MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell is determined show to prove that in any crisis, women are the hardest hit. Mitchell invited former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards and Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post on at the conclusion of Wednesday show for a gratuitously divisive segment that argued women have it hardest during the current pandemic and the answer is to enact longstanding left-wing policy goals.
Mitchell began by telling Richards that sure, men are more at risk of contracting the virus and dying from it-- an idea that Dr. Birx once described as "concerning," but women are the majority of health care workers , so "they are carrying an unequal portion of the burden."
Richards naturally agreed, "They are the majority of essential workers and I feel like that government has failed women by not providing the kind of protective gear that they need, and something that is, obviously, related is that so many of these women have now lost their child care, they have lost their -- their kids are no longer in school because of the public school shutdown. We have really done nothing to address that as well."
Mitchell then asked Marcus, "How can we make that happen, Ruth Marcus, as we see all of the big lobbyists who come in and pressure Congress and the people who are getting the first cut of the money that is available?"
It's a bit ironic that Mitchell asked this after talking to the former head of the abortion lobby that is far to the left of even most Democratic voters. Still, Marcus decried the lack of a lobby for the "grocery store workers or workers in nursing homes or things like that." Has she heard of....unions?
She continued: "And so I think Cecile makes a powerful point about the double whammy or maybe triple whammy that women are experiencing that they are the majority of these service workers and the majority of health care workers."
She concluded that the best way is to passive a progressive wish list of new entitlements, "And so I think that the push to make sure that everybody who is on these service lines, male or female, but they happen to be a lot of women, are adequately protected and have adequate sick leave and adequate health insurance and that just needs to be a priority for lawmakers going forward."
At least they didn't demand more abortion access, although it still seems unwise in a time where we're all supposedly "in this together" to try to start a political battle of the sexes.
Here is a transcript of the April 29 show:
MSNBC
Andrea Mitchell Reports
12:54 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: Meanwhile, women are being hit especially hard in dealing with the coronavirus and its effects on the frontlines and daily life. Seventy-six percent of the healthcare work force is female, majority of the nurses, nurse practitioners, health aides and doctors under the age of 45 are all women. The pandemic is also hitting women in their pocketbooks. Forty percent of mothers in the U.S. Are the primary breadwinners and they are the majority of service workers, two-thirds of America's minimum wage workers, they’re more likely to be the waitresses, the cooks, the hotel housekeepers now out of work. In many cases, as we all know, is also the women, the moms, who are carrying the burden of housekeeping and other chores. Joining me now, Cecile Richards: cofounder of Super Majority, former President of Planned Parenthood and Ruth Marcus: deputy editorial page editor and columnist at the Washington Post. Cecile, first to you. Women are not often infected as men according to the health care data or the statistics we see according to the data, but they are carrying an unequal portion of the burden.
CECILE RICHARDS: No, exactly Andrea, and I think it's important what you said is exactly right, women are the vast majority of caregivers in this country. They are the majority of essential workers and I feel like that government has failed women by not providing the kind of protective gear that they need, and something that is, obviously, related is that so many of these women have now lost their child care, they have lost their -- their kids are no longer in school because of the public school shutdown. We have really done nothing to address that as well. So they are on the front lines, they are trying to take care of their families. And they are being exposed in a way that is disproportionate particularly of women and women of color in this country. I hope in this next stimulus package that we think about the people on the front lines. Not just the corporations and industries but what women need in order to recover from this pandemic.
MITCHELL: How can we make that happen, Ruth Marcus, as we see all of the big lobbyists who come in and pressure Congress and the people who are getting the first cut of the money that is available?
RUTH MARCUS: There is not a big powerful Washington lobby that represents, you know, grocery store workers or workers in nursing homes or things like that. And so I think Cecile makes a powerful point about the double whammy or maybe triple whammy that women are experiencing that they are the majority of these service workers and the majority of health care workers. They are exposing themselves even as they are dealing grappling with the absence of child care which is primary provided by women on an absence of school, which also is primary provided by women. And so I think that the push to make sure that everybody who is on these service lines, male or female, but they happen to be a lot of women, are adequately protected and have adequate sick leave and adequate health insurance and that just needs to be a priority for lawmakers going forward.
