Ann Romney to Hilary Rosen: My career choice was motherhood
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his wife Ann.
/ EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
"My career choice was to be a mother," she said Thursday in an interview on Fox News. "We need to respect choices that women make."
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee's wife is in the midst of a firestorm after Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen suggested in an interview with CNN Wednesday that Mitt Romney was unqualified to speak about the kinds of economic issues facing women in America because his knowledge of women's issues comes from his wife, who had not struggled financially the way many women do because she had never "worked a day in her life."
"She should have come to my house when those five boys were causing so much trouble," Ann Romney laughed.
" I know what it's like to struggle, and if maybe I haven't struggled as much financially as some people have, I can tell you and promise you, that I've had struggles in my life," she added.
Rosen's comments have sparked an uproar among Republicans, who have called on Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to apologize on Rosen's behalf for the comments, which they're casting as an "affront to mothers everywhere."
"Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz should immediately apologize for the insulting and insensitive comments of her adviser, Hilary Rosen," said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski. "To suggest that any mother has 'never worked a day in her life,' is an affront to mothers everywhere."
In a Tweet Thursday, Wasserman Schultz responded, saying she was "disappointed" in Rosen's comments. "As a mother of 3 there's no doubt that raising children is work," Wasserman Schultz said.
Michelle Obama also made a rare appearance on Twitter to address the matter: "Every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected," read a Tweet posted on her account signed "mo."
Rosen on Thursday sought steer the conversation toward Mitt Romney's record with policies for working women.
"This is not about Ann Romney. This is about the waitress in a diner in some place in Nevada who has two kids whose day care funding is being cut off because of the Romney/Ryan budget and she doesn't know what to do," Rosen said in a follow-up CNN interview. "Does Mitt Romney have a vision for bringing women up economically and can he himself stop referring to his wife as his economic surrogate? That's an important thing. He's the one that keeps doing this. Not me."
On Fox, Ann Romney rebuffed that idea, emphasizing not only her husband's commitment her own choices, but also to surrounding himself with women advisers.
"He listens to a lot of different women," she said. "I will tell you that Mitt said to me more times than you would imagine, Ann, your job is more important than mine."
As Mitt Romney seems increasingly poised at clinching the Republican presidential nomination, the candidate has made efforts to combat the Democratic accusation that he's insensitive to the needs of working-class women.
Ann Romney appears to be a crucial part of the equation.
"I've been on the campaign trail for one year, and guess what women are talking about?" she said Thursday. "They are talking about jobs, and they are talking about the legacy of debt that we are leaving our children. That's what I'm hearing."
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http://www.themommypsychologist.com/2012/04/12/mommy-wars-whose-job-is-more-difficult/
I saw an interview with Josh Romney who clarified that there were no nannies when he was growing up with just one woman who came to help clean once a week for about an hour. Hardly the lavish lifestyle with servants running around everywhere. They started their family while still in college and living in a basement apartment. I'm quite confident Ann Romney has "worked" plenty in her life and can report back on the conversations from other women concerning the economy. Rosen totally stepped in it with this one.
other woman who has done the same can attest to which is hardest.
Truth is truth. If Mrs. Romney is going to be a spokesperson for her husband, then her remarks are subject to analysis. No apology was warranted.
Too bad your husband and his party don't feel the same way.
Unfortunately we aren't more instructive and supportive of men and their vital roles in our lives, so many women and young mothers NEED to work outside their home to support their families. If that financial support is already being provided by a hard-working father, then mothers don't need to also provide financially for their families. Unfortunately that is not the case in many families, so many mothers have to do double duty - it is not required that mothers have to work away from their children unless they NEED to.
So, why are we saying that Ann doesn't know what it's like to be a true mother, when she fits all of the natural requirements of nurturing her children, just not the added requirements we as a society have placed upon women and mothers (such as working outside the home as a necessary part of motherhood)?
When finances were tight in our family I had a budget of a dollar a day per person. We did this for several years. This included all food and other items I would buy at a grocery store like laundry detergent, toilet paper, shampoo etc. Sometimes I splurged and bought disposable diapers. We did it. It was tight but it was possible. We did not buy cold cereal, cookies or other snacks. Items like chips and soda pop were purchased a couple times a year as a special treat.
For breakfast we would eat things like oatmeal, cream of wheat, whole grain pancakes. Ten cents worth of oatmeal will fill up the tummy, when a dollars worth of cold cereal might not.
Cooked from scratch, ground my own grains, sprouted, grew a garden, canned, dehydrated, learned how to combine foods to get a complete protein, whatever it took to nourish my family. Purchased things in bulk, bought what was on sale and stocked up on those items. Meat was something added to other dishes, not often the main dish.
I did a preschool with other moms where we took turns teaching, I sewed for myself and my children. I designed my own cloth diapers with flannel and Velcro, I sewed jeans as well as other things. I can find a deal at a garage sale or a thrift store. I work on Birthday and Christmas gifts all year and am able to give several times the value of the money I spent.
If a mother has a husband working, they might be surprised when they truly look into economics. It might be financially better off to stay home to raise and nurture their children. Take into consideration childcare, as well as the extra you spend on fuel, career attire, convenience foods, services you could do yourself like cutting hair, shopping sales, decorating, tutoring, yard work, gardening, repairs and so many other things.