Flashback: Laura Ingraham's Last Scrum on 'The View' Over Hillary

Photo of Tim Graham.
By Tim Graham | November 12, 2007 - 23:44 ET

Laura Ingraham was in a groove on Monday's "The View," spurring protest from Barbara Walters by asking if the talk-show gang there really wanted America to win in Iraq. (Walters protested probably not only for her colleagues on the chat show, but her colleagues at flag-pins-are-verboten ABC News). Video of the exchange is available here. On what I'm guessing was Ingraham's last appearance on "The View," on January 22, 2003, our Jessica Anderson captured how the radio host handled a cast of putative feminists who defined feminism as offering women the choice to have a completely elastic and plastic marriage for political gain:

MEREDITH VIEIRA: I know that you wrote this book called The Hillary Trap, Laura, and in it you sort of blast Hillary – or not even sort of, you do – for the way she handled her husband's infidelities, and basically make the point that she is not a good role model.

LAURA INGRAHAM: Well, Hillary is sort of the liberal archetype for today. I mean, she really is this great symbol of today's liberalism, and I just think it's interesting for someone who is the smart, accomplished woman to sort of stand by her man as kind of a '50s throwback. I think when Hillary's the strong, independent person, a lot of women really can gravitate toward her, but I think when she plays the victim card, when she throws down the victim card, 'Oh, the vast right wing conspiracy is after me,' I think that's ridiculous.

JOY BEHAR: But you don't think it was a political position to stand by her man? She wanted to get into the Senate.

INGRAHAM: Oh, who knows, who knows. But the point is feminism was supposed to be about strong women standing up for themselves, you don't need a man to ride your political idea.

STAR JONES: No, not at all. Feminism was about having choices and being able to be the woman that you want to be without having, you know, four bitches on television telling you that this is feminism." [Applause]

BEHAR: That's true, that's true.

JONES: It was not, it was not about picking or choosing.

INGRAHAM: But how many mothers today would say, well you know, the path I'd like my daughter to follow is Hillary's path?

BEHAR: They'd say great, she'll be in the Senate. Are you kidding?

INGRAHAM: Most women end up in not such a great professional situation.

BEHAR: Whose position would you rather have: Hillary's in the Senate or Laura Bush as First Lady?

INGRAHAM: Laura Bush, absolutely.

BEHAR: Why? Why? Hillary has a little power now – well, so does Laura, in the bedroom, yeah.

INGRAHAM: Laura Bush has a great guy. She has a great guy, she's well respected, she is an amazingly gracious individual.

VIEIRA: Well, Hillary Clinton is well respected, too, by many people.

JONES: Exactly.

INGRAHAM: I think what's interesting about Hillary is she really is this dichotomy. She's a strong independent person on the one hand, and on the other hand, a lot of women I'm sure – you guys are all strong women. Would you stand by someone who was unfaithful to you one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine–

BEHAR: If I had an ulterior motive and I didn't really – if I had an ulterior motive and I had an ambition and that was the way to get there.

INGRAHAM: That's not what feminism is all about.

JONES: I want to have my marriage constitute what I want it to be.

VIEIRA: They may have their own deal on what their marriage–

JONES: That's right, but you don't get to decide what somebody's marriage is.

Here’s a snippet from Laura’s 2000 book "The Hillary Trap" on the magical mystery marriage of Bill and Hill:

Misty-eyed Clinton allies rhapsodize that their love is real, their respect mutual. Others take the more cynical view that Hillary has stayed in the marriage out of pure self-interest, for the power and the status. In other words, she’s a traditional wife who ignores her husband’s catting around because he’s a good provider. Bill’s more than a paycheck – he’s her ticket to political power. Either way, Hillary is no model for modern womanhood. She’s either a dupe who loves her man so much she’s willing to sacrifice all her dignity for his sake, or a Machiavellian who craves power so much she’ll do anything to keep it...

All of us, and particularly women, have refused to see Bill and Hillary for what they are. He is not an idealistic New Democrat building a bridge to the future, not the first egalitarian husband in the White House, but a relic from an exploitative past. She is not a model of liberated womanhood but an emblem of th worst of both worlds: The old-fashioned view that a husband is entitled to a little fun on the side (while the wise wife will be patient and blame the other woman) and the modern view that moral values are relative, sexual misconduct is trivial, and being "judgmental" is the worst sin of all.

—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center

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The payoff line is: She’s

The payoff line is: She’s either a dupe who loves her man so
much she’s willing to sacrifice all her dignity for his sake, or a
Machiavellian who craves power so much she’ll do anything to keep it...

Good job, Laura.

I would think that would show up in a speech somewhere down
the line.. It hits the nail right on the head.

She is a power hungry woman. Or an idiot. 

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc.
Ronald Reagan- 40th Anniversary of D-Day

I'm voiting

idiot!

There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V

Choice Cut

Behar: "If I had an ulterior motive and I didn't really – if I had an ulterior motive and I had an ambition and that was the way to get there."

Spoken like a True Behar. Makes me wonder what she did to get where she is considering her weak intellectual abilities.

Ingraham: "That's not what feminism is all about."

Ingraham did a great job handling that discussion--least what I can tell from your snippets here. She helped them stay on topic. And she's right. Feminism has always seemed to be about To Thine Own Self Be True, about finding an identity apart from husband and family or anyone else. Hillary seems to exemplify the opposite. She stays by the wayward man to keep the identity she needs to fulfill her ambitions.

Perhaps she sees this as a sacrificial choice made for the good of the country?

For all its hoop-dee-do, modern-day feminism is still an out-there ideal. Women still flock to men to do the family thing because that's what's natural. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Some women like The View women seem to wear that word, however, like a badge of achievement. I wonder what the suffragettes of old would have to say about Hillary and about a bunch of gossips sitting in front of a TV camera all day long, venting like a high school clique.

 

September

I suspect Laura & I share the same take on "feminism".  It has nothing whatsoever to do with "male vs. female".  It has everything to do with the equity of ideas.

It's not, as you put it "an out-there ideal".  True feminism is where we (real feminists) live our lives.  In the land of men, as an opportunity to be equal in ideas.

It's not trying to compete "in a man's world" (although that has something to do with it).  The "real" feminists embrace everything about men and women that is well, and true, and good. 

Real "feminists" know what it is to be ladylike, yet understand how to push our intellectual agenda.  Not as women.  As smart people.  Nothing more, nothing less.

I hate to even identify myself as a feminist, but I am.  In my own conservative way.  I believe women are the intellectual equals of men.  I don't want one single qualifier to that statement.  Nor one little "equal opportunity" either.

So that is my feminist diatribe.  Equality of ideas, and approaches.  No hanging on coattails of our (ex) President.  Nor any other sorry excuses for "demanding" equality.

Happy to be female, in a male-dominated world.  It's just fine.

David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive

 

Blonde, you are a Christina

Blonde, you are a Christina Hoff Summers kind of feminist. The good kind.

Isn't it interesting that the rabid feminists believe that men and women are exactly alike and can do everything equally well, right up to the point when they realize that, well, actually, they can't. So they redefine success in those areas..e.g. the physical requirements for soldiers.

But then they turn around and say women make better leaders, because they're better at communication, or collaberation, or whatever. They want it both ways.

I will repeat what I've said before: if the feminists do that, some might start to talk about things that men do better.. so the women might not want to open that particular can of worms.

But in this story, what I want to comment on is this:


In the flashback segment, Behar classifies HRC's decision to stay with her husband as a "political decision" and apparently doesn't have a problem with it:


INGRAHAM....Would you stand by someone who was unfaithful to you one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine– (Ingraham)

BEHAR: If I had an ulterior motive and I didn't really – if I had an ulterior motive and I had an ambition and that was the way to get there.


And the "in a nutshell" award goes to Behar LOL!

Even Joy Behar sees through HRC!!!


INGRAHAM: But how many mothers today would say, well you know, the path I'd like my daughter to follow is Hillary's path?

BEHAR: They'd say great, she'll be in the Senate. Are you kidding.


So Behar would adviser her daughter to stay in a sham marriage with a cheating husband, in order to advance.


Whoa! Wait a minute! Isn't that exactly what feminists have spent years telling women they don't have to, and shouldn't do?????

 

For aguments' sake, I'll agree with most stated, HOWEVER

"I believe women are the intellectual equals of men. " with this I TOTALLY disagree!!

You're alot smarter than a liberal man -    ;)

There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V

Male-dominated world?

"Happy to be female, in a male-dominated world.  It's just fine."

Really? female-chauvinists (i.e., LIBERAL women) have been extremely successful in engineering what essentially amounts to consequence free, responsibility-optional lives.  Thanks to their lobbying efforts focused on chivalrous male politicians & judges, women have the majority of education, employment, civil, reproductive, marital, divorce, child-custody, and child-support rights in America. Result? Women are abusing “No-Fault Divorce”: women apply for 70% of all divorces while utilizing children as financial assets IOT leverage the largest amount of de facto Alimony: i.e., child support. Given their child custody monopoly, mothers commit 60% of all child abuse.  Contrary to the implicit sexism of the $20B “Violence Against Women Act” (VAWA) women commit 50 % of domestic violence. Women routinely lie about spousal abuse and assault their husbands. WRT male domestic abuse, women routinely commit paternity fraud (1%- 10%) and legally force their husbands to pay for some else’s children. Thanks to the rape-shield laws women lie about rape 40-50% of the time. Women routinely employ abortion as de facto birth control that results in 25% (1.4M) of all children conceived yearly being aborted for pure convenience. Also, those same chivalrous male politicians enacted social welfare programs ($1.4T per year) that benefit women at the expense of the majority male taxpayer base. Now society is electing female politicians who are in the process of accelerating the male to female transfer of income & opportunity  Why is it always some woman implying that it’s a “man’s world” when that clearly isn’t the case?

A pithy comment if I've ever heard one.

She stays by the wayward man to keep the identity she needs to fulfill her ambitions.

Good summary. 

  Ignorance is bliss. It's easier to repeat a mindless slogan than to do some actual research.

Like your sig

but you haven't heard from Leon yet, have you?

There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V

This whole idea of

This whole idea of "feminism" is BS.  Is there or could there be masculism?  If you tried it, you would be marked as a sexist. 

The whole idea of the "black caucus" is BS.  Is there or could ther be a white caucus.  If you tried it, you would be marked as a racist.

I could go on and on with examples of the above, but you get the idea.  Females and minorties want to be a special class of citizen (the Supreme Court has even mandated it!).  They want certain perks and priorities paid to them above what the rest of us earn.  They want these perks and priorities simply because of their sex and/or their race. 

If either women or minorities really want equality, then stand on your own two feet.  If necessary, fight for equal rights, but don't expect for a minute that you then deserve special treatment. 

From where I stand, that is what has happened and continues to happen in the United States.  I am tired of it and I want it to stop.

Meanwhile, women, as a group, have over 60% of the US accumulated wealth, they live 5-7 years longer then men, they have less disease and far fewer job related injuries and what diseases are particular to being female are paid overwhelming attention to. Women executives make more than their male counterparts in many industries. If a female wants to quit her job and do nothing, hey! that's a OK. If a man does the same thing, he is a bum.

 

 

"The whole idea of the

"The whole idea of the "black caucus" is BS..."

JD, I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, I have thought if I were filthy rich, I'd start the United Caucasian College Fund. I'd copy the charter of the United Negro College Fund word for word, except insert the word "Caucasian" every place where they have the word "Negro", then sit back and wait for the law suits.

Anyone who thinks the above paragraph is racist (cough*Keith*cough) are themselves racist. IF it is okay to have a charitable foundation that benefits one race or gender or nationality, then it is okay to have a charitable foundation that benefits another one race or gender or nationality. Fair is fair, and racism is racism (or sexism is sexism) no matter who is practicing it.

"...and what diseases are particular to being female are paid overwhelming attentin to." Right you are. More men die each year from prostate cancer than women die from breast cancer. How much attention do you see directed at prostate cancer? Where is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month? Does prostate cancer get a pretty ribbon for concerned liberals to wear on their lapels like breast cancer does?

"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan

Laura Ingraham

She's unmarried. She's an accomplished lawyer. She's bright, aggressive, and beautiful. She's everything feminism promises.

And she's as conservative as Clarence Thomas.

That sound you hear is God laughing.

And she's as conservative


And she's as conservative as Clarence Thomas.

And that's why, in spite of being everything feminism promises, she is everything that feminISTS hate!

 

Blonde

Well from knowing your posts I think you're a good example of someone who thinks for herself. You've captured the ideal. I enjoy reading what you have to say.

But I've known other women (like friends and family) who define themselves by whether or not they have a man. Any man, whether he's good for them or not. They don't go much beyond that. It's not until they are middle-aged that they start to think about what they would like to do with their lives apart from their husbands and families. For them feminism remains an ideal until they hit that point in life where they look their identity square in the eye. Some like what they see, some don't.

Above all though, we're individuals. I'd hate to push any woman into a one-size-fits-all box. What's feminism to you or me or her or even him may not be the same for all interpretations.

 

Let me get this straight....

The feminist ideal of marriage is to use the other for personal gain?

"Well, then, take the f***in' WAX outta your ears! GROW UP! It's f*** your buddy. Cheat on your wife. Call your mother on Mother's Day. Charlie, it's all shit." -- Lt. Col Frank Slade (censored version)

The "liberated," post-modern women on The View ought to seriously ponder just what kind of world they are promoting in their misguided view of feminism.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? -- Matt. 16:26