Representative Rob Andrews, a Democrat from New Jersey, was on MSNBC commenting on the Libyan situation when he made a very offensive sexist statement.While voicing his objection to President Obama’s failure to consult with congress prior to the recent military actions he drifted into “what if” hypotheticals. What if we had a Republican president and he or, God forbid, she had acted similarly…
I was shocked to hear a sitting United States congressman express such a sexist view, a view that would make any Taliban member proud. How could someone of his stature have such an extreme view. Representative Andrews, a married man with two daughters himself could not possibly believe that a woman should not occupy our country’s highest office, or could he?
It would be easy to explain this away with claims that he has been taken out of context, been misquoted, or the old reliable “I misspoke” if this was the only time Andrews exposed his sexist views, unfortunately, it is not. In 2008, Andrews announced he would challenge incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg in the 2008 Democratic primary in New Jersey. Andrews also announced that he would not seek reelection to his U.S. House district in 2008. His wife, Camille Andrews stood as a candidate for the U.S. House seat he represented instead and won the primary. After losing to Lautenberg, Rob Andrews decided his wife must withdraw so he, a man, could run for re-election to his House seat. He explained, “I just looked deep into what I believe in and decided that this is what I had to do.” I guess what he believes is that elected office is no place for women.
Rob Andrews with his wife Camille in the background where Andrews believes is the proper role for women in politics.
Disrupt the Narrative 