Democratic Party elites led by President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton prove once again that commoners must “do as I say, not as I do” when it comes to the “divide and conquer” political strategy that underpins their power – in this case “pay equity” between men and women.
In their recent show of solidarity over the issue of “equal pay for women”, Democrats appeared unconcerned as they celebrated “National Equal Pay Day” highlighting the pay disparity between men and women who work for President Obama and Hillary Clinton. According to Obama:
“On average, full-time working women earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, and women of color face an even greater disparity…” “This wage gap puts women at a career-long disadvantage, and it harms families, communities and our entire economy.”
Apparently, President Obama doesn’t practice what he preaches. A review of public documents last July revealed that Obama pays female staffers 13 percent less than he pays male staffers on average.
The same holds for Hillary Clinton. According to an analysis conducted on by the Washington Free Beacon of Mrs. Clinton’s Senate years, she paid women 72 cents for every dollar paid to men on her staff – a differential of almost $16,000 dollars a year.
Apparently, Mrs. Clinton also lives in a glass house when it comes to her income verses the average income of “rank and file” women. After throwing rocks at corporate executives who make much more on average than regular employees, an analysis by the Republican PAC America Rising revealed that “Hillary’s income of $16.7 million in 2012 was 321 times higher than the average family in the U.S.”
Clinton’s supporters quickly dismissed then ignored this statistic saying that Mrs. Clinton was an original sponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that was signed into law by President Obama in 2009 giving “workers” the right to take pay discrimination cases to court.
In terms of the party line, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz offered platitudes over substance saying Democrats “are proud to fight for equal pay every single day.”
To whip activists up into a frenzy on the “equal pay for women” issue, Schulz attacked GOP presidential candidates on their “pay-equity” records sidestepping questions about Obama’s and Clinton’s pay practices.
According to Schulz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky were all guilty of adopting pay policies unfavorable to female workers.
In Congress, Democrats have introduced H. R. 620, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would allow employees to share information about their pay and file lawsuits against an employer.
Republican’s countered with legislation in the form of an amendment sponsored by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NB) that would prohibit retaliation by employers against employees for discussing salaries providing grants to states to create “industry-led partnerships” to address pay disparities.
Schulz didn’t mention Senator Fischer in her attacks on Republican pay practices for obvious reasons revealing a promising tactic to shut Democratic Party operatives up when it comes to sexist criticism of Republican candidates as the 2016 presidential race unfolds.