Here’s the transcript:
What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, “Well, my wife tells me what women really care about are economic issues.” And, “When I listen to my wife, that’s what I’m hearing.” Guess what? His wife has never actually worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing—in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and how do—why we worry about their future. … there’s something much more fundamental about Mitt Romney—he just seems so old-fashioned when it comes to women, and I think that comes across, and I think that’s going to hurt him over the long term. He just doesn’t really see us as equal.
Old-fashioned… yeah, I know homemakers know nothing about the economy. She *obviously* doesn’t read the news, shop, or pay for any services. Now I’ll admit that her affluence does shelter her somewhat from the harsh realities of a bad economy, but it has nothing to do with her role as a homemaker and it certainly doesn’t mean she’s unqualified to speak on the topic. Those who are stay-at-home moms are the CEOs of the home, and in my opinion have one of the hardest (and most important) jobs one can have.
I’m reminded of Proverbs 31, listen to how the industrious woman (who is a “stay-at-home” mom) is described:
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple, (Proverbs 31:13-22, ESV)
That sounds like somebody who has a pretty good handle on the economy, what do you think? I’d say stay-at-home moms (and working moms too!) help to drive the economy. Who do you think make up most of the consumers?
Let’s put the faux "war against stay at home moms" to rest once and for all. As a mom I know that raising children is the hardest job there is. As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen. In response to Mitt Romney on the campaign trail referring to his wife as a better person to answer questions about women than he is, I was discussing his lack of a record on the plight of women’s financial struggles. Here is my more fulsome view of the issues. As a partner in a firm full of women who work outside of the home as well as stay at home mothers, all with plenty of children, gender equality is not a talking point for me. It is an issue I live every day. I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance.
Who started the “war on women” comments? Liberals. The simple fact is that the feminists and liberals have waged a rhetorical war on stay-at-home moms for quite some time. Rosen has “apologized,” but her first inclination was to put them down. That speaks more to what she truly speaks for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” (Matthew 12:34, ESV).