It’s no surprise that those attending the progressive Netroots Nation conference this week would look harshly upon Republicans. But on Thursday, one Netroots panelist took it too far and ended up falsely generalizing the entire Republican party and accusing the party’s leaders of sexism.
Jess McIntosh, the communications director for EMILY’S List, not only said that Republicans aren’t just “old and out of touch,” but actually accused the entire party of working against women.
“On any given day, they all oppose equal pay,” McIntosh said during the panel “Legitimate Tape: Using Republicans’ Own Words to Shut that Whole Thing Down” Thursday in San Jose, Calif. “So anytime someone talks about women working outside the home or how sad it is that we have female breadwinners, these are spokespeople for a party who are actively trying to make sure every women in this room doesn’t make as much money as the men do.”
It may have been the excitement of the progressive three-day conference, but McIntosh seemingly forgot that an equal pay act for women was just signed into law in Louisiana by Gov. Bobby Jindal – a Republican.
She wasn’t quite done bashing Republicans after her remarks on equal pay, however. Known for fighting for abortion rights, McIntosh also accused the GOP of having an agenda of legislating rape.
“I can’t believe they have this many pieces of legislation to redefine rape, but they do,” McIntosh said. “So when they make these comments about rape, it exposes something dark…within the party that they’re trying to legislate.”
She added that these comments, like former Missouri Rep. Todd Akin’s “illegitimate rape” comment last August, are no longer rarities within the GOP.
“The Akin stuff was so important because they were literally trying to legislate what he said. He wasn’t an outlier. Paul Ryan, like the VP, had cosponsored legislation to differentiate between different kinds of rape. So when he said this, it wasn’t just some crack pot who shouldn’t be allowed to talk anymore—it was the agenda of the party. And was is why everybody got in trouble,” she said.
