Sometimes, the right subjects enter our national conversation for all the wrong reasons. In this case, Paul Ryan, who reluctantly took the job of Speaker of the House, demanded family leave time while his voting record has denied the same to millions of Americans.
While it would be tough to be a modern Republican without being a hypocrite, Fox News and the conservative media are nonetheless trying to dig their way out of the hypocrisy hole that Ryan dug over the family leave issue.
Fox’s Andrea Tantaros addressed the issue on Monday and naturally, she blamed liberals (because who else?) and science.
Contributor Peter Johnson noted that a country that believes in family values must value family. At least, that’s my interpretation.
‘I believe that we should be encouraging families and not abortions,’ Johnson explained. ‘And if the price is to pay $1.50 a week by an employee and an employer together to ensure that a woman has the capacity to be paid two-thirds of her salary for 12 weeks then I think that’s a good thing in the United States.’
Then another Foxbot, Kennedy Montgomery, said it was too expensive and too big government-ey.
‘I think that there are plenty of wonderful things that Paul Ryan does with his family, and I think he can do them without a government mandate,’ she quipped. ‘I think we have forgotten in this country what the role of government is because we are paying for so much, we are so overextended that if this is a cultural value, if this is a thing we deem most necessary then we have to stop funding redundant federal programs.’
That’s when Tantaros chimed in with her intellectual prowess:
‘We’re bankrupt as a nation,’ Tantaros concluded. ‘Maybe take the shrimp off the treadmill, stop funding those stupid studies we’re funding. Stop funding all these other programs and prioritize if this is something that’s important to the American people.’
Of course, we could also stop funding wars, including the war on drugs.
Here’s the video:
Featured image via Tumblr
Am I the only one who remembers when Kennedy was a VJ on MTV? She was an annoying moron then too.
This might be a misquote.
The headline wasn’t presented as a quotation. Note the absence or quote marks. It’s an indirect reference to a comment in the article.
As much as I hate Fox News… the headline is an outright lie. Nothing like that was remotely said.
The headline wasn’t presented as a quotation. It was an indirect reference to a comment in the article.
THE UK offers 40 weeks of FULL PAY for family leave. Vietnam and Ireland 26 weeks; Singapore and BANGLADESH 16 weeks; Canada 15; China, Chad, Congo 14 weeks; Mexico and Iran 12 weeks. The US offers ZERO and we call ourselves, regarding family, civilized.
Peter Johnson from the video shows so much republican concern after charging workers for family leave so they can get 2/3 pay for 12 weeks! WHAT A GUY! He rationalized that our country is broke … ya mean like Bangladesh, Chad or Congo that are third world countries with large levels of impoverishment and already offer MORE time and pay than what he proposes?
He also claimed that we should be encouraging families with the caveat of not encouraging abortions. Well, here we go … another ignorant anti-abortion pro-life Fox News lying (or ignorant) commentator. And here is why:
In the US, whether abortion is legal or not, abortions rates do not change. HOWEVER, the thing that changes is the rate of death to women from BOTCHED abortions when they are made illegal. The death rate of those women increases by factor of almost EIGHT TIMES when abortions are made illegal. So, if someone is REALLY pro-life then only a total 100% hypocrite would be against abortions because more lives are saved when abortion is kept legal and available.
Ya wanna check out what I said? Go to google and use the key words “Abortion legal or not, abortion rates compare”. Then do the same using the keywords, “maternal deaths higher when abortions are illegal”. Go and LEARN SOMETHING.
I don’t disagree with you, but do you honestly think those points will register with them?
These jackasses will find a way to blame maternal leave for those other countries being third world countries, and then they will outright say that mothers should risk dying in botched abortions for their sins.
Elie … are you implying that I’m “attacking windmills”? You’re right but, I’ve heard it said that it takes eternal vigilance … us good guys can never lighten up because the other guys will never stop working, either.
MOVE! Enjoy the Weather in England!… Chad..Congo.. hahahahha.. that’s funny. You do to many drugs.
I’ve a better idea, Harrison … How about you learn to deal with reality and CHANGE? See, unlike you, I’m an American and live by my Constitution that is written to allow me (and unfortunately, you) to live in a great country that embraces change.
One of those changes includes the opportunity to look at ideas from anywhere and if those ideas, based on evidence, are good ones that improve the country then we have the option of incorporating them.
Your imbecilic reply does not address the many countries that have better results in the workplace and socially (as at home) by offering family leave. But, those not willing to make changes, even when they are good ones (which is the definition of conservatism), think that not changing is desirable, which is the basis of liberalism.
I’m a proud THINKING liberal and I’m saddened that we have to deal with people like you and your ilk.
BTW, you wrote “You do TO many drugs.” Part of your ignorance is that you don’t know what word (synonym) to use which makes your comment meaningless. The word is “TOO”, not “TO”. I didn’t make such a mistake because I passed (not, as you would likely write, PAST) third grade and I learned to proof read what I write. :^)
And finally, your lack of a cogent reply that actually addresses the issue and the facts I presented while, instead, relying on personal attack (as was your entire reply) demonstrates your inability to provide evidence … and for that reason YOU LOSE!
Happy, rested people are more productive. People who work two jobs to simply survive are not ideal employees, for obvious reason no fault of their own. People who never get a vacation and have to work when sick are going to get worn down and become inferior employees. This is simple, rational logic.
Companies are investing in their work force. And you get what you pay for…
Maybe you should say, “Companies should invest in their workforce.”
yeah but if you keep unemployment high when they ware out they are easily replaced
Maybe we should stop funding the Benghazi investigation to free up some funds
Who takes Fox Noise seriously anymore? These “panellists” are dumber than a room full of Republicans. Oh wait, it is a room full of Republicans.
This is the right wing trope dragged out every time they find themselves completely wrong about something and backed into a corner, “We’re bankrupt. There’s no money”. It’s total bullshit. We’re richer as a nation than ever before. We just have our priorities all wrong. When a country allows the wealthiest people and corporations feeding at the trough to continue to skip out on their responsibility to maintain the commons that they feed on and shovels nearly 60% of it’s wealth into military expenditures that cannot and will never yield a profit and then use that machine in the defense of the very corporations who refuse to pay for it then that’s the sign of a nation in decline. What’s bankrupt is the intelligence quota of the republicans of the modern era. We can well afford family leave, free college at public institutions, great public schools and a world class infrastructure but for some reason we’ve allowed the stupid to take over and let a shrill minority inflict their polices and world view on the majority.
How do these twits even remember to breathe? Are they completely brain-dead? Who helps them get dressed? Who feeds these creatures?