"Sassy" Hasselbeck: Criticism Of Palin's Clothing Expenditures Is "Deliberately Sexist" (VIDEO)
At a Sarah Palin rally in Tampa, Florida today, "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck slammed media coverage of the $150,000 in Republican National Committee expenditures on high-end clothing for Palin.
"Now, with everything going on in the world, seems a bit odd," Hasselbeck said. "But let me tell you, this is deliberately sexist."
In a moment of unintended irony, an audience member cat-called Hasselbeck with a whistle in the seconds after she made the comment.
Hasselbeck, describing herself as "sassy," then added that she was "most impressed by her accessories," including an American flag pin in honor of Palin's son, Track, who recently deployed to Iraq. "They didn't list that accessory... because they know it's priceless."
In her introduction of Palin, Hasselbeck also cited Palin's support of equal pay for equal work, despite her and John McCain's opposition to the recent Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which sought to counteract a Supreme Court decision limiting how long workers can wait before suing for pay discrimination.
In her recent interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Palin explained her reasoning:
Palin: I'm absolutely for equal pay for equal work. The Ledbetter pay act - it was gonna turn into a boon for trial lawyers who, I believe, could have taken advantage of women who were many, many years ago who would allege some kind of discrimination. Thankfully, there are laws on the books, there have been since 1963, that no woman could be discriminated against in the workplace in terms of anything, but especially in terms of pay. So, thankfully we have the laws on the books and they better be enforced.
Couric: The Ledbetter act sort of lengthens the time a woman can sue her company if she's not getting equal pay for equal work. Why should a fear of lawsuits trump a woman's ability to do something about the fact that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. And that's today.Palin: There should be no fear of a lawsuit prohibiting a woman from making sure that the laws that are on the books today are enforced. I know in a McCain-Palin administration we will not stand for any measure that would result in a woman being paid less than a man for equal work.
Couric: Why shouldn't the Ledbetter act be in place? You think it would result in lawsuits brought by women years and years ago. Is that your main problem with it?
Palin: It would have turned into a boon for trial lawyers. Again, thankfully with the existing laws we have on the books, they better be enforced. We won't stand for anything but that. We won't stand for any discrimination in the workplace - that there isn't any discrimination in America.
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11/26/08 05:12 AM