There are 26 members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and only seven of them are women. Historically speaking, however, that’s a totally unprecedented number. When you consider that women chair three of the six Armed Services subcommittees, you can better appreciate their newfound power. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York chairs the Subcommittee on Personnel, and she’s been a bulldog on the issue of sexual assault in the military. In a full committee hearing on sexual assault this week, the women on the committee pounded away on the witnesses, insisting that more be done to protect service members and punish wrongdoing. It was too much for some:
…Michael Savage had Allen West on his show, saying of the women on the Armed Services Committee, ”When I watch these Khmer Rouge feminists try to take over the military, this looked like an attempted coup to me, Colonel West.” He added, “When you say sexual assault, according to the new liberal interpretation of such a phrase, does that not include, ‘Hey honey, let’s go for a beer?’”
Claire McCaskill is a member of the Khmer Rouge? Jeanne Shaheen is attempting a coup? Kay Hagan thinks asking a girl to have a drink is sexual assault? Mazie Hirono is trying to take over the military? Deb Fischer and Kelly Ayotte are feminists?
It’s not just right-wing radio hosts who have a problem with women having a voice in how our military operates. Republicans across the spectrum revealed their discomfort with even discussing sexual assault in the military. But no one did it better than the venerable Saxby Chambliss of Georgia:
“The young folks coming in to each of your services are anywhere from 17 to 22 or 23. Gee-whiz, the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur. So, we’ve got to be very careful on our side.”
Boys will be boys, you see, so why are we even having this hearing?
Robyn Pennacchia’s reaction seems appropriate:
I’m sorry, did he just say “gee whiz” while talking about women and men being violently, brutally, sexually assaulted in our armed forces an estimated average of 70 times a day? Did that actually happen? Like the same way you’d say “Gee whiz, the Beav forgot to twist the top of the mayo jar all the way again!” or “Gee whiz, I’m out of socks!” or something? Gee whiz? Really?
Perhaps he meant “cheese whiz,” I don’t know.
In any case, this is an area where having women in positions of power and influence can really change things.
