A recent Facebook post by the Texas Young Democrats (TYD) appeared to be hypocritical in regards to left-of-center speech regulation. On March 20, the group posted a photograph of former Texas Governor Ann Richards holding a newspaper that reads “She Whups Him!” following a victory over Clayton Williams. Meanwhile, the group openly embraces Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, who has made a point to bring women’s rights to the forefront of discussion in the Lone Star State.
Davis and her supporters claim to want gender “equality,” and the TYD’s recent post was clearly made in that spirit. Still, it is easy to surmise that language of such violent imagery would never be endorsed by TYD if gender roles were reversed; a photo of victorious male politician were holding a newspaper that read “He Whups Her!” would likely be branded “offensive” by the political group.
Groups like the TYD often assume women are the victims of most domestic abuse. But in reality, it is likely that a relatively equal number of men and women are victims of such violence. A study by Murray Straus of the University of New Hampshire found that in incidents involving severe violence since 1977, about 1.8 million women were victims and 2 million men were victims, according to reports from The Daily Beast. Straus said that male victims suffer from “selective inattention.”
Still, TYD president John Canales Gorczynski defended the photo posted by his group. He told Breitbart Texas, “The headline in the photo referred to Governor Ann Richards’ decisive victory over Republican Clayton Williams–a man who suggested during the campaign that women should ‘relax and enjoy’ rape. Her victory was worthy of celebration then and Texas Young Democrats celebrate her leadership as a political pioneer to this day.”
Indeed, in 1990 Williams made a remark suggesting that some victims of rape should ”relax and enjoy it.” But TYD opponents claim the group’s post is hypocritical because under true equality, domestic violence is always bad and should never be celebrated or promoted.
Mark C. Brown, Chairman Emeritus of the Texas Young Republicans Federation (TYRF) told Breitbart Texas, “Apparently, the Young Democrats are so out-of-touch with the values of modern Texans, they don’t even realize how inappropriate it is to celebrate headlines promoting violence between men and women.”
He added, “But what do you expect from a group that reminisces about some long defeated governor of a bygone era instead of offering real solutions for the challenges and needs of modern day Texans?”
Richard Morgan, the current Chair of TYRF, told Breitbart Texas that he does not find the headline offensive. “What I do find offensive is hypocrisy,” he said.
Often, the actions of Democrats and their affiliate organizations do not reconcile to their rhetoric. As Breitbart Texas previously reported, Wendy Davis has continually used her failed Texas Equal Pay Act to portray herself as a defender of women and equal pay. In a twist of irony, it was recently revealed that Davis, who is still a practicing attorney, personally defended a public entity that was sued for gender discrimination under the Ledbetter law.
On March 7, Davis released a list of public-sector clients to local media that her law firm, Newby Davis, has represented since 2010. On that list was Tarrant Regional Water District, an entity sued by a female employee for gender discrimination according to employment litigation trackers. In December 2010, Tamara Villanueva did not receive a five percent raise, which she believed she was entitled to. She accused the District of denying her the raise because of her gender.
“Senator Wendy Davis has now mastered the Texas two-step as she continues to launch attacks over equal pay while shielding her own record of defending gender discrimination,” Texans for Greg Abbott Communications Director Matt Hirsch said in a statement.
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate
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