Personally, I’d imagine that he was trying to comply with mandated diversity requirements or affirmative action. It’s the left that requires head counts of women and minorities, so if anyone is promoting binders full of people with the same gender or racial characteristics, it’s them.
I think the humor is fine. But I have heard some pundits try to turn this into an ‘issue’, including mock outrage. That won’t work. The reason it tickles the funny bones of you on the left is because it confirms your own impression/bias/stereotype of Romney. For people who don’t already have this impression, attacking him over the ‘binders full of women’ comment is just bizarre and suggests that the Obama campaign has run out of substantial arguments and is resorting to ankle-biting.
Serious question: Has the Obama campaign pushed the ‘binders of women’ line anywhere? I thought it was restricted to being an internet meme, with some pundits possibly bringing it up for humor value. Nothing official, in other words.
Joe Biden referred to it in a recent speech (in a visual style). It probably won’t go much higher than that, IMO; something like this feels more acceptable coming from Biden than the President.
Oh, and yes, the Venn diagram was all kinds of funny.
And why not? Civil servants go through a reasonable vetting process, this idea that Willard needs a women’s advocacy group to come to him and tell him hire women : THIS IS A GOOD IDEA. It plays into the whole narrative that privileged white men still continue to only do what’s right when they’re pushed. And this is the fucking leader of it. And still he won’t pay the proper wage, he didn’t support the Lily Leadbetter Law. He’s of the ilk that believe that its better for the little lady to be home in time for making din din instead of working late to climb the ladder. Government, he does the token thing to make it “look credible” but there were no postiions of authority held by women at Bain.
It’s easier to compartmentalize women than to treat them fairly.
If this is a serious question, at supermarkets in the United States, the standard size bag of flour is 5 lbs. Go check the baking aisle in a regular supermarket (not a 7-11 or bodega) and about 3/4 of the flour will be in five pound bags, most of the rest in ten pound bags, and a few specialty products might be in one or two pound bags. Of course, at Costco, you’ll find 25 lb bags (or maybe larger – I’m not sure of the Costco size).
As a woman, I found it offensive, I admit. Yes, I got what he was saying and the phrase itself can be shrugged off. But the fact that he mentioned “if” with respect to hiring women and the mention of women being concerned about getting home to cook dinner, “binders full of women” was elevated to a level of plain disrespect for women. His being Mormon doesn’t help. Also, him being a liar doesn’t help. And the fact that the smug, entitled bastard didn’t support LL Act or the VAWA, and he wants to overturn RvsW, making it a crime to abort, repealing the ACA (which safeguards against women having to pay more than men for the same healthcare)…well, I think you get my point. Combine all of what Romney stands for (at least at the moment, it will likely change by next week’s debate) and “binders full of women” is just outright offensive. P.S. I’m not a fanatic fem either, just your average want-to-keep-my-rights kind of gal.
My offense mostly came from the fact that, apparently, there were NO qualified women who applied for, or were recommended for, these postions.
He had to ASK for them. And then had to go outside his circle and ask “women’s groups” to supply him with qualified women.
And it was HARD. Because they need to cook dinner and take time off for kids, so you can’t just take a woman seriously in the same way you do a man.
It honestly reminded me of certain movies that were made recently where in the source material the characters were of color, but somehow, MAGICALLY, only white actors were cast to play them on-screen. Why? Because they were “the best actors for the job.” Really? As if NO talented actors of color existed, or answered the casting calls?
I don’t know what world these folks claim to live in. Where I live, women and people of color are qualified to do things, and apply to do those things.
And this incident illustrates why things like head counts are needed. Romney apparently never considered women as job applicants until somebody pushed him into doing it.
The issue here is not something new. The issue is that Romney is only concerned about the narrow band of America that lives like Mitt Romney. He simply doesn’t think about the rest of the country. So the legitimate question is why should the rest of the country vote for Mitt Romney?
And if you think this is something the Obama campaign is making up, explain why Romney keeps feeding them quotes that fit the picture.
According to the women’s group that compiled the resumes Romney DID NOT initate it, he wasn’t going out looking for women to fill the positions, the advocacy group brought this to the governor . He just took credit for it in the debate, but that’s bullshit. About Mitt Romney's 'binders full of women'? Guess what. It's BS.
When I heard it, it seemed for me to fit into the narrative that Mitt is a bit outof touch. I could easily see him "O golly, we don’t have any of them wimminfolk anywhere. This will look bad. Where do we get some of them wimminfolk? Anyone know one? Couldn’t we just order some from decorator’s catalog or something?
Sorta reminds me of Molly Ivins talking to some Texas folks about how gay folks move into a neighborhood, gentrify and raise property values, and some of the good ol boys asking where they could git sum of them gayfolk.
I hesitate to use the word “objectify” but the idea that you get wimmin from a catalog like it was some russian bride service showing their product.
FWIW.
So no, no outrage, more like “Jeeze, how tin eared can this guy get?”
Okay, on second reading of your post I understand what you mean. Yeah, everything is such a fucking chore to find women applicants. That was such utter bullshit coming from him it’s breathtaking, since he didn’t do a damn thing to look for female applicants in the first place.
Really no outrage? A Harvard graduate with all the privileges of the elite of society? He’s not a bumpkin, although when it comes to women’s issues he sure likes to play that card, except when it’s my vagina he wants to control, then he has a direct manifesto for that.