway an apology (which he issued later that day), Pelosi replied, “I think everybody was making crude comments. I just don’t know. I wasn’t at that dinner.”
“He maybe should be criticized for that,” she said, “I just don’t know the particulars.”
After some back and forth, Pelosi told Tapper, “I’ll look at what my colleague said there,” despite the fact that Tapper had just played Richmond’s exact comments for her during the segment.
It’s not that difficult.
Allow me to rephrase that, it’s not that difficult for someone who cares more about standing up for women than scoring political points.
Richmond made the joke on Wednesday, giving Pelosi ample time to condemn it well before her interview with Tapper even occurred. It was widely-reported and widely-condemned. You can bet that if a Republican congressman had made that joke about a Democratic White House counselor, Pelosi would have denounced it ardently within 24 hours.
For serving in a high-profile position in the White House, Kellyanne Conway does not deserve to be sexually mocked by a sitting congressman. Any true proponent of women’s rights who wants women to feel comfortable working in prominent positions without the fear of sexist mockery would defend her against such attacks.
As the House Minority Leader, Pelosi should have issued a categorical condemnation of Richmond’s remarks as soon as her staff was notified they were made. That did not happen Wednesday. That did not happen Thursday. That did not happen Friday or Saturday.
But why not?
For all the sanctimony, for all the marching, for all the rhetoric, simply condemning Richmond is the equivalent of a slam dunk for feminists.
Pelosi’s silence throughout the week, despite her alleged career-long commitment to fighting for women, speaks even louder than her failure to give Tapper a straight answer on Sunday.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
