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NPR Admits It Scrubbed Clip of Mara Liasson Separating 'Educated Women' and 'Stay-at-Home Moms'
Newsbusters.org ^ | April 25, 2012 | Tim Graham

Posted on 04/25/2012 7:00:01 AM PDT by KarlInOhio

NPR's Mara Liasson outraged female listeners on Weekend Edition Sunday on April 15 when she said Mitt Romney's political problems aren't with "stay-at-home moms," but rather with "educated women."

Seven days later, NPR admitted it scrubbed the clip and the transcript for the website. On April 22, in a letters segment, Liasson claimed "I misspoke and that's one reason why we corrected the interview for later feeds of the show." Maybe she didn't "misspeak" as much as she betrayed her own opinion. She's never stayed at home and her biographies list no children. At least NPR returned to the scene of the self-censorship:

RACHEL MARTIN, anchor: Time now for your letters. Last Sunday, I spoke with NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson about the week in politics, and part of our conversation focused on a political the war of words. It started when Democratic consultant Hilary Rosen said that Ann Romney, the wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, quote, "has never worked a day in her life." Many listeners took issue with Mara's analysis of the gender gap between Mitt Romney and President Obama.

Debora Hoard of Greenwood, Virginia, wrote: As I got ready to go to work this morning - work I do in part so I can have some flexibility to be home during the week - I heard Ms. Liasson say Romney's problem is not with stay-at-home moms, but with educated women. Ouch. She writes: Are these really separate categories?

And Allaire Diamond of Williston, Vermont, adds: These groups are not mutually exclusive. I proudly count myself among the large group of college-educated women who have chosen to dedicate ourselves, full- or part-time, for a year or a lifetime, to the work of raising our children. A woman's life and career, especially when children are involved, is extraordinarily complex and it's insulting to have it reduced to these rough categories, especially by someone that I normally hold in high regard.

We asked Mara about the point she was making and here's her response.

MARA LIASSON: Our listeners are right. I misspoke and that's one reason why we corrected the interview for later feeds of the show. What I was trying to say was that while Romney has an overall deficit with women voters, his biggest disadvantage is with college educated women - wherever they work, at home, in an office, a store or a factory.

MARTIN: As Mara said, we re-recorded our interview for later feeds, and that is the interview of record at NPR.org.

The blog My Joy for Today reported her outrage on that day. She could not believe NPR was hiding its arrogance:

I attempted to find the transcript and audio file of this morning’s broadcast. The file that is available for the 8 am show does not contain the quote that I have discussed. Ironically, the audio file and transcript are simply not the same as the one we heard in the car this morning. I do not claim to understand the intricacies of radio broadcasting and realize that there may have been many versions of the broadcast that we heard. However, the quote by Ms. Liasson was certainly part of at least one version of today’s program, and many comments on NPR’s website show that we are not the only listeners who caught this outrageous comment. If Hilary Rosen owed women an apology, it seems only fair that Ms. Liasson and NPR do the same. In the spirit of honest journalism, why not admit your mistake and apologize to your faithful listeners? Do you assume that stay at home mothers are so uneducated that they were not even listening and therefore are not even owed a response? Please do not continue to belittle us with your silence.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 1984; liasson; liberaltalkradio; npr; sahm; scrubbed
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To: Pecos

Liberals and Democrats hate women. Why?


21 posted on 04/25/2012 7:32:51 AM PDT by Lazamataz (Admin Moderator refuses to let me hit it. -- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2875871/posts)
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To: KarlInOhio

Well, of course they did...freakin’ Pravda. Anyone who listens to national media for the time of day needs to lose their license to breed.


22 posted on 04/25/2012 7:40:31 AM PDT by AnTiw1
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To: LibsRJerks
Is it really a contest?

That is the problem. It is a contest based on their jealousy of successful, intelligent, attractive Conservative women. Liberals feel that unless a woman is in line with their Liberal goals, she is not considered "worthy" and must be less than knowledgeable about anything. It is not just whether they had a college education or not, sometimes...as Liberals did with Sarah Palin...it even depends on where the degree was earned.

Remember how the Libs criticized Sarah's educational background - because it was not Ivy League? And then they also faulted her saying that she (a woman with five children) should be at home because she couldn't possibly be an effective leader and Mom at the same time? Even though Palin is a successful leader and politician, is a good and loving parent, has a happy marriage, is both savvy and very attractive they cannot bear to admire her because she does not tow the Liberal line. She has all the traits they would love for a woman to have and would be admiring and promoting, if she were a Left-winger.

23 posted on 04/25/2012 7:48:48 AM PDT by CitizenM (Obama studied our Constution out of hate for America, not out of love for our laws.)
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To: MrB

Indeed!

(But then....Satan has always counterfeited the best works of our God. Unfortunately, many people do not seem to notice that the works of Satan always lead to destruction and death....and those of God to joyous LIFE!)


24 posted on 04/25/2012 7:49:18 AM PDT by SumProVita (Cogito, ergo...Sum Pro Vita. (Modified Decartes))
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To: Lazamataz
Why do Democrats and liberals hate women so much?

Because they hate themselves above all. And if you can't love yourself it's not possible to love anyone else.

25 posted on 04/25/2012 7:53:22 AM PDT by Lurker (The avalanche has begun. The pebbles no longer have a vote.)
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To: MrB

“Feminist Simone Beauvoir:
“No woman should be authorized to stay at home and raise her children. Society should be totally different. Women should not have that choice, precisely because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one.”

Another Stalinist feminist.


26 posted on 04/25/2012 7:55:00 AM PDT by headstamp 2 (Liberalism: Carrying adolescent values and behavior into adult life.)
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To: LibsRJerks

My daughter and one of my daughters-in-law are both college educated and are stay at home Moms. My other daughter-n-law is a Harvard educated lawyer who continues to work and has two boys. Believe me, she is in a constant state of conflict despite having a wonderful work schedule. You just can’t depend on one of the boys not getting some sort of malady that will keep him out of school. She’s fortunate that she can always depend on me and my daughter but even that makes her anxious. She doesn’t have to work but is afraid that if she takes too much time from the workforce she’ll find it difficult to reenter.


27 posted on 04/25/2012 7:56:23 AM PDT by surrey
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To: Ransomed

The article referenced Liasson’s own biographies. They didn’t say she didn’t have children.

If she does have children, evidently she doesn’t admit to them.


28 posted on 04/25/2012 7:59:35 AM PDT by Colonel_Flagg (There will be no vote for Myth Romney in my house. Period.)
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To: KarlInOhio
NPR's Mara Liasson outraged female listeners on Weekend Edition Sunday on April 15 when she said Mitt Romney's political problems aren't with "stay-at-home moms," but rather with "educated women."

Who wants to bet the New York Times, Washington Post, and NBC New won't touch this story with a ten foot pole? The creepy biased suck-up liars...

29 posted on 04/25/2012 8:00:22 AM PDT by GOPJ (Hoodies - because you can't kill a security camera for snitchin' - - freeper tacticalogic)
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To: GOPJ

They can try to spin it all they want,
but conservatives will always have trouble with
“single/divorced”, ie, dependent on government as their dadddy/husband, women.

And the socialists will always have trouble with married moms whose husband is the provider and protector.


30 posted on 04/25/2012 8:03:11 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter knows whom he's working for)
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To: CitizenM

Gawd, my ignorant Democratic MIL made a snipe one time about Palin. “She should be at home, paying attention to her KIDS!!”

It was the most disingenuous comment I could imagine.

Women can’t win with Democrats. You are expected to give up your kids, your relationships, everything to tow their line.

I rejected that crap 25 years ago and STILL reject it.


31 posted on 04/25/2012 8:10:39 AM PDT by LibsRJerks
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To: GOPJ

Probably just another female jourNOlist trying to make a name for herself ....


32 posted on 04/25/2012 8:13:34 AM PDT by LibsRJerks
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To: SumProVita
I wonder if Ms. Liasson has any children?

She has at least one. I remember her being pregnant.

The thought of how that happened has caused my breakfast...oh, it's too late!!!

33 posted on 04/25/2012 8:15:01 AM PDT by SMM48
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To: GreenLanternCorps

You are correct.

She was White House NPR correspondent during the Clinton years and has never denied the child is Bubba’s.


34 posted on 04/25/2012 8:24:21 AM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 ..... Crucifixion is coming)
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To: Lazamataz
Liberals and Democrats hate women. Why?

Why? Left field.

35 posted on 04/25/2012 8:27:30 AM PDT by mc5cents
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To: MrB

Bingo, attack motherhood and destroy the nuclear family. Done in conjunction with promotion of homosexual marriage.


36 posted on 04/25/2012 8:27:46 AM PDT by CPO retired
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To: CPO retired

Let’s just make it easy and say that EVERY policy of the left in some way is detrimental to the family unit.

I’m talking tax policy, energy policy, environmental policy, global warming, CAFE standards, abortion promotion, homosexuality promotion, feminism, welfare, you name it, if it’s a leftist cause, it’s anti-family.


37 posted on 04/25/2012 8:30:48 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter knows whom he's working for)
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To: MrB

You are correct. The current attack on the family in America is unprecedented.


38 posted on 04/25/2012 8:35:34 AM PDT by B Knotts (Just another Tenther)
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To: B Knotts

It’s Luciferian in origin.
The communist agenda lines right up with the consolidation of the world government under the anti-christ.


39 posted on 04/25/2012 8:40:16 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter knows whom he's working for)
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To: Josephat
No matter how big a stash of cash you are able to amass in your chosen career, it cannot compare to the gratification one gets from raising kind, moral, upstanding and contributing members of society.

I changed my work schedule so that I now have every other Monday off, primarily to have the opportunity to spend a few extra hours with my grandson.

I wish I had made the change sooner.

40 posted on 04/25/2012 8:43:29 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (My dream ticket for 2012 is John Galt & Dagny Taggart!)
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