The Republican candidates for the 2016 U.S. presidential race debated Thursday night, and while much of the media is focusing on Donald Trump highlights, the chair of the Democratic National Committee was disappointed by what she called an “attack” on women and the candidates’ lack of discussion on issues that concern the country the most.
DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released a statement on the GOP debates being not only predictable, but disrespectful toward American women.
“During both debates today, we saw more of the out-of-date and out-of-touch policies that we’re used to seeing from these Republican candidates,” said Schultz. “Among the biggest losers of tonight’s debate were American women, who were attacked at every turn.”
The Florida congresswoman may have been referring to a couple of stand-out moments of the night in which women were mentioned, such as when moderator Megyn Kelly questioned Trump about some of the insulting names he’s called women.
“You’ve called women fat pigs, dogs, slobs, disgusting animals. Your Twitter account has several …”
The real estate businessman interjected, with a smirk, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
Another moment where women were the subject in the debate was when the candidates were being questioned about abortion. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker stressed that he is pro-life and when asked if he is in support of abortions for women whose pregnancies put their lives at risk, his answer was questionable.
“I’ve always been pro-life,” Walker responded. “I’ve got a position that’s consistent with many Americans out there in that I believe that [there]t is an unborn child that’s in need of protection out there. And I’ve said many times that that unborn child can be protected and there are many alternatives that would protect the life of the mother.”
Schultz further mentioned that the GOP presidential hopefuls neglected some of the most pressing issues effecting Americans today.
“We failed to hear any solutions for income inequality, and not even a mention of college affordability, equal pay, raising the minimum wage, or the Voting Rights Act on its 50th anniversary,” she stated.
Although Ohio Gov. John Kasich said it is important to “reach out to people” such as minorities, and Dr. Ben Carson posed a flat tax system in which all Americans would pay the same amount, Schultz thinks the debates reflected that the candidates only want to look out for the financial well-being of the wealthy.
“Today’s Republican presidential candidates proved that the GOP is solely focused on taking us backward with policies that cut taxes for the wealthy and leave the middle class behind,” Schultz said.
All in all, the DNC chair’s conclusion on the first GOP debate is not unlike the opinion of other notable liberal leaders like Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. The general consensus for liberals and Schultz is that the Republican candidates are too out of touch with the American people, giving them hope that the next president will likely be a Democrat.
“Tonight, Americans are going to ask themselves, which one of the candidates on that stage will look out for me? The answer is clear: not a single one of them.”
