Is Joni Ernst ACTUALLY That Stupid? Or Does She Just Think Most Women Are?

What Joni Ernst said Tom Harkin said about her:

Iowan GOP Senate candidate Joni Ernst responded on Monday that she was “very offended” by Sen. Tom Harkin’s comments comparing her looks to Taylor Swift.

“I was very offended that Sen. Harkin would say that, I think it’s unfortunate that he and many in their party believe that you can’t be a real woman if you’re conservative and female,” Ernst said to “Fox & Friends.”

She added, ”I believe if my name had been Jon Ernst attached to my résumé, Sen. Harkin would not have said those things.”

Ernst said Harkin’s remarks reveal that the alleged Republican “war on women” is “phony” and that Democrats should drop the term.

“First, I am a woman and second, I have been to war, I am a combat veteran,” Ernst said. “This is not a war on women and any time Democrats are using the word war they need to do it to honor our service men and women.”

–       Joni Ernst: ‘Very offended’ by Tom Harkin, Kendall Breitman, Politico, this morning

What Tom Harkin actually said about her:

Ernst’s comments come after a video was released on Sunday night where Harkin is shown saying that even if Ernst is “as good looking as Taylor Swift” she is not fit to represent the state of Iowa.

“In this Senate race, I’ve been watching some of these ads,” Harkin said last week. “And there’s sort of this sense that, ‘Well, I hear so much about Joni Ernst. She is really attractive, and she sounds nice.’

“… Well, I got to thinking about that,” he said. “I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like [Minnesota Rep.] Michele Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa.”

–       Joni Ernst: ‘Very offended’ by Tom Harkin, Kendall Breitman, Politico, this morning

Ernst shouldn’t flatter herself. Harkin didn’t say she is as good looking as Taylor Swift.

Nor should she demean the intelligence of other women by telling them that that’s what Harkin said.  And Harkin or Bruce Braley—or maybe, say, Hillary Clinton, if she’s up for it—should point that out, and ask whether she really thinks that’s what Harkin said, or instead she just thinks other women will think so.

Ernst, of course, may well be so inept at understanding basic English-language statements that she can’t distinguish between, on the one hand, a statement that other people keep saying that a female Senate candidate is so attractive and so nice, and, on the other hand, a statement that it doesn’t matter how attractive or nice she is, and that all that matters—or all that should matter—are her policy positions.

She also may actually think a statement that “I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like [Minnesota Rep.] Michele Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa,” is a statement that she IS as good looking as Taylor Swift.

If so, that’s something that voters might want to consider.

Me?  I take her at her word: Which is that she’s so dumb that she thinks that’s what Harkin said. But Harkin and Braley should play it the other way, and ask voters how very, very tired they are of politicians’ faux indignation.

Voters are extremely tired of politicians’ faux indignation; Harkin and Braley can bet on it. I wish this had happened earlier, because, really, playing these kinds of manipulative games isn’t all that “Iowa nice”.

Sorry, Ms. Ernst, but the war-on-women thing cuts both ways. You’re no longer in the military, but with that statement this morning on Fox News, you made clear you’re still a soldier.  Just in a different war.