Yesterday, during the Barrett confirmation hearings, Senator Kennedy asked Barrett a question about her home life.
It was obviously intended as a light moment after three days of grueling testimony, in which Barrett clearly displayed her command of the law and the Constitution and in which she endured questions about her own sexual history and addressed charges by a (“butthead”) professor who claimed she was a colonialist and a racist for adopting two children from Haiti.
Naturally, those on the Left pounced on Kennedy’s question—calling it sexist, paternalistic, and grossly inappropriate. Some radical feminists even attacked Barrett for politely answering the question (that she hopes her children will do their own laundry) instead of chiding Kennedy for his question.
Yet, the thing that amuses me, and what’s really sexist here, is that the leftists and feminists assume Kennedy was only talking about her doing the laundry. Why assume that?
Amy Coney Barrett is married to a very successful lawyer. They clearly have a good marriage and they support each other professionally and personally. Considering that both parents work in demanding jobs and the number of kids they have, it’s pretty clear that it’s a busy household!
What doesn’t occur to these leftists is that married couples can be partners in all things—raising kids, chores, errands, homework, cooking, bill paying, cleaning, and LAUNDRY! And when both parents work, sometimes the household chores fall through the cracks.
Surely one of the reasons the Barretts make it work is that they are a deeply religious couple. As Naomi Schaeffer Riley recently wrote in a New York Post article, religious activity and participation matters when it comes to spousal equality.
Senator Kennedy is well aware of the Barrett’s strong marriage and their deep faith. Perhaps he should have phrased the question to include her husband when he asked a lighthearted question about household chores. Or maybe leftists and feminists should get a life and a sense of humor.