Romney "binder full of women" goes viral
- 12 years ago
Mitt Romney was called out after the first presidential debate for his planned assault on Big Bird. On Tuesday (October 17) night, it was "binders full of women," sparking an eruption of social media parodies.
The Massachusetts governor defended his record as a crusader for pay equity for women in the workplace, saying during Tuesday's presidential debate that he sought out female candidates for cabinet positions and was brought "whole binders full of women."
SOUNDBITE Mitt Romney saying (English):
"And I -- and I went to my staff, and I said, how come all the people for these jobs are -- are all men? They said, well, these are the people that have the qualifications. And I said, well, gosh, can't we -- can't we find some -- some women that are also qualified? And -- and so we -- we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women's groups and said, can you help us find folks? And I brought us whole binders full of -- of women."
Within hours, the remark became prime fodder for satirical social media accounts. More than 33,300 followers of the Twitter account@RomneyBinders aggregated comments on the debate and asserted that Romney loves "women, they make the best sandwiches."
President Obama also referenced the binder comment during a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday (October 17).
SOUNDBITE U.S. President Barack Obama saying (English):
"I have to tell you that we don't have to collect a bunch of binders to find talented, qualified, driven young women, ready to learn and teach in these fields right now."
On Facebook, the "Binders Full of Women" community page - fronted with a profile picture of Romney giving a thumbs-up, had nearly 300,000 likes.
That page included articles from Slate and the Guardian, critiquing the original comment and making clear that - true, or not - binders full of female candidates wouldn't shatter the glass ceiling.
Recent polls show the candidates running closely with the third and final debate in the series taking place on Monday (October 22).
The Massachusetts governor defended his record as a crusader for pay equity for women in the workplace, saying during Tuesday's presidential debate that he sought out female candidates for cabinet positions and was brought "whole binders full of women."
SOUNDBITE Mitt Romney saying (English):
"And I -- and I went to my staff, and I said, how come all the people for these jobs are -- are all men? They said, well, these are the people that have the qualifications. And I said, well, gosh, can't we -- can't we find some -- some women that are also qualified? And -- and so we -- we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women's groups and said, can you help us find folks? And I brought us whole binders full of -- of women."
Within hours, the remark became prime fodder for satirical social media accounts. More than 33,300 followers of the Twitter account@RomneyBinders aggregated comments on the debate and asserted that Romney loves "women, they make the best sandwiches."
President Obama also referenced the binder comment during a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday (October 17).
SOUNDBITE U.S. President Barack Obama saying (English):
"I have to tell you that we don't have to collect a bunch of binders to find talented, qualified, driven young women, ready to learn and teach in these fields right now."
On Facebook, the "Binders Full of Women" community page - fronted with a profile picture of Romney giving a thumbs-up, had nearly 300,000 likes.
That page included articles from Slate and the Guardian, critiquing the original comment and making clear that - true, or not - binders full of female candidates wouldn't shatter the glass ceiling.
Recent polls show the candidates running closely with the third and final debate in the series taking place on Monday (October 22).