Facing Dismal Poll Numbers, Bachmann Plays The Gender Card

Michele Bachmann’s finally figured out why CBS News decided to cut down the amount of screen time she received at a recent debate. Though a reporter’s leaked email stated explicity that she wouldn’t be getting many questions because her poll numbers are low, Bachmann has determined that the real reason is that the lamestream media is biased against the ladies.

Yesterday in a Today Show interview with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, Bachmann was asked if she thinks sexism was a factor in the decision. “Sometimes you wonder about that,” said Bachmann. “I have no way of knowing … I don’t know if it’s because I’m a woman.” But later she suggested she is being stifled due to her gender, saying:

“It’s unusual to have a woman candidate. We’ve never had a woman on the Republican ticket running for president at this level before. So I think it’s time to let a woman speak.”

For many weeks over the summer Bachmann commanded a tremendous amount of media attention and she went on to become the first woman to win the Ames straw poll in Iowa. Yet she now claims that the media has suddenly turned on her for no apparent reason. It’s just like how the chauvanist pigs at major media outlets totally ignored Hillary Clinton during the last presidential election and barely mentioned Sarah Palin when she was running for vice president and pretending to run for president.

It’s true that Bachmann’s been the victim of sexism at various points in the campaign. There’s bee undue attention paid to her French manicure and the press has run photos of her having her makeup done next to serious political stories (they’ve also picked on her clothing choices, but we firmly believe they would have done the same to Mitt Romney if he had shown up to a debate dressed like a sea captain). However, to suggest that the media has developed a penchant for lady bashing in the past two weeks is absurd, and weakens the credibility of women who are actually victims of biased reporting. All female politicians can probably come up with an instance in which they’ve been treated unfairly by a reporter due to their gender, but Bachmann’s problem isn’t that no one wants to let the woman speak. It’s that the ample coverage of her campaign revealed that when she speaks gaffes and false statements come pouring out of her mouth. If Bachmann is getting less attention these days due to sexism, then the media is also snubbing Rick Santorum due to discrimination against people who don’t have a chance in hell of winning the nomination.

Bachmann: It’s Time To ‘Let A Woman Speak’ [CNN]

Earlier: The Liberal Media Conspiracy Is Repressing Michele Bachmann, Says Michele Bachmann
Sarah Palin’s Mini-Victory Against Sexism