Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
In spite of the fact that he’s the leader of the party who claims to have women’s best interests at heart, President Barack Obama infuriated a powerful bloc of female voters in Rhode Island on Friday when he suggested that staying home with children is “not a choice we want Americans to make.”
“And sometimes, someone, usually mom, leaves the workplace to stay home with the kids, which then leaves her earning a lower wage for the rest of her life as a result. And that’s not a choice we want Americans to make,” the president said at Rhode Island College on October 31.
The comments came during a statement about the rising costs of day care and why he believed creating public pre-school would be not only “good for families” but “good for the children” as well – as if yet another government program could even come close to replacing the role of a mother in the early life of her child.
Naturally, because the election is so close, the mainstream media refused to report on the gaffe, but social media has a mind of its own.
@teraflopclub tweeted: “‘hat’s not a choice we want Americans to make.” WHO IS “WE.”
@Kimberlee Kaye opined: “Where are the ‘feminists’ on this one? What about a ‘woman’s right to choose’?”
@Augustus Beau wrote: “‘Not a choice we want Americans to make’ are perfect words from POTUS’ lips on how Dems really feel about women & families.”
Kristi Burton Brown, a pro-life attorney who works with organizations such as Alliance Defending Freedom, was not at all pleased with the president’s remarks.
” . . .(L)et me tell you how this comes across to stay-at-home moms. You’re telling us that the money we earn is more important than our kids. You’re telling us that leaving the workplace to stay home isn’t a choice American moms should be making,” she wrote in this article appearing on the Christian Post.
“Well, first off, we care about the choices our husbands and kids want us to make; about the choices we ourselves want to make – not the choices you claim we should be making. I can guarantee you that, when given the choice, kids would choose their moms over money.”
As a stay-at-home mom who is also an attorney, “let me tell you that . . . my kids – people – are much, much more important than my money – mere possessions,” she said. “And my choice is just as valid and just as equal as the choices of the single mom who needs to find a quality daycare and a high performing school to put her children in.”
Stay-at-home moms are equal, contributing members of society. “The hands that rock the cradles and raise the babies who rule the world are the hands that belong to us. They belong to moms everywhere who choose to do what is best for their children – whether that’s putting them in a quality school or providing a quality environment for them at home,” she says.
“So next time, Mr. President, please think about all women before you speak – not just the ones that fit your personal model. The choices of stay-at-home moms are indeed the choices we want Americans to make: the choice to put our kids first, the choice to value kids ahead of money, and the choice to spend quality, personal time with our kids.”
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