Category: Awards

"One of the things that you always want to be for, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, is that you want everyone who's eligible to vote to vote. … I think that all of this stuff that has transpired over the last two years is in search of a solution to a problem, voting fraud, that doesn’t really exist when you look deeply at the question. It’s part of the mythology now in the Republican Party that there’s widespread voter fraud across the country. In fact, there’s not," – Steve Schmidt, top McCain strategist in '08.

“My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people — not all of them, but most of them — who are still basing their positions on race. Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that’s despicable,” – Laurence Wilkerson, former chief-of-staff for Colin Powell.

For our many new readers, a glossary for all our awards is here. We invite you to nominate anything you find in each category and email them in for consideration. At the end of the year, all Dishheads get to vote on the champion for the year in each category.

Many readers are pushing back against our implied defense of Chait's defense of Romney:

"Binders full of women" was not an awkward phrasing the way "You didn't build that" was really just an awkward phrasing. It was the sentiment behind the whole exchange that is offensive: In response to a question about pay equity (which he never answered), Romney talks about how, in 2002(!), after many years in private equity, he or his senior staff didn't know a single qualified woman who could have held a senior position, and had to conduct an extensive search for one? And then implied that women need to go home by 5pm to get back in the kitchen for their kids? What if women OR men need to go home at 5pm for some other reason? Workplace flexibility isn't a "women" specific issue, and the entire awkward answer had nothing to do with the question he was asked, which was about pay equity.

Another:

Romney was in Boston, possibly Ground Zero for the entire country and maybe even the world for highly-educated and highly-accomplished professional women. You can’t go anywhere around here without bumping into a female PhD, MD, JD, or MBA.  The idea that neither he nor his staff knew ANYONE who was female and qualified in Massachusetts is just mind-boggling.

I don’t think he would have done it maliciously or with a conscious intent to discriminate. I do think that his worldview, influenced by a very conservative religion when it comes to gender roles as well as his conservative politics, creates enormous blind spots.

Another:

But I have to believe you are aware of the story behind those binders – you posted it on the Dish yesterday, didn't you?  You posted about how Romney only had those "binders of women" because MassGAP pressed them on him.  He was not actively seeking qualified women to be part of his administration, this had not been a concern of his at Bain, odds are the thought never would have occurred to him independently.

So I am confused by the Yglesias nominee.  It is out of sync with everything else you have posted.

An Yglesias Award is for writing something that might not be on message for your particular cause or candidate. So Chait qualifies. And what he was saying is that the phrase "binders full of women" was a gaffe that is not worth the attention that other subjects deserve. The issue of Romney's views of women and policy with particular interest to women is a separate matter. And I agree with my readers on that. I just felt the meme was a little strained after a day of fun.

Chait finally says what needs to be said about those “binders” fixating Piers Morgan.

"I am committed to conservatism: I am more conservative on social issues than is the norm in the Pacific Northwest. I believe interpretations of our Constitution should preserve the original intent of our Founding Fathers. And my worldview is grounded in Catholic faith tradition. It is for these reasons that I support Washington’s gay marriage law. Although gay marriage is usually perceived as a liberal position, I actually see this law as being consistent with conservatism, especially when viewed within its root: 'to save, guard, protect,'" – Kent Hickey, president of Seattle Prep, the city's Jesuit high school since 1891.

(Hat tip: Dan Savage)

"Mitt's window to turn the economic debate around is [Wednesday.] And his alleged supporters just shit on it. An abysmally selfish and stupid event," – Alex Castellanos, on the racist Drudge-Hannity-Carlson gambit.