The all-too-common fake anger of our hyperactive politics exploded again last week when lesbian Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen made the now-infamous comment that Ann Romney "never worked a day in her life." That the underlying crux of Rosen's remark was correct was beside the point, as Democrats and the Obama campaign piled on, terrified that they would lose the women's vote in November – as if one sentence from a paid TV commentator would upend the whole election. How dare Rosen say such a thing, they clucked. Republicans wasted no time in criticizing Rosen either. Ann Romney, the wife of presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney, even opened a Twitter account so that she could express how hurt she was by the characterization because her decision to be a stay at home mom was hard work. (Never mind that the filthy rich Romneys likely had more attractive options and never struggled with the same painful decisions over work and family that the majority of American women are forced to make for their daily survival.)
Before the day was over, Rosen had apologized, Republicans kept rubbing it in, and we all were left to wait for the next ruckus to hit the 2012 presidential race. That there will be more is a given in today's media spin cycle, where every tweet is analyzed, every pundit tries to outdo the other, and Facebook feeds are filled with shrill words against politicians. Most of it is just stupid.
The thing is, the shouting and hyperbole mask the very real problems working women (and men) face today. Women have long had to choose between a career and raising children in an attempt to balance the demands of home and work. The reality of today's economy requires that many women with children must work outside the home; it's not a choice, it's a necessity. Rosen's point was that the Romneys are so wealthy that they don't understand the hardship experienced by the majority of Americans. Even in our community, the number of lesbians raising children has exploded in the last 10 years. Rosen herself is a mom.
Statistics show that the income gap between the wealthiest and the middle class has grown during the current recession. More families now live paycheck to paycheck while others have lost homes to foreclosure. Those who have been job hunting for months or even years are now told that if they've been unemployed for any length of time not to apply. Just this week Best Buy announced if was closing two Bay Area stores in areas that can least afford the additional laid off workers, East Palo Alto and Pittsburg. The unemployment rate in East Palo Alto is 17.1 percent; in Pittsburg it's 15.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If these grave problems in the economy are not solved, the personal and economic choices for Americans will decrease even more.
It's voters who are the real losers in these instances of outsized manufactured anger. They want the candidates to talk about their plans for strengthening the economy and putting people back to work. That discussion was largely missing from the Republican primary race and, now that the contest is effectively over, voters will see that Romney has little to offer in the way of concrete solutions. That's not an encouraging sign for the unemployed, as this country shifts from a manufacturing base to a services-oriented workforce.
We don't need the fake outrage, the piling on, the laughable statements. What we need is Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, and a president who can forcefully articulate that discrimination is wrong, and that all citizens deserve equal treatment.