Kirk's Mocking Comment Reflects GOP Bias Against Women And Minorities

I know it is usually not helpful to take a single incident and make it a reflection of a greater truth. But sometimes it really does seem appropriate. Could there be any greater example of the demeaning attitude of the current male Republican elites toward women and minorities than the exchange between Mark Kirk and Tammy Duckworth at last night’s Illinois’ Senate debate:

Duckworth: “My family has served this nation in uniform, going back to the Revolution. I’m a daughter of the American Revolution. I’ve bled for this nation. But I still want to be there in the Senate when the drums of war sound. Because people are quick to sound the drums of war, and I want to be there to say this is what it costs, this is what you’re asking us to do. … Families like mine are the ones that bleed first.”
Kirk: “I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.”

Can you imagine Kirk responding that way to a male whose family emigrated to America from Judeo-Christian Europe. Can you imagine him saying that to a decorated war-hero who had lost both legs and was a man. Not a chance. And the most disgusting part of his remark is that, while Duckworth’s mother is Thai-Chinese, her father’s family has lived in this country since before independence and Duckworth herself is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. But if you are a woman or a minority, you are apparently will never be “American” enough.