NOW Prez and Dem Sen Say Obama Sexist Against ‘Elizabeth’ Warren
What’s a liberal to do? The ongoing fight over trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has cut deep into the heart of liberal politics, a dynamic nicely (if self-satirizingly) summed up by the Blue Nation Review headline “Mommy and Daddy are Fighting Over TPP.”
Well, things got even more awkward around the dinner table Tuesday, as a couple of prominent liberals accused Daddy of being sexist at Mommy. National Organization for Women (NOW) president Terry O’Neill told The Hill, Wednesday morning, that President Obama oughtn’t have called Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) by her first name:
O’Neill told The Hill she took issue with Obama calling Warren by her first name during an interview with Yahoo News published Saturday.
“Yes, I think it is sexist,” O’Neill said. “I think the president was trying to build up his own trustworthiness on this issue by convincing us that Senator Warren’s concerns are not to be taken seriously. But he did it in a sexist way.”
…O’Neill said Obama’s “clear subtext is that the little lady just doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“I think it was disrespectful,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill’s criticism followed a similar jab by Sen. Sherrod Brown on Tuesday, telling reporters “I think referring to her as her first name, when he might not have done that for a male Senator, perhaps? I’ve said enough.”
O’Neill and Brown are referring to a portion of President Obama’s Yahoo! News interview this past weekend, in which he took on critics of his proposed trade deal:
Matt Bai: It’s personal, too, isn’t it?
President Obama: Elizabeth is a politician like everybody else, and she’s got a voice she wants to get out there.
That wasn’t the first time he’d done it, though, and not the first time someone raised the sexism charge. A few weeks ago, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow made a similar observation about President Obama’s comments to Chris Matthews, which included a first name-only reference.
The White House has yet to respond to the sexism allegation, but when reached for comment…READ MORE
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Tommy Christopher
Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
15 responses to NOW Prez and Dem Sen Say Obama Sexist Against ‘Elizabeth’ Warren
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Herb Sarge Phelps May 13th, 2015 at 13:13
This is sad and just makes real sexist remarks look like political attacks instead of the truth. Let’s not damage progress in this area with nonsense attacks.
OldLefty May 13th, 2015 at 13:17
Obama calls everybody by their first names.
Hirightnow May 13th, 2015 at 13:33
SOCIALISM!
OldLefty May 13th, 2015 at 13:41
Not Sharia??
Hirightnow May 13th, 2015 at 15:36
Sharcialism?
whatthe46 May 13th, 2015 at 13:36
after all the b.s. they call him and say about him, this is what they have now? he called a woman by her first name? really?
illinoisboy1977 May 13th, 2015 at 14:33
I thought he was on a first name basis with Warren. I think he was just speaking off the cuff, no harm intended. People need to quit acting butthurt over every little thing. Manufactured outrage is as transparent, as it is disingenuous.
Roctuna May 13th, 2015 at 15:20
There were frequent posters on this site who were offended recently when a reporter persisted in referring to “Obama” while dropping the honorific “President”. It was claimed that this showed a lack of respect. This situation seems similar to me. Like Senator Warren, the President is also a politician who is not above using rhetorical gimmicks to help make his points and strengthen perception of his case. I think he could have been more respectful just as that Wash. Times reporter could have been. If he was having a conversation with the Senator, first names would be appropriate. In this case, I also think he was deliberately diminishing Senator Warren’s comments.
tracey marie May 13th, 2015 at 16:35
Nonsense, this is nothing more then some Dems making political points because they are a gainst TPP. Now leader is just going overboard with her job
Suzanne McFly May 13th, 2015 at 15:28
Pretty sick when someone tries to call out another person when they are on the same side. I won’t fall for it and I believe most of us won’t.
tracey marie May 13th, 2015 at 16:33
They are friends and associates, the President respects and genuinely likes Warren…this is just stupidity
Budda May 13th, 2015 at 19:35
Some people are just overly sensitive.
fahvel May 14th, 2015 at 03:40
you all have some very strange folks wandering the streets of the usa – why do they have so little to do?
trees May 14th, 2015 at 21:30
Wow. Everyone on this site was up in arms when a reporter referred to president Obama as, Obama…..during a routine press briefing….
The prez refers to Senator Warren as, Elizabeth….
Now, I made the observation that Obama was simply being treated in the same manner as he, Obama, has treated others…..
But no, I was told that she, the reporter, had been directly disrespectful.
So, the question is….
Is Obama being purposely disrespectful to Senator Warren?
OldLefty May 15th, 2015 at 06:00
Wow. Everyone on this site was up in arms when a reporter referred to president Obama as, Obama…..during a routine press briefing….
The prez refers to Senator Warren as, Elizabeth….
________
The point is in how reporters refer to every OTHER president, and how Obama has always referred to everyone else (especially those with whom he has worked closely with).
There has always been a unique and different standard applied to Barack Hussein Obama.