Cross-posted from The Apollo Report
Democratic Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, who has gained national name recognition after filibustering an omnibus anti-abortion bill, has been the target of vile, nasty, and blatantly sexist attacks from prominent Republicans and conservatives.
Conservative blogger Erick Erickson is the latest prominent figure on the right to attack Davis's character, referring to her as "Abortion Barbie". Worse yet, Erickson is defending his sexist attack against Davis, writing this on RedState:
Abortion Barbie fits perfectly and I hope that moniker haunts (Wendy Davis) on the campaign trail. She is, after all, intent on building a national name for herself through abortion and pink shoes. I'm sure MSNBC will send her tampon earrings to go with the other accessories.
The reference to "tampon earrings" was a reference to Melissa Harris-Perry, who hosts a weekend news/opinion program on MSNBC. Harris-Perry has worn tampon earrings to protest the policy of women having menstrual products taken away from them before they are allowed to enter the Texas State Capitol.
Erickson's blatant display of sexism toward Davis, as well as Harris-Perry, is just the latest example of prominent Republicans showing extreme disrespect of women, which, according to the 2010 census, are a narrow majority (50.8%) of the American people. In fact, Davis has been a frequent target of sexist attacks from Republicans. Erickson referring to Davis as "Abortion Barbie" is not just sexist, it's outright character assassination.
Republicans currently have an iron grip on Texas politics, yet they talk like a bunch of losers every time they talk about Wendy Davis.