Photo via C-SPAN
February 10, 2021, 11:20 am
Just because Donald Trump is out of the White House, doesn’t mean the political weirdness in America is at an end.
Advertisement
Hide
During a confirmation hearing for Joe Biden’s Office of Management and Budget director nominee Neera Tanden, Senator John Kennedy accused her of calling Bernie Sanders “everything but an ignorant slut.”
Advertisement
Hide
The phrase “ignorant slut” entered popular consciousness back in 1975 during a Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” debate in which Dan Aykroyd said to Jane Curtin, “Jane, you ignorant slut.” This was later referenced on the U.S. version of The Office in an episode in which Michael Scott says a version of this to Dwight.
Tanden denied this allegation, though she did admit to using vitriolic language on Twitter about political opponents, and Kennedy had to make a clarification around his “ignorant slut” statement.
Advertisement
Hide
“I want the record to reflect that I did not call Senator Sanders an ignorant slut,” he said.
“I don’t know how I could take that, Senator Kennedy,” Sanders replied.
Just another day in the U.S. Senate.
Advertisement
Hide
Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress think tank and former advisor to the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, faced criticism during the hearing for past harsh words about both Republicans and progressive Democrats, including Sanders. She apologized for this during the hearing and promised to work better with others as head of the OMB.
“My language and my expressions on social media caused hurt to people, and I feel badly about that,” she said. “And I really regret it and I recognize that it’s really important for me to demonstrate that I can work with others.”
Advertisement
Hide
Tanden has also faced criticism from the left over her previous opposition to popular policies such as Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage. She did, however, state her current support for the $15 wage on the record at the confirmation hearing.
She had also faced widespread ire for her remarks on certain foreign policy issues, such as the time she suggested fixing the U.S. deficit gap by taking oil from Libya.
Advertisement
Hide
“We have a giant deficit. They have a lot of oil,” she wrote in a leaked email. “Most Americans would choose not to engage in the world because of that deficit. If we want to continue to engage in the world, gestures like having oil rich nations partially pay us back doesn’t seem crazy to me.”
Anyway, back to the “ignorant slut” thing, because there are jokes.
Advertisement
Hide
Advertisement
Hide
*First Published: February 10, 2021, 11:20 am
0 Comments