GOP Mississippi Gov. Bryant: Education Is Mediocre Because "Mom Got in the Workplace"

GOP Mississippi Gov. Bryant: Education Is Mediocre Because “Mom Got in the Workplace”

Republican rebranding not catching on

PoliticsJune 2013 • Views: 27,162

Let’s face it: that Republican rebranding effort that was supposed to improve their relationship with minorities and women really isn’t catching on. They just can’t force themselves to say things they don’t believe — and apparently can’t stop themselves from saying what they do truly believe: Mississippi Governor: Educational Troubles Began When ‘Mom Got in the Workplace’.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) said Tuesday that America’s educational troubles began when women began working outside the home in large numbers.

Bryant was participating in a Washington Post Live event focused on the importance of ensuring that children read well by the end of third grade. In response to a question about how America became “so mediocre” in regard to educational outcomes, he said:

I think both parents started working. The mom got in the work place.

Bryant immediately recognized how controversial his remark would be and said he knew he would start to get e-mails. He then expanded on his answer, saying that “both parents are so pressured” in families today.

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75 comments

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:02:47am

Motherfucker please. Okay sorry for sounding so profane over this but I can’t believe that many Republicans and conservatives still want to have this argument. Yeah you’re re-branding all right Republicans, re-branding yourselves as the party that’s stuck in the dark ages. Why not come out and champion spousal rape next.//

Kragar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:06:03am

It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the GOP attempting to gut education at all levels.

GunstarGreen Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:06:34am

WHAT RIGHT WING WAR ON WOMEN?!

Gus Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:07:17am

A) Blame women first.
— GOP Handbook 2013

Charles Johnson Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:09:36am

Dumbest Man on Internet invited to Washington by loony Teabaggers:

At House Ways and Means Committee Hearing today with @jennybethm - Tea Party Patriots brought in activists pic.twitter.com/WaRtyDvWZJ
— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) June 4, 2013

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:09:59am

re: #2 Kragar

It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the GOP attempting to gut education at all levels.

You don’t say. Gee Governor Bryant, you’re part of a party who would prefer to pander to tax cuts above all else rather than preserve education in times of fiscal crisis.

theliel Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:10:21am

The great irony is that Mom only got ‘into the workplace’ when real wages decreased the point where Mom *had* to work.

If they want a parent to stay home wages need to rise back to 1950’s/1960’s levels.

nines09 Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:10:36am

So I guess it was WWII? Fuck the GOP. Period.

darthstar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:11:15am

If it takes this much work to rebrand yourself, and you can't manage to do it consistently, maybe you're in the wrong business. #GOPFail
— Sean McCabe (@darthstar99) June 4, 2013

Kragar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:11:23am

re: #8 nines09

So I guess it was WWII? Fuck the GOP. Period.

“If we had stayed out of Europe’s war, we would never be in the mess we are today.”

Vicious Babushka Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:11:54am

100 & more years ago it was all women working in the sweatshops and textile mills.

Men worked in the foundries and the mines.

Blacks (of both genders) worked in the fields.

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:12:05am

re: #7 theliel

The great irony is that Mom only got ‘into the workplace’ when real wages decreased the point where Mom *had* to work.

If they want a parent to stay home wages need to rise back to 1950’s/1960’s levels.

See, they want the racism and sexism that the 50’s and 60’s had but without the social net that era had. It’s like how they want the Bible with the hell damnations but without the compassion for others. How they want Rand’s greed is great without Rand’s organized religion is awful. It’s a pick and choose buffet.

Gus Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:12:27am

re: #10 Kragar

“If we had stayed out of Europe’s war, we would never be in the mess we are today.”

So true. Hitler was misunderstood.
— Pat Buchanan

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:13:23am

re: #13 Gus

So true. Hitler was misunderstood.
— Pat Buchanan

//

I was thinking about Pat too. Pat never met a fascist he didn’t like.

Gus Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:14:41am

re: #14 HappyWarrior

I was thinking about Pat too. Pat never met a fascist he didn’t like.

Yep. He was always writing about how we shouldn’t have gotten involved in the European front. MSNBC still kept him on for the longest of time.

Kragar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:15:18am

Glenn Beck defends tea party in bizarre ‘self-interview’

“You know, I believe the tea party people are very good-hearted people,” he told the other Beck. “They just don’t know what is in their best interests, or what’s good for them — kind of like what the president said about the jews in Israel. They just don’t know what’s good for them.”

“Right? Right?” Hippie Beck answered. “I do know. I wish it was like those damn jews that the president was talking about. I just wish there was some way to stop them, you know?”

Eclectic Cyborg Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:16:38am

(in the best southern drawl I can muster)

My state, y’all!

*sigh*

nines09 Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:17:15am

re: #10 Kragar

“If we had stayed out of Europe’s war, we would never be in the mess we are today.”

It gets stupefying. How remarks like this every single day are allowed to stand is nothing more than a billboard on the stupidity of Americans.

Eclectic Cyborg Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:17:25am

re: #4 Gus

A) Blame women first.
— GOP Handbook 2013

B) BENGHAZI!

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:17:48am

re: #16 Kragar

Glenn Beck defends tea party in bizarre ‘self-interview’

You know a guy who cites Cleon Skousen as a ideological mentor shouldn’t be accusing anyone of Antisemitism and I’ll gladly point out to Glenn that there were many Jewish hippies. But please proceed Glenn and keep on projecting your deeply rooted antisemitism on to hippies.

Lidane Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:18:07am

Errant voices! Librul media making the GOP look bad! Misconceptions!

/College Republicans

Gus Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:18:08am

re: #19 Eclectic Cyborg

B) BENGHAZI!

C) HOMOSEXUALS!

Eclectic Cyborg Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:18:11am

It seems to me he also inferring that he feels more kids should be home schooled, which is favored by many Christian families over public schooling.

BigPapa Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:18:16am

So his ideals are aligned with the Taliban.

Noted.

Kragar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:18:20am

Chambliss Blames Military Rapes on ‘The Hormone Level Created by Nature’

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:18:51am

re: #15 Gus

Yep. He was always writing about how we shouldn’t have gotten involved in the European front. MSNBC still kept him on for the longest of time.

Shit, nevermind MSNBC, I am amazed that both Nixon and Reagan kept him in their White House and that Republican primary voters thought enough of him to have him win a state.

Eclectic Cyborg Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:19:14am

re: #25 Kragar

Chambliss Blames Military Rapes on ‘The Hormone Level Created by Nature’

Wait…is he saying rape is some kind of automatic physical response?

Gus Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:19:43am

re: #25 Kragar

Chambliss Blames Military Rapes on ‘The Hormone Level Created by Nature’

Wait! Wait! Let me guess. He’s a Republican right?

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:19:51am

re: #25 Kragar

Chambliss Blames Military Rapes on ‘The Hormone Level Created by Nature’

You know, I am not a veteran but i wish other non-veterans especially ones that chickened out like Chambliss did would shut the fuck up about things they don’t know. Most of the men in the military aren’t rapists and know to respect women.

Lidane Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:22:29am

re: #25 Kragar

Chambliss Blames Military Rapes on ‘The Hormone Level Created by Nature’

That’s an incredibly sexist statement against men. Saxby is implying that men can’t control their hormones or their actions.

And BTW, I’m using men in that sentence because while female rapists DO exist, they’re not as common.

Kragar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:23:22am

re: #30 Lidane

That’s an incredibly sexist statement against men. Saxby is implying that men can’t control their hormones or their actions.

Its the fault of the women leading our men into temptation.
/

sizzzzlerz Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:23:24am

Please proceed, Governor.

wrenchwench Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:24:24am

The Governor speaks for many.

The commencement speech given at Eastern High School in Greentown, Ind., Sunday inspired some and irked others.

Social studies teacher Peter Heck gave the speech, which encouraged the graduates to put family first, but his comments about women in the workplace caused a stir:

“I challenge you to devote yourself to your families and your children. If you choose to have a career, God’s blessings upon you. But I challenge you to recognize what the world scoffs at, that your greatest role in your life will be that of wife and mother. The greatest impact you could ever contribute to our world is a loving investment in the lives of your precious children. To solve the problems plaguing our society, we don’t need more women CEOs. We need more women as invested mothers.”

[…]

Read more: newsnet5.com

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:24:43am

re: #30 Lidane

That’s an incredibly sexist statement against men. Saxby is implying that men can’t control their hormones or their actions.

Fischer does the same too when he blames the rise of sexual assaults in the military on gay men and women serving in uniform. Really, I have to say as a heterosexual man that the worst sexism I’ve seen directed at men comes not from feminists but from right wing men who presume that we are too stupid to control ourselves. I know to accept it if a woman’s not interested in me or my advances. To claim that’s because a woman is in military uniform is sexist as hell.

Lidane Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:24:51am

re: #31 Kragar

Its the fault of the women leading our men into temptation.
/

Yep. Eve disobeyed God and ate the apple, and wimminz have been corrupting men ever since.

///

Eclectic Cyborg Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:25:09am

I feel the need to point that 30 or so years of largely Republican driven economic policies going back to Reagan are what has created the climate where both partners in a relationship typically have no choice but to work to make ends meet.

Backwoods_Sleuth Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:25:24am

re: #30 Lidane

That’s an incredibly sexist statement against men. Saxby is implying that men can’t control their hormones or their actions.

Sounds very Victorian. I’m always bemused by the argument that it’s the woman’s fault for “tempting” men…that just means men are too weak. Saxby needs to think about that…

Dr. Matt Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:25:46am

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Dumbest Man on Internet invited to Washington by loony Teabaggers:

At House Ways and Means Committee Hearing today with @jennybethm - Tea Party Patriots brought in activists pic.twitter.com/WaRtyDvWZJ
— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) June 4, 2013

He looks syphilitic.

Bulworth Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:30:31am

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Non-bi-partisan political activists protesting delays in their tax exemption hand out from Big Government.

Occam's Guillotine Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:32:16am

re: #25 Kragar

Chambliss Blames Military Rapes on ‘The Hormone Level Created by Nature’

The RWNJs gleefully endorse execution of all sorts of civilian prisoners, huge numbers of exonerations notwithstanding, and even the summary execution of suspect teens, but they think getting rid of women in the military is a better solution to rape than giving the rapists 30 years at hard labor.

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:33:43am

How does any woman vote for this party?

Bulworth Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:34:06am

re: #38 Dr. Matt

Professional victim parade, I mean, grassroots activists.

allegro Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:34:42am

re: #41 HappyWarrior

How does any woman vote for this party?

With an aspirin between her knees.

Kragar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:34:46am

re: #41 HappyWarrior

How does any woman vote for this party?

Ignorance.

SpaceJesus Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:35:30am

Yeah because women stay home in those European countries with high education performance

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:35:42am

re: #43 allegro

With an aspirin between her knees.

re: #44 Kragar

Ignorance.

Strictly rhetorical Watson.

Bulworth Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:35:48am

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Dumbest Man on Internet invited to Washington by loony Teabaggers:

At House Ways and Means Committee Hearing today with @jennybethm - Tea Party Patriots brought in activists pic.twitter.com/WaRtyDvWZJ
— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) June 4, 2013

Are they in costume?

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:36:19am

re: #45 SpaceJesus

Yeah because women stay home in those European countries with high education performance

Yeah but they’re socialists.//

ramex Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:36:40am

re: #25 Kragar

Pure Taliban logic at work. Men can’t control themselves, and women should be blamed.

Varek Raith Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:38:05am

Gop rebranding;
You’re doing it wrong.

Kragar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:40:13am

re: #50 Varek Raith

Gop rebranding;
You’re doing it wrong.

Rebranding doesn’t mean you actually change the product.
/

Political Atheist Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:41:21am

re: #7 theliel

The great irony is that Mom only got ‘into the workplace’ when real wages decreased the point where Mom *had* to work.

If they want a parent to stay home wages need to rise back to 1950’s/1960’s levels.

Ummm IIRC women first entered the workplace en masse as a symptom of the draft in WW2. Plus your common implies that women in general would prefer to stary at home. W T H? About that lady at Yahoo, the new CEO? looks to me like she loves that gig and would not have it any other way.

I’ll leave it to the economics experts to parse the true effect of all those ladies add to the labor force. But even that can not account for the personal ambitions that women have apart from home maker.

Backwoods_Sleuth Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:44:57am

re: #47 Bulworth

Are they in costume?

why isn’t she in teh kitchen!!11??

theliel Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:45:05am

re: #52 Political Atheist

Ummm IIRC women first entered the workplace en masse as a symptom of the draft in WW2. Plus your common implies that women in general would prefer to stary at home. W T H? About that lady at Yahoo, the new CEO? looks to me like she loves that gig and would not have it any other way.

I’ll leave it to the economics experts to parse the true effect of all those ladies add to the labor force. But even that can not account for the personal ambitions that women have apart from home maker.

I implied that for most of america it’s not a choice to have one parent work and one stay home. That’s why I said ‘parent’ and not ‘mom’ - I’m agnostic on who stays home if they choose I’m pointing out that a good bit of the country can’t afford to have both parents not working and that this particular economic issue is a direct result of the GOP’s economic policy which is in direct conflict with their social policy as #36 says.

Vicious Babushka Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:45:33am

re: #52 Political Atheist

Ummm IIRC women first entered the workplace en masse as a symptom of the draft in WW2. Plus your common implies that women in general would prefer to stary at home. W T H? About that lady at Yahoo, the new CEO? looks to me like she loves that gig and would not have it any other way.

I’ll leave it to the economics experts to parse the true effect of all those ladies add to the labor force. But even that can not account for the personal ambitions that women have apart from home maker.

Women were always in the workplace. During WW2 they just moved into jobs that were previously held exclusively by men.

Women staying home before WW2 was a luxury enjoyed only by the upper class. The 1950’s were actually a historical anomaly.

theliel Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:47:21am

re: #55 Vicious Babushka

Women were always in the workplace. During WW2 they just moved into jobs that were previously held exclusively by men.

Women staying home before WW2 was a luxury enjoyed only by the upper class. The 1950’s were actually a historical anomaly.

Given the increase of per-worker productivity we really should be thinking about how to handle this ‘too many people, not enough jobs’ thing and I’d love for every family of even the most modest of means to be able to afford one person to not work - or both to work if they choose.

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:48:00am

I don’t get how these guys can love women like Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, etc all of whom made their living and name by being outside the home. Just seems like a whole disconnect but then again Phyillis Schalfry has spent the better half of a century outside the home telling women that they need to stay in the home so I’ve got nothing. Women should be able to be free to decide to whatever they want as a career. I don’t know why many conservative men and women seem to be threatened by that. It’s 2013 for fuck sake. We have had women heads of state for years now.

Dr. Matt Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:50:08am

re: #47 Bulworth
Are they in costume?

I miss their tri-corner hats.

Romantic Heretic Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:54:12am

re: #1 HappyWarrior

Why not come out and champion spousal rape next.//

Shhhh! Don’t give ‘em any ideas!

darthstar Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:54:43am

No Friday-light traffic for San Jose this week…

Obama will deliver a statement about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act for Californians on Friday in San Jose, Carney says
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) June 4, 2013

Mattand Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:55:05am

Bryant was participating in a Washington Post Live event focused on the importance of ensuring that children read well by the end of third grade. In response to a question about how America became “so mediocre” in regard to educational outcomes, he said:

I think both parents started working. The mom got in the work place.

I see stuff like this, and then I’ll read the conservatives who post here. For the most part, they seem to be smart, educated, well-written (with one notable exception) people.

I just do not get how they can continue to support a political party so invested, so thoroughly dedicated to embracing every bigot and misogynist the US unfortunately has to offer.

At what point do you say “Fuck this, I’m out.”?

Gus Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:56:10am

re: #55 Vicious Babushka

Women were always in the workplace. During WW2 they just moved into jobs that were previously held exclusively by men.

Women staying home before WW2 was a luxury enjoyed only by the upper class. The 1950’s were actually a historical anomaly.

And children too. Which apparently many Republicans think was might swell (see child labor arguments from last year).

sagehen Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:57:01am

Chris Christie makes good choice —

special election in October, with primary in August, his appointee will only fill the seat for a few months.

wrenchwench Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:57:11am

In 1976 I tried to read E.F. Schmacher’s Small Is Beautiful. I got to page 60 (according to Amazon) and then tossed the book lightly across the room. The offending sentence:

Women, on the whole, do not need an “outside” job, and the large-scale employment of women in offices and factories would be considered a sign of serious economic failure.

Women should be deciding what they want to do based on their personal desires and needs, not those of the economy. Just like men.

Mattand Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:57:54am

re: #63 sagehen

Chris Christie makes good choice —

special election in October, with primary in August, his appointee will only fill the seat for a few months.

Interesting…

Lidane Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:59:00am

re: #55 Vicious Babushka

Women were always in the workplace. During WW2 they just moved into jobs that were previously held exclusively by men.

THIS x infinity.

Women have ALWAYS worked outside the home. It was only the upper middle class and the idle rich who could ever live up to the Victorian stereotype of the woman lazing about on the couch.

Women staying home before WW2 was a luxury enjoyed only by the upper class. The 1950’s were actually a historical anomaly.

The 50’s were an anomaly because the men wanted to force women back into a place they’d never really been so that men wouldn’t have to compete with the women who’d been working during the war effort for their old jobs.

It’s a lie to say that everything went to shit when women entered the workforce. We’ve always been there.

Political Atheist Tue, Jun 4, 2013 11:14:52am

re: #54 theliel

I still think you underestimate the % of women who would work by choice. Even in a great economy like we saw before-Lots of women in the workplace. The fact it is more necessary now is a temporary aberration as is high unemployment.

Political Atheist Tue, Jun 4, 2013 11:17:16am

re: #56 theliel

Given the increase of per-worker productivity we really should be thinking about how to handle this ‘too many people, not enough jobs’ thing and I’d love for every family of even the most modest of means to be able to afford one person to not work - or both to work if they choose.

That will happen naturally as a function of a growth economy. Remember the Clinton era boom? Just insisting current employers pay more will have the same effect as pushing on a rope. Pulling (like a good economy) works much better. In a good economy it’s not such an employers market. Remember those commercials about skilled people job shopping for the next better employer?

HappyWarrior Tue, Jun 4, 2013 11:20:24am

re: #63 sagehen

Chris Christie makes good choice —

special election in October, with primary in August, his appointee will only fill the seat for a few months.

Yep. Good decision.

wrenchwench Tue, Jun 4, 2013 11:27:30am

re: #67 Political Atheist

I still think you underestimate the % of women who would work by choice. Even in a great economy like we saw before-Lots of women in the workplace. The fact it is more necessary now is a temporary aberration as is high unemployment.

Aberration is not the right word. These things fluctuate, but it is by design and through great effort. Wages are depressed and unemployment is high (also known as ‘increased productivity’) because that benefits capitalists.

Feline Fearless Leader Tue, Jun 4, 2013 11:38:51am

re: #64 wrenchwench

In 1976 I tried to read E.F. Schmacher’s Small Is Beautiful. I got to page 60 (according to Amazon) and then tossed the book lightly across the room. The offending sentence:

Women should be deciding what they want to do based on their personal desires and needs, not those of the economy. Just like men.

Not to mention that a country cannot afford to throw half the brains in its citizenry by the wayside simply due to gender. Such a massive waste of potential minds.

Political Atheist Tue, Jun 4, 2013 11:45:20am

re: #70 wrenchwench

This event, the great recession is an aberration. I don’t think it was deliberate so “capitalists” could make more money. I call it an aberration due to the extreme rarity of recessions like that.

Only once in my life, and the worst since the depression. Many decades do not face that kind of trouble.

Capitalism is like many things-only bad in extremis or abusive circumstances. Walmart bad, Costco pretty good. Both are capitalists.

wrenchwench Tue, Jun 4, 2013 12:11:38pm

re: #72 Political Atheist

This event, the great recession is an aberration. I don’t think it was deliberate so “capitalists” could make more money. I call it an aberration due to the extreme rarity of recessions like that.

Only once in my life, and the worst since the depression. Many decades do not face that kind of trouble.

Capitalism is like many things-only bad in extremis or abusive circumstances. Walmart bad, Costco pretty good. Both are capitalists.

Aberration is still the wrong word. That’s like calling the crash that results from someone running a stop sign an ‘accident’. It’s a predictable outcome of a particular behavior which was a choice. Recessions are a cyclical part of capitalism. This recession is an aberration only in degree. The practices engaged in were taken to an unregulated (or poorly regulated) extreme, causing the recession. The behavior was deliberate (for the purpose of making money) even if the outcome was not the desired one.

I said nothing about capitalism being bad. I will now, though. Like democracy, it is the worst system except for all the others that have been tried. (I am a capitalist.) But capitalism is not bad only in extremis. If you’re on the wrong end of the economy, it will be bad for you, even while it is good for many or most others. The concept of ‘lifting all boats’ is a fairy tale, I’m afraid. Having losers is part of the system. Regulation and good social programs are a way to minimize the effects on losers.

Jolo5309 Tue, Jun 4, 2013 12:45:44pm

re: #37 Backwoods_Sleuth

Sounds very Victorian. I’m always bemused by the argument that it’s the woman’s fault for “tempting” men…that just means men are too weak. Saxby needs to think about that…

Maybe if the women didn’t show skin, perhaps in an all black loose covering that covered everything but their eyes, then maybe men could control themselves.

Etaoin Shrdlu Tue, Jun 4, 2013 4:03:06pm

re: #62 Gus

And children too. Which apparently many Republicans think was might swell (see child labor arguments from last year).

The Library of Congress has, freely available online, the National Child Labor Committee Collection of photographs, mostly taken by Lewis Hine from 1908 through 1924.

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GOP Mississippi Gov. Bryant: Education Is Mediocre Because “Mom Got in the Workplace”

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