Anytime you have a woman running for public office, nine times out of ten there will be mainstream media reporters who are specifically assigned to the “sexism” beat – where they look for evidence and/or accusations, lacking or not, of alleged sexism being displayed by their male opponents/staffers/supporters, etc.
They’ll often focus on any supposed sexual harassment of female Democratic figures because they believe that female Republicans aren’t real women. The reporter will sometimes follow the campaigns for Republican women if only to maintain the tired stereotype of the conservative man who knuckles down.
This was the case following Wednesday’s CNN GOP Presidential debate between Florida Governor. Ron DeSantis, former Trump ambassador at the U.N. Nikki Haley.
DeSantis has used the phrase “pale-pastels” at least twice during the debate. He said in one instance, “We must fly a banner of bold colors and put the American people before the warm-up corporatism that people like Nikki Haley have embraced.”
The mainstream media, because Haley was wearing a pale pink dress and because they are sexists in everything, rushed to suggest sexism. Several “news” outlets referenced the remark, treating it somewhat like Mitt Romney’s “binders of women” gaffe from 2012.
Here’s an example of how NBC News reported DeSantis using the phrase:
He accused her of being influenced by Hillary Clinton and painting metaphorically with “pale-pastels” — a choice of words that raised eyebrows, particularly because the first woman governor of South Carolina was wearing a top in pastel colors. DeSantis repeated the phrase several times.
The Washington Times published an Associated Press article with the headline: “DeSantis rips Haley’s ‘pale-pastels’ insult”. It was framed as follows:
DeSantis has twice used the phrasing of “pale pastels” as a knock on Haley. She is the only woman in the race, and she is standing next to him on stage, clad in a pastel pink dress. https://t.co/fGAsr0xQRC
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) January 11, 2024
And here are two other NBC News journos who were live-blogging/tweeting during the debate who played the “sexism” card:
This is great. Vitali thought her jab at DeSantis was so clever, she published it on NBC News’s live blog too. Her colleague then chimed in to say the “pale pastels” line is from DeSantis’s stump speech, agreeing it “comes across differently” against Haley too.
Neither of these… pic.twitter.com/8H0GxjdCss
— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) January 11, 2024
Jashinsky pointed out that “pale pastels”, a Reagan phrase dating back to the 1970s, is often used by conservatives like DeSantis.
“Neither of these professional political journalists seems to be aware that DeSantis uses a Reagan quotation–one which is often used in conservative circles.”
Watch:
This is Ronald Reagan’s “Pale Pastels” speech from after the 1974 election that Ron DeSantis was referencing.pic.twitter.com/ON3qYkKOfi
— RRH Elections (@RRHElections) January 11, 2024
DeSantis’ “pale pastels” remarks were not about Nikki Haley’s clothing or women in general. Wouldn’t it be nice if the mainstream media would save their anger for real instances of sexism rather than watering down the word to the point that it is meaningless?
