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Speaker of the House Rep. Kevin McCarthy addresses the media at the U.S. Capitol on April 26, 2023 in Washington, D.C., after the House voted and passed a bill raising the nation's debt ceiling. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Hello! I hope you’re having a good weekend. Longtime readers know I don’t delve into hot political topics too often here—I prefer to leave that to the experts—but a couple stories from this past week disturbed me enough that I can’t not talk about them. 

First, Tucker Carlson. Fox News did not explain why it parted ways with Carlson last week, prompting speculation. Was it because he welcomed guests who spread lies about the 2020 election while privately calling some of the claims “absurd,” showing that he knew he was airing falsehoods? Was it because of disparaging comments he made about colleagues and Fox News leadership that came out in the discovery process of Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit? Or was it a different lawsuit altogether?

Abby Grossberg, a former Fox News employee who worked as a booker for Tucker Carlson Tonight, sued the network in March, claiming the network’s lawyers coerced her into making false statements in the deposition she gave in the Dominion case. But she also claimed that “she endured a hostile and discriminatory office culture at the network,” as Harvest notes in a report on the suit. How hostile? 

During her first full day on Carlson’s show, Grossberg was greeted with “large and blown-up photographs of Nancy Pelosi in a plunging bathing suit revealing her cleavage” on her computer and elsewhere in the office. The next day, Grossberg says she was called to the office of Senior Executive Producer Justin Wells, who she said asked if her former boss, Bartiromo, was having sex with then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

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  1. Chesterguy69

    Trump should thank Tucker for causing the liberal media and to adopt Tucker Derangement Syndrome.

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  2. Dfstarr

    While there is no excuse for this misogyny on the right the evidence of misogyny from the left, both elected officials and in media is substantial. The evidence is clear this is not a right/conservative vs. left/liberal matter and this is not a "whataboutism" but a question of whether or not it's limited to one side or the other? Which side is willing to be more tolerant of it? And is it purely the human nature of individuals with power, wealth, and prestige abusing their position?

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    Julie from Texas

    It's always worth reading your summary opening, but this time, I wanted to stand up and cheer!

    "How can you have a successful political movement when prominent figures within that movement treat women with so little regard and so much disrespect?" - GREAT QUESTION!

    "Not every woman supports liberal policy positions, and it’s a different kind of sexism to assume that we should want a limitless right to abortion or socialized medicine or universal pre-K just because we’re women." - AMEN!

    "But just because women agree with conservative positions on small government or low taxes or a strong national defense or hold more traditional social values doesn’t mean we want to endure juvenile sexist behavior in the workplace or tolerate men who think their wives exist to serve them." - PREACH!

    It was heartening to see two misogynists let go on the same day: Tucker Carlson AND Don Lemon. But misogyny seems to be even more of a problem on the right these days, and it's both terrible in its own right and terrible for conservative politics going forward. I know quite a few women who supported conservatives and Republicans in the past who refuse to do it now or maybe ever again because of a complete disregard for women by men in those circles, mainly demonstrated by how Trump was handled, but not just him.

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      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      Thank you so much!

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    Mudskipper

    It's interesting that the Crowders had only one car, despite the fact that they could well afford another. I suspect it was all about control on his part. Can't have the little woman having her own wheels.

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      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      My thoughts exactly. If you can afford an in-ground pool, you can at least fork over the $$ for a used car.

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  5. Pohl

    You may not want to put Trump’s misogyny at the head of a list of his political disqualifications, but I do. I think it’s the most despicable thing about him. Well, it’s a close-run thing; we’re spoiled for choice.

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      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      I’m gonna stick with the coup-plotting and trying to extort Zelensky and well, I’m probably forgetting a few things, but you are right that we’re spoiled for choice!

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      1. Pohl

        Yeah, I was trying to be brief. On foreign policy, he’s horrible for reasons beyond misogyny, though it probably didn’t help him with Angela Merkel. And I was thinking back to 2016. The Access Hollywood tape was decisive for me. But, yes, I almost said misogyny was in my top 3. I did forget about 1/6 for a moment. He truly contains multitudes, so to speak.

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    David Burke

    Ms. Larimore

    I really like your writing and thinking and humor. I’m sure that as you are a conservative you get pretty pissed off when people claim that GOP men are sexist pigs. How many liberal and Democratic men are misogynists? - plenty

    But the GOP/Conservatives have a decades long history of glassy eyed stares when it comes to plight of any minority. And as you pointed out, women have made huge gains but it was well within only the last 29 years or less.

    On another, more specific observation if I may, how many elected GOP women have been subjected to the bile that Alexandria Ocasio~Cortez has had to endure.

    And how terrific has she been standing her ground and shaming these Conservative men down.

    Love your stuff. Have a great week.

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      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      Thank you so much!

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  7. Melanie G

    Rachel - as a moderate liberal I value my Dispatch subscription for the exposure it provides to thoughtful and nuanced conservative opinions and commentary, so I am a little disappointed to see this from you: "Not every woman supports liberal policy positions, and it’s a different kind of sexism to assume that we should want a limitless right to abortion or socialized medicine or universal pre-K just because we’re women". Here you are reducing the liberal policy to the current scare tactic shorthand, which is lazy profiling and I truly hope you don't actually believe this.

    As a liberal woman I can report that the majority of my peers do NOT want LIMITLESS abortion, nor SOCIALIZED medicine. (Okay, you got me on the Universal pre-K .) We DO want a reasonable timeframe for abortion (perhaps 15-16 weeks), along with exceptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother. And, frankly, that is what the majority of Americans (regardless of party) want.

    We DO want single-payer health care for ALL, where the government is the single insurer but NOT the PROVIDER of all medical services. The latter is socialized medicine. Please don't confuse this.

    Buying in to the dismissive and pejorative summary of liberal policy contributes to the division we are experiencing - and is just as bad as if I were to assume MAGA policy positions reflected all conservative opinion. Unfortunately, either political extreme (progressive or MAGA), while small, are loud enough to suck all the oxygen out of the room, but they are not the majority, as much as many in the press like to amplify their extremism. I encourage you to continue in the Dispatch tradition of well researched and factual commentary, which is why you have such a diverse audience.

    Beyond that, bravo for drawing attention to the sexism and misogyny still rampant in our society. What gives?

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      Rachael Larimore vertical-nib Author

      Thanks for your comment -- I guess I did delve a little into shorthand because my larger point is that it’s sexist to assume that women should be liberal just because they’re women. (I do know plenty of liberal women who DO hold extreme positions on abortion at any point, but they aren’t the majority.) I will say I’ve had plenty of bad experiences with identifying as a conservative. A co-worker at a job some years ago heard me talking to two female colleagues about politics and looked at us and said, “You can’t be Republicans, you’re women.” I’ll spare you most of the details about commenters to my pieces when I was at Slate, but I was compared to a domestic violence victim who kept coming back for more abuse and told many times (by men even) that I had “internalized my own misogyny.” I say that just to explain what was on my mind when I wrote that paragraph. Thanks for reading!

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      1. Melanie G

        A gracious reply, Rachel. And I don't doubt your experience. Part of my response to you is probably due to the whiplash I am suffering as a former Massachusetts moderate now living in Florida (you know, the "free-est" State in the Union - provided you think and act ONLY as the Governor prescribes). But that misogyny...ooh, it runs deep and knows no bounds. It tells you a great deal that we were able to elect a Black President long before a woman President.

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        John N.

        I've read your pieces and most of the pieces here at The Dispatch. I admire your writing, and analysis. I accept the explanation that the comment about limitless abortion was shorthand for seriously and justifiably held beliefs.

        I will continue reading. You keep up the good work. Stay safe, Rachael.

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      John N.

      Well put, that.

      I just raise my eyebrows when anyone claims dems want limitless abortion.

      Such a stupid strawman.

      Most people, at least reasonable ones, want medical decisions to be made between patients, their medical providers, and if the patient chooses, their families, clergy, and others that the *patient* chooses to include.

      Medical decisions should not be made by republican elected officials. They shouldn't get a vote.

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    Patrick

    Well said. I had honestly never heard of Steven Crowder until this article. Sounds like I’m not missing much.

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    1. Sean Dougherty

      He was a comedian who found that by being a conservative comedian he could generate more income for himself. It kept pushing him further and further out to the right end of the asshole bellcurve. He wasn't that bad at the beginning but the last I'd heard of him was touring with Milo.

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      Aylene Wright

      He also recently mocked people with Down Syndrome as having "retard energy". 🤢 Yeah, you're not missing much.

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    Dave Conant - MO

    Your usual highly anticipated and warmly welcomed wrap-up, thanks Rachael. You mention a couple of times the current state of the "conservative movement" and I'm not sure there is one to talk about. The lunatic fringe that appeals so strongly to the media because they sell papers and generate clicks is far from what any thinking person would want to be associated with and is arguably not conservative either. Just because there's an 'R' after their name doesn't make them conservative. Right now, for all their faults, the Democrats are much more thoughtful, thought provoking and societally oriented than the other party and, in light of Mr. Biden's announcement and the accompanying speech, might be more conservative too.

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  10. Karin

    Thank you so much for your rant, Rachael. There is a real problem with misogyny in this country, and it needs to be called out wherever it rears its ugly head.

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