Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., is so mad one might almost term her bossy. According to reporter Barbara Boland, “[Mikulski] wants us to know she's mad — angry, outraged, even — that her Senate colleagues didn't pass her Paycheck Fairness Act today.”
The vote was 53 to 44 but that’s not enough to pass since the irate senator needed 60 votes to break the filibuster before the actual vote could take place.
During her rant (Am I allowed to use that word when referring to a woman? It’s so hard to keep track.) Mikulski yelled, “I'll tell you what I'm tired of hearing — that somehow or other we're too emotional when we talk. Well I am emotional. I am so emotional about this . . . I get angry. I get outraged. I get volcanic."
And that’s putting it mildly.
Still, even though I’m not up in arms about the failure of the bill to pass, if you look at the situation in all fairness, the Maryland politician has a point. Previously the Senate was debating a bill based on a fantasy, that promised the impossible and had to resort to lying about its impact on the country to even come up for a vote; and yet the male-dominated Senate had no problem passing Obamacare.
So how was the Paycheck Fairness Act any different?
The Fairness Act solves a problem that doesn’t exist: The so-called wage gap between men and women. It burdens business with more red tape and HR paperwork. It lets the federal government interfere in a relationship between a woman and her employer. And it opens business up to lawsuits — class action or otherwise — when a pay stub-chasing lawyer convinces a woman she’s been done wrong.
Sounds like payroll Obamacare to me, so Mikulski has a point. Maybe the entire Senate is stacked against women. Harry Reid’s a man and he gets plenty of bills passed. Reid even has the power to prevent a woman’s bill from coming to the floor and getting a vote. How is that fair?
Has anyone ever run the statistics on the average number of bills a female senator passes during her career compared to the number passed by the patriarchy? If not, why not? I’ll bet there’s something Reid’s hiding.
And how about the number of questions a female senator is asked compared with the number some of those bloviating males ask during Senate hearings? And then there’s the amount of news coverage women get compared to men.
It looks like Mikulski has her work cut out for her getting down to the bottom of the male/female fairness disparity. You might even say an angry woman’s work is never done.
Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan. He is president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation and chairman of the League of American Voters. Mike is an in-demand speaker with Premiere. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.