Republican Senator Bill Cassidy used a poor choice of words while explaining how he would sell President Joe Biden‘s infrastructure bill to skeptical conservatives. During a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press, Cassidy was attempting to list examples of how fixing America’s roads and bridges would benefit the average constituent. Being stuck in traffic is a bipartisan problem that nobody wants regardless of what side of the aisle they are on, and Cassidy was on the right track when he emphasized that most people would rather be spending time with their family than wasting “three hours a day” in their car. Nothing controversial there.
However, things took a slightly sexist turn when Cassidy described how the infrastructure problem would affect women. Via Raw Story:
“My wife says that roads and bridges are a woman’s problem if you will,” the senator added. “Because oftentimes it is the woman — aside from commuting to work — who’s also taking children to schools or doing the shopping. And the more time that she spends on that road, the less time she spends doing things of higher value.”
Granted, Cassidy’s intent was to help sell the infrastructure bill to Republicans who are overwhelmingly opposed to almost every initiation coming from the Biden administration, but relegating the situation into a “woman’s problem” (because they do all of the “shopping”) isn’t the most tactful approach. It is generating headlines, but for all of the wrong reasons.
(Via Raw Story)