Harris-Perry: Be ‘Super-Careful’ About Using Term ‘Hard Worker’ Because of Poor Moms
HARRIS-PERRY: "There is, again, for me a bit of a tandem on this point, which is a little separate than the family work leaves point. But just the like, OK, I also get your kids and -- they come first. But there`s also extraordinary privilege in this opportunity. That gives me a little -- you know, Sarah Palin, for all of my disagreements with Governor Palin, when her country called, despite the fact she had a 4-month-old, she was fine. She was like, OK, maybe not the best time to be vice president but I`m going to try. Sometimes it is a big enough opportunity for leadership that you go ahead and step in."
BOEHLERT: "The speaker`s job is such an awful job right now, right? Nobody wants it --
HARRIS-PERRY: But Mr. Ryan is a catfish noodler, which is basically the same thing, right? It means you go catch the catfish with your hands. I
think that`s basically the same thing as trying to wrangle the current Republican Party into line.”
AGUILAR: But let`s be fair. If there`s somebody who is a hard worker when he goes to Washington is Paul Ryan. Not only works with the Republicans but Democrats. You know very well that I work on immigration issue, trying to get Republicans to support immigration reform. Paul Ryan is somebody who has reported immigration reform, has worked with somebody like Luis Gutierrez. Luis Gutierrez is very respectful, speaks highly of Paul Ryan. This is somebody who`s trying to govern.”
HARRIS-PERRY: “Alfonso, I feel you. I just want to pause on one thing. Because I don`t disagree with you that I actually think Mr. Ryan is a great choice for this role. I want us to be super careful when we use the language "hard worker." because I actually keep an image of folks working
in cotton fields on my office wall. Because it is a reminder about what hard work looks like. So, I feel you that he`s a hard worker. I do. But in the context of relative privilege, and I just want to point out, when you talk about work
life balance and being a hard worker, the moms who don`t have health care who are working – “
AGUILAR: “I understand that – “
HARRIS-PERRY:” But we don`t call them hard workers. Call them failures, people who are sucking off the system –“
AGUILAR: “No, no, no –“
HARRIS-PERRY: “That`s true.”
AGUILAR: “That is very unfair. I think we cannot generalize about the Republican Party –“
HARRIS-PERRY: “Not all Republicans, that is certainly true. “
AGUILAR:” Mitt Romney did a terrible job about –“
HARRIS-PERRY: “I don`t even think –“
AGUILAR: “-- connecting with the middle class. If Paul Ryan, who comes from a state like Wisconsin, is a Republican and conservative, -- he
understands we need a growing economy to create good paying jobs –“
HARRIS-PERRY:” I`m also not talking about the middle class –“ [crosstalk]
AGUILAR: “In the last eight years, the median household -- has gone down $10,000 a year –“-
HARRIS-PERRY: “Yes, absolutely –“
AGUILAR: “-- under Obama`s economy. You can`t blame Bush now. So, no, let`s be fair, at some point, you have to own the economy. Impoverishing Hispanics. You know, you cannot resolve the problems of the middle class with government benefits. You do it with a growing economy and good paying jobs.”
