UPDATED: Sen Leahy interrupts Sen Gillibrand – she is a woman after all…
July 14, 2009
by Amy Siskind
|Apparently Senator Leahy didn’t take his anti-grumpy meds yesterday morning.
As Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was speaking in support of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination, he chose to cut her off:
It was a striking moment in the clubby Senate, where members typically show enormous deference to each other — particularly to senators of the same party, and even more so when on live national television.
Striking indeed. Yes, Sen Leahy and Sen Gillibrand are members of the same political party!
This is a typical example of sexist behavior. Sigh, young lady, what YOU have to say is simply not worth the time of day. Finish off so someone important (e.g. a male senator) can speak.
Sen Leahy – you made a fool of yourself by taking more time distracting Sen Gillibrand from making her point than if you had just let her speak. Welcome to The New Agenda Sen Leahy: we say, no we demand, that you recognize that women’s voices are important too!
And Sen Gillibrand, we have your back!
—
For those of you who want to let Senator Leahy know what you think, here’s his website and contact information:
Phone: (202) 224-4242
Email: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
This is more striking if you contrast this with Al Franken’s speech yesterday and how it lingered around himself for quite some time before getting to Sotomayor.
Apparently what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.
Unbelievable.
What else can I say?
SYD
I tuned out the hearings in the middle of Schumer’s remarks bec. it looked like each and every Senator was using it as no more than an election platform. I missed the fireworks!
No surprise that Leahy cut Gillebrand off at the knees. Another message to women: Sit down, shut up, go away. It rankles even more when one thinks it might have been Hillary he interrupted. (But then she’s already been silenced.)
Gillebrand took it with a good-natured shrug. I hope she grows a pair if she keeps her seat.
It is a striking snub when compared to leeway provided Franken who has been in office all of 6 days. Leahy was one of 08′s worst Dems who went for Obama over Hillary who was particularly sexist towards her and her voters.
Agreed..it was appaling. I yelled at the tv.
So, Amy do you have links or a plan for us to voice our displeasure to Mr. Leahy with what happened?
Thanks
Claudy, all of us missed the fireworks– the problem is there really weren’t any– not from Senator Gillibrand herself, nothing audible from other senators.
If women had fair representation on the committee, and yes, that means women from all/any parties, then perhaps Mr Leahy would have been impelled to summon up a semblance of professionalism. Or, perhaps his chair would be occupied by a woman. Losing re-election would be the best way to send Patrick Leahy the message that he should shut up, go away, and deal with his bigotry before he falls into his grave.
You say that you hope Gillibrand “grows a pair if she keeps her seat.”
A pair of what? She presumably already has ovaries. As for breasts, we know how valuable those are, judging by billboards, sitcoms, stand-up “joke” routines, ads for juice, cars, shoes and aluminum foil….
Oh, do you mean, a pair of testicles? That’s fundamentally what got Patrick Leahy into his lucrative career, including his seat as Grand Dragon of the Judiciary Committee. Let Patrick Leahy grow some ovaries to keep his seat!
Sorry, but more of the same old “balls” is hardly what this nation needs. Male testicles and testosterone have nothing whatsoever to do with the traits of real courage, brains, and strength– the very qualities that women must have to get through an ordinary day in a society waging war against us from top to bottom.
woman-focused and feminist-to-the-core!
miscellani.org Blog-a-Zine
commentary and news on Politics, The Arts, Technology and The Media
When is his term up? Is there a woman in Vermont to run against him from either party?
maddie and all,
See updated article with information on how we can all voice our displeasure to Sen Leahy’s office.
Was Gillibrand only Senator to go over alloted time
“I hope she grows a pair” I always figure they mean gonads or nads when people say that not testicles or “nuts” which is an interesting slang term because the owners of nuts are often nuts.
This Leahy crap is why I think it is time to split the country in half at the Rocky Mountains. I don’t have time to do battle with these numb nuts in Corporate America, Corporate Media or our Corporate Government. I am sick of being taxed and bossed around by a bunch of arrogant numb nuts from the east coast and I am not even represented in their government, media or corporations. I don’t want to reform them, I want them out of my face. And really what are they going to do about it if we do split off? Fight us? Haaaahaaaaa haaaa haaa undemure cackle. Oh you meant try to hire some “lower class person” to fight for them. After we break off all of you sane people from the east can apply for immigration to our new world and the old sexist men can steer their old country right into the ground of old Mama earth. Then we will take over their world too.
I called Senator Leahy’s office and they are saying that Senator Gillibrand ran out of time — that every Senator is alloted 5 minutes — and that Leahy would close down any senator who ran over the 5 minutes in order to run an efficient hearing. I asked if he would do that to his senate friends. I was told yes! I cannot believe that! It would mean that he would have to always be strict in hearings; as an elected person myself who has presided over meetings, I know how difficult it is to strictly stick to time restrictions.
Anyone who watched the hearings: Is it true that Leahy has strictly enforced time restrictions on all senators — male and female?
Do you think Leahy would have acted the same if 50% of the committee were women( irrespective of party). That is why voting gender not agenda is so important.
Well, according to the youtube timestamp, Leahy’s statement went for 11 minutes.
I’m not sure if that was because he had the opening statement or not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw6CzVBUbK8
I’ve been told that several Senators went over 5 min. If anyone sees data out there, please post it in comments.
I encourage you all to call Sen Leahy or email and let your voice be heard.
Here’s one from the NY Daily News:
http://assets.nydailynews.com/.....n14edt.gif
Amy, yes, please collect the data from reliable people who have timed the speeches by the senators. Do the actual numbers support our personal impressions that Sen. Gillibrand was unfairly held to a double standard by Leahy?
In any event, we still have the bigger complaint that Gillibrand is an example of women in the Senate who ought to be on the Judiciary Committee, not merely given a 5-minute guest spot. Sorry boiz, that’s not even close. Look at the list of all 19 members:
Patrick J. Leahy
Herb Kohl
Jeff Sessions
Dianne Feinstein
Orrin G. Hatch
Russell D. Feingold
Charles E. Grassley
Charles E. Schumer
Jon Kyl
Richard J. Durbin
Lindsey Graham
Benjamin L. Cardin
John Cornyn
Sheldon Whitehouse
Tom Coburn
Amy Klobuchar
Edward E. Kaufman
Arlen Specter
Al Franken
Women comprise 10%– just 2 women, both Democrats– of the senators on the committee.
Al Franken is not the only greenhorn whose seat should have gone to a woman with longer and more relevant experience. Assigning a seat to Kaufman from Delaware only adds insult to injury from combined nepotism and cronyism as Biden tries to reserve it for his son. Cardin is another relative newcomer there; he had been in the House of Reps but Democratic women already in the Senate should have had seniority over him.
Should have, would have, could have, except they lack the same “qualification” that placed BH0 over HRC.
Kohl and Grassley are among the entrenched, wealthy Republicans whose seats would be filled better by more moderate, less obnoxious women. Too bad the GOP has so few to choose from– Olympia Snowe and Lisa Murkowski perhaps, but Susan Collins and {{gag}} Kay Bailey Hutchinson would not be much of an improvement IMO.
The picture looks ugly on either party’s side of the committee, mainly because both parties speak and act ugly toward women, period.
I’m open to ideas from independent parties such as Greens and Libertarians but in looking at how those two mistreat women and ignore their rank & file members, I’d have to say maybe time is ripe for a Womens Party. It’s no more backward or impractical than a Mens Party, and we have several spoiled-rich-boy parties like that anyway.
Victoria, co-editor
http://www.miscellani.org/blog/
woman-focused and feminist-to-the-core!
Al Franken’s was 9 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJj0OMdZT4w
Jon Kyl’s was over 8 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rC53BdoaIM
Charles Schumer’s was over by 30 seconds, but I watched 30 seconds up to and past the 5 min. mark, and I didn’t hear him being pestered.
I can’t seem to find a whole recording of Gillibrand’s statement anywhere.
I think it’s being buried.
Amy:
Thanks for the link.
I called- spoke with what sounded like a 20 something male who said “she went over the time limit and the hearing was coming to an end, so that’s why he had to cut her off”.
I told him I thought it was handled in a disrespectful manner which I didn’t appreciate, to which he replied he would “pass it on”.
Right.
Thank you, New Agenda, for your leadership on this. Leehy’s sexist andcavalier treatment of Senator Gillibrand is finding a sympathetic echo in the news media. Seems they learned nothing last year when American women, even those supporting Obama, were shocked and angered by rampant sexism in the media. Check out the cartoon in the NY Daily News – when did they ever run a cartoon vilifying a male US Senator for talking too long?
just called and was told that senator Gillebrand shared time with senator Schumer and that is why both had only 5 minutes, everybody else had 10. still I have seen manytimes people being reminded of time limits respectfully, this was rude and bullyish.
it is time to give support to anybody democrat or republican who takes this guy on. for the reesons, Bruce reminds us here.
Thank you, Amy & New Agenda!!
Now, in celebration of Bastille Day – to the barricades! If you thought Leahy was arrogant and typically insensitive, check out this cartoon in the New York DailyNews: http://assets.nydailynews.com/.....n14edt.gif
It’s worthy of the Sexists’ Hall of Fame. The cartoon caricatures Gillibrand as she speaks, with the committee chairman calling for security and hooks, gags and socks in boxes, ready to be used to shut down the uppity woman.
For more than 200 years, the 11,648 men who have served in the US Congress have held the floor. Senator Gillibrand, one of only 255 women who have served in our country’s history, might have assumed she would have the same ten minutes her colleagues were given to speak. Senator Leahy interrupted her, rudely and arrogantly asserting his “privilege”. And the NY Daily News ridicules her?!!?
Senator Gillibrand is New York’s senator. She was speaking as a well-informed advocate for another New York woman in an historic moment for New York and the country. You’d think that a New York paper would stick up for them both. But, unfortunately, the Daily News cartoon reveals another historic truth: women in politics – from the suffragists to our 21st century leaders – are routinely stereotyped in ways meant to demean them, shut them up and deny them power.
This cartoon is one of the worst examples.
This article puts her time at 6 min. 15 seconds when she was interrupted.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes......038;st=cse
The only other Senator to go over a minute over their speaking time so far is Leahy himself.
I second a Woman’s Party.
Leahy was nothing more than an ass. His petulant facial expressions and crossed arms and “huff” reminded me of a 8-year-old boy who HAS to let the girl have a turn at bat in a sandlot game.
I KNOW it’s hard for the BOYS in Congress to “let” the WOMEN in as it imposes SOME checks and balances on them taking us all for a ride and imposing these same attitudes on the entire country.
It is clear we are going backwards. In the Government, first, and supported by the Media.
AS for the “cartoon”, I found it interesting that the drawing of “Leahy” was not done to show his crackly old and sour-puss face, but only as a “generic” white male. Gillibrand, on the other hand….
If we don’t get this stopped, I will be selling Burkas on line in time for the 2010 elections….
[...] Also, please contact Senator Leahy here. [...]
[...] and let them finish saying what they need or want to say? As Amy Siskind pointed out in her blog, Sen Leahy interrupted Sen Gillibrand. He also interrupted Judge Sotomayor several times while [...]
Leahy’s attitude was self-explanatory–extremely patronizing and condescending. Would he speak to Joe Biden or John Kerry this way? We all know that look and tone. For those who are encouraging Kristen to “grow a pair,” I thought she handled it well. She didn’t just fold, she asked for another minute. When he denied that, and huffed and puffed, she said, “Twenty seconds!” and wrapped it up succinctly and positively. For Leahy to do this to her, knowing she is new to the Senate, was just boorish.
Gillebrand was far too sweet in her response to Leahy. She seemed unaware that he was pulling a fast one on her. Hence, I characterized her as ‘needing to grow a pair’ — that phrase seemed appropriate for ‘standing her ground’ or acting in a way that would have signaled to Leahy that she was aware of his game and she wouldn’t move out of his way so easily.
She was overly ingratiating in a way that allowed him to walk over her. I think she might have sent a stronger signal to Leahy than she did.
I could characterize her behavior as ‘too female’ – it is certainly recognizable as female behavior; and, same goes for Leahy behaving along male gendered lines. We’ve all seen or been in this Kabuki dance.
This exchange was not cool on Leahy’s part. It stood out against the rest of the proceedings.
I didn’t she ANYTHING in her behavior that came even close to the cartoon that appeared in the Daily News — this is a true perversion of reality.
She came off as sweet, docile, ingratiating – Not shrewish and out for blood.
Thanks for the headsup on this and for the link to Leahy’s website. I sent a message of disappointment and a wrning that we will not forget.
I just called his office and expressed my disgust and anger and said the guy needs to be booted out of office. The young man said ‘thank you ma’am, I’ll pass it on” very curtly.
[...] political party is without fault here. Both parties attack female politicians – overtly and subtly. It will stop when We the People make it stop. When we demand better from our political [...]
[...] albeit less sordid encounter. During the senate nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Sen Leahy rudely interrupted Sen Kirsten Gillibrand during her statement. Politico surmised: It was a striking moment in the clubby Senate, where [...]
Leave your Response Want an avatar? Get a gravatar!
Community Room
May 8, 2012 at 11:30 am
May 8, 2012 at 9:56 am
May 7, 2012 at 2:04 pm
May 7, 2012 at 1:37 pm
May 7, 2012 at 1:19 pm
April 20, 2012 at 12:57 pm
April 11, 2012 at 4:39 pm
April 6, 2012 at 1:18 pm
BUILD your NETWORK
Our Network of College Women
Protecting our Teenage Girls
We’re in the Media »
Click to see our latest stories in the media
More Stories »Recent Comments
The Latest from our Blog
Archives
Pioneer Mentors
Blogroll
Find us Online
Subscribe Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)
The New Agenda is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls by bringing about systemic change in the media, at the workplace, at school and at home. More...