Sexism, plain and simple

By Michael J.W. Stickings

According to a new National Republican Congressional Committee press release, referring to Nancy Pelosi, Gen. Stanley McChrystal ought to "put her in her place."

Which means what exactly? That the strong military man ought to ship the uppity woman back to the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, disenfranchised and disempowered?

So it would seem. Why else use that sort of language?

It's a reprehensible and indefensible slur, to be sure, but, as Steve Benen points out, what is also troubling is the actual content of the press release:

[T]he substantive nonsense of the NRCC press release is likely to be overlooked given this ugly condescension towards the House Speaker, but it's worth noting that the Republicans' campaign committee also argued that leading policymakers should simply "listen to a four-star general's assessments" on Afghanistan, and not consider their own judgment.

In other words, what the Republican Party -- and this isn't just some random Republican, it's a party committee -- is saying is that civilian leadership ought to kowtow before the military. Which is, when you think about it, rather un-American.

Or, rather, it ought to do so only when it's Democratic. When it's Bush and Cheney running the show, along with their rubber stampers in Congress, it's fine for civilian leaders to push around the military.

Hypocrisy? Double standard? -- You expected something different?