ABC political analyst Matthew Dowd has stuck his foot in his mouth yet again. This time, the target of his anger was Representative Elise Stefanik, R-NY, who stood up for the president during Wednesday’s public impeachment inquiry hearing. While she was not the only lawmaker to take up for Trump, (Jim Jordan, John Ratcliffe, and Devin Nunes) she was the only one that Dowd took the time to attack. In a since-deleted tweet, he implied that she was only elected for her gender and her age, and not because she had anything to bring to the table politically.
The backlash was so swift and so severe that Dowd was forced to issue an apology, but it was really no apology at all.
I think people are misunderstand my tweet. So I will delete. I am saying just saying we need more millennials or more women isn’t going to solve the problem of needing more leaders with integrity. Vote integrity no matter what. https://t.co/xdUdgQVyaV
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) November 13, 2019
I deleted the tweet and apologize. I in no way meant to suggest that we don’t need women or millennial leaders. In fact to opposite is true and I have advocated for that. I will be more careful in how I phrase my thoughts. Lesson learned. @EliseStefanik
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) November 13, 2019
Dowd’s apology misses the point: Nobody (except perhaps the left) was outraged that he “suggest[ed] that we don’t need women or millennial leaders.” Rather, the outrage was prompted when he reduced an outspoken female Republican to nothing more than her gender and age simply because he didn’t like what she had to say.
It’s that very thing that has people crying “sexism.”
You know, a lot of us have known and have been saying all along that “just electing someone because they are a woman or a millennial doesn’t necessarily get you the leaders we need.” But usually that just gets us called misogynists. https://t.co/ZnU57OAF8F
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) November 13, 2019
Whaaaaaaaat? “in no way meant to suggest,” @matthewjdowd? You sure didn’t “suggest” it, you just outright said it. https://t.co/ioYMSkvGyi pic.twitter.com/3PYXIwfYyV
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) November 13, 2019
It Depends on what the meaning of the words “Elise stefanik is a perfect example of why just electing someone because they are a woman..” is….well, you get the idea…
— Rick McCargar (@RickMcCargar) November 13, 2019
Deleting the misogynistic tweet doesn’t change the fact that you still believe what you said!
— Marianne Biegler (@BieglerMarianne) November 13, 2019
It appears you were triggered by a strong woman. If you were secure enough in your own manhood it really wouldn’t have bothered you.
— Rick Church (@Rdchurch1) November 14, 2019
To his credit, Dowd did issue a direct apology to Stefanik, though he again apologized for reader “misinterpretation” as opposed to being sorry for what he actually said.
Hey @EliseStefanik I just want to apologize for a tweet that is being misinterpreted. I didn’t mean to suggest you were elected only because you were a woman or a millennial. I deleted the tweet.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) November 13, 2019
And to her credit, Stefanik accepted his apology, but not without standing her ground.
Apology accepted @matthewjdowd – @ABCPolitics should be ashamed of your comment. This is one of the reasons young women don’t run for office.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 13, 2019
(Dowd immediately embarrassed himself by flashing his “respect for women” card.)
Thank you. As you know Elise I have advocated for women and millennials getting involved in politics for years. And have helped many.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) November 13, 2019
But the drama isn’t over yet.
Perhaps Dowd thinks that Stefanik isn’t intelligent enough to become a politician on her own merits, but he had no problem with her helping him write a book while she was still in college.
Agree or disagree with @EliseStefanik, she’s not a Member of Congress because she’s a woman or a millennial. She’s a smart, hard-working, accomplished person who has long cared about public service & helped a group of accomplished men write a book on the topic while in college. pic.twitter.com/65jEFlOwue
— Steve Johnston (@StevenEJohnston) November 13, 2019
That’s the kind of thing that adds insult to injury.
Stefanik was relaxed about it, though, and took the memory in stride.
Hahahhah OMG Thank you for reminding me of this! I had forgotten that Dowd was involved. Loved working as an undergrad researcher with @ron_fournier on this book project. ??? Thanks my friend @StevenEJohnston ! https://t.co/dYzOhcgiFt
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 14, 2019
This isn’t the first time that Dowd has gone after a woman who speaks her mind. In late October, he tweeted that former NBC reporter Megyn Kelly should “just fade away” instead of speaking up for suspected sexual misconduct victims in the media.
In an unsurprising move that seems to be old hat to him, Dowd deleted that tweet and groveled to the female population for forgiveness.
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