Kathy Weppner: Victim
Kathy Weppner, for whom you should totally never vote, scored a few points on Monday.
Not against her opponent, but against the Buffalo News. She even recorded a radio ad blasting the News, because she is accusing its Washington correspondent, Jerry Zremski, of misogyny and sexism. For instance,
Hot pink nail polish?Well manicured hands?How sexist!Never had a pro manicure! Hands in dawn dish det for many years.#ChangeYourCongressman
— Kathy Weppner (@KWeppner) October 27, 2014
Here’s something I’ve not said before – Weppner has a point. When I read that passage, I thought that Zremski’s description of Weppner’s manicure was out of line; it’s simply not a way you write about a female candidate for office. But look at the passage within its context:
Looking out over Canalside from the plaza outside downtown Buffalo’s new Courtyard by Marriott on Friday, with the new HarborCenter rising to his left and his brownish hair flying every which way in the breeze, Rep. Brian Higgins talked a bit like a proud father.
“It’s campaign season, so I’ll say it: We had something to do with this,” said Higgins, a Buffalo Democrat whose strong-arming of the New York Power Authority provided the funds to begin the city’s waterfront boom.
But a day earlier at the Lake Effect Diner in University Heights, Higgins’ opponent laid two immaculately manicured hands, with 10 long hot-pink fingernails, out across a pile of paper that foretold doom of one kind or another, and spoke like a very worried mother.
The emphases are mine. Zremski described something about Higgins’ appearance, and described him as a “proud father”, and then described something about Weppner’s appearance, and described her as a “worried mother”. He was more descriptive about Weppner’s nails, admittedly.
He wasn’t blindly mocking Weppner’s fingernails – he was trying to illustrate for readers something about each candidate’s demeanor and appearance. You’ll note that no one quotes the Higgins passage, and plenty of people locally poke fun of Higgins’ sense of style.
Interestingly, the people screaming loudest about this insult are the people who scream loudest against things they call “political correctness” and the “war on women”. People like this guy:
I mean, if you’re going to be a hypocrite, I guess it’s best to do so within the same thread. But you can’t with a straight face complain about PC and then accuse someone of being a celibate or gay or whatever Bauerle’s trying to do here. Bauerle and his buds make all kinds of cracks about Higgins all the time. Their buddy Carl goes so far as to reportedly call Higgins a “cocksucker” in private, and he means it literally. That’s OK, I guess.
But does Weppner not want people to notice her nails? I mean, they neither qualify or disqualify her for office, but they’re quite palpably there.
This is a candidate who refers to women as, “girls” in a video mocking the very notion that there exists a “war on women”. Now she’s a victim of it?
She complains that she never had a professional manicure, but Zremski never said she did – he simply said they were manicured – he didn’t say who did it.
Here’s what I wrote in May about Weppner’s dismissal of the “war on women”:
The “war on women” has been coined as shorthand for policies and proposals that specifically target issues relating solely to females. These can include restrictions on reproductive rights and choices, lax enforcement of workplace anti-discrimination regulations and statutes, outrageous slut shaming of feminists who advocate for women’s rights, and still-prevalent positions held mostly be men that, for instance, women who are beaten or raped must have contributed to their own victimhood; that they brought it on themselves or “deserved” it.
It’s perfectly reasonable for people to argue about how to deal with these sorts of things from different political and moral perspectives, but it’s not reasonable to simply deny that the problems themselves exist. It’s not reasonable to suggest that it’s ok that women are treated like inferiors in the labor market, for instance.
But instead of praising the women who have worked tirelessly for decades to improve the lot of all, Weppner denigrates their fight for equality as the real “victimhood”. Was Susan B. Anthony displaying weakness when she demanded equal rights and suffrage? Were the suffragettes just playing as weakling whiners when they demanded the vote? How about the women who, in the mid-19th century, gained the right to be treated as more than mere chattel under the law?
I do like that this lecture is being delivered from an all-American kitchen with a dollar-store flag in the background. Because patriot.
Kathy Weppner, an allegedly serious person supposedly running for federal elected office, can get on the YouTubes and allege that, when women fight for equality and liberty, they’re really waging war on men. But I’ve got a transvaginal ultrasound right here that says Weppner’s wrong .
Weppner: she rejected the “war on women” before she decided it was politically expedient to become its victim.
I don’t know if I agree with the “war on women” rhetoric, but I do believe that women should be treated as equals with men. I also think that the media need to be mindful of the ways in which they describe female candidates, and Zremski’s attempt to contrast Weppner’s and Higgins’ appearance was clumsy, at best. But there’s nothing here to indicate that he was displaying any animus, or that it was in any way an attempt to de-humanize Weppner because she’s a woman. He should have simply added something more about Higgins’ appearance.
You can’t spend all your time complaining about political correctness, and then try to be politically correct. It’s either a valid concern, or it’s not.
In the end, none of this renders Weppner any more or less electable than she was on Sunday morning – i.e., not remotely.
UPDATE: Here is one of the few remaining clips of Weppner’s WBEN show that exist on the internet, courtesy of WNYMedia.net. In it, she denigrates activist Sandra Fluke for her sex toy agenda or something; “contragestives are being snuck in under the name ‘Ella'”. Sandra Fluke was famously insulted as a “slut” by Viagra huckster Rush Limbaugh for daring to suggest that contraceptives be included in health insurance policy.
When Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a “slut”, Kathy Weppner piled on. She is a hypocrite of the highest order.
Also, a commenter on Twitter suggests that it wasn’t the crack about the fingernails that was insulting, but that the juxtaposition of “proud father/worried mother” is just as troubling. I think it’s an interesting point, although I think that the whole passage was more about color commentary than about substance.
Krusty the Kongressman’s hair has been the punchline of many a wisecrack in Doc’s and the Blackthorn over the years. He hasn’t, that we know of, tweeted or created any ads defending it. I listen to Bauerle on my way home from work, why I can’t say. He never fails in that 25 minute window to congratulate/victimize himself. Likewise he consistently manages to make some cringeworthy statement that would cause most junior high boys to say Really Dude?
And each innuendo is incredibly unfunny and hackneyed.
I love when he brags about any and everything he’s ever managed to accomplish while acting like said bragging is a one time event instead of a running narrative of overcompensation for his manifest failures. Maybe I plan to get a PhD in Abnormal Psychology after I retire and I am keeping tabs on this rare gem of a thesis subject…
I listen because I thought it was comedy. No?
He needs a new suit…!
I tune in as well sometimes, just to see what Bauerle will say. My commute is only 10-15 minutes but he still never fails to amaze and offend while at the same time embarrassing himself. He seems to have never moved beyond a 7th grade level of sexual sophistication or maturity, sad.
you left out that her latest radio commercial basically says, vote for me because I’m a woman and Higgins is not.
Bauerle writing erotic fiction…wow. That’s all sorts of disgusting.
One can only surmise that it involves talking trees with magic snow shoes giving him “the lumber”…….
Hah, right.
“I awoke from a deep sleep to the feeling I was being watched…erotically. I pushed back my covers and belt-fed M60 and crept towards the window, and saw him – the old Oak tree I had silently longed for. His limbs so broad and strong, his acorns sizeable and firm..”
Such ignorant misogyny. It’s simply common sense when out to match your claw color to the stain you leave on a straw.
Never been a woman but have been a dairy farmer and a chief engineer. So I know, for sure, that sporting nails like that tells you that no physical work of almost any kind has ever been done or those long nails would be cracked, broken and beat up, like mine.
Maybe I should try a good Dawn soaking.
(Willing to bet ten to one she has a dishwasher)
try using a gel coat…!!
Try catching a clue……
That stuff lasts forever!
As a fellow engineer I concur, I guess farming and engineering take a combination of intelligence, common sense, and hard work (not necessarily in that or any order).
Weppner appears to lack all those qualities, she rejects those silly fact checkers, believes in bizarre conspiracies, and looks like she hasn’t “lifted a finger” so to speak in quite some time.
That’s quite a classy look with the nails. Kinda has that “hooker” thing goin’ on and for sure she’s working hard washin’ those dishes……
Alan it would be nice if you actually sat down with Kathy and gave her a little bit of your time, see if you can find common ground. I am positive you could 🙂
I’m sure that I could. I find common ground with lots of people, even people with whom I vehemently disagree about a lot of things.
The funniest thing is that I’m the only person who’s not totally in the tank for her who’s writing about her campaign, and she blocked me on Twitter and from the Facebook campaign page. Aside from being silly (why block the only person giving you any [digital] ink?) I don’t take that as being an invitation for a sit-down. No hard feelings – I’m not clamoring to be un-blocked.
This is before we get to the substance of what she’s said and advocated for, and the fundamental un-electability of someone who deletes from the internet any pre-campaign audio and writing that ever existed.
I’m sure she’s a nice lady and a great mother and a wonderful friend, but as a political entity she is wrong on just about everything.
I can’t appreciate my district representative… anytime I’ve written to him (who I have supported in the past) Never replies, only with a boilerplate response. He lacks concerns for the everyday taxpayer in his district. He takes credit for others hard work, like the Breckenridge Street toll booths being removed (one example) He never comes into the communities (9 districts in Buffalo) other than a photo-op for ribbon cutting & shovels? The City is in dire need of street repairs and underground infrastructure repairs <-Something I've been fighting for years. The quality of life for many of us has stalled drastically. It is hard to find a decent candidate that listens to our concerns, and I see that in Kathy, she honestly listens. Just like he did with Mike Madigan, will not debate… unless it's in a controlled arena. Another person I support is Mark Grisanti, he will personally get back to his constituents and he listens. He is the one that brings the bacon and my representative decides on how to disburse the funds… Unfortunately it's not in areas you can see driving by on the interstate. Sad, but true. (I'm not a writer so forgive my bad writing habits)
Respectfully, if you are on the economic rung you espouse to be, Kathy doesn’t give a hot shit about you. By her own admission to Limbaugh, her family is above the 250k range and people like you and me are “takers”, forgetting the enormous wealth the top 1% has vacuumed up through mostly but not all Republican policies.
Higgins is new to my district as my old district was gerrymandered out. But there can be no dispute he has brought an unusual amount of federal money to WNY. Now if you are like some on this site, that’s a bad thing and I am not unsympathetic to that thinking. But fuck, look around, we are finally, finally getting our shit together and it is happening through public money followed by the private sector.
Why would Higgins debate someone who is barely even known (other than by political junkies), who lies about and tries to hide her past, who represents everything that has been wrong with this country economically speaking, and who has no chance of winning. Brian Higgins may not be perfect but he’s done more for WNY than all the rest of the local politicians combined. You better find someone else to support this November cause your girl is going down in a landslide…..
1. If you call or write with a general concern or complaint, or to lodge an opinion, you’re going to get a boilerplate response from any politician. If you contact his office with a genuine emergency (social security, immigration, passport, veteran’s benefits) that touches on federal jurisdiction, his staff will assist you, just like Collins’ would assist even me.
2. City streets are well outside of federal jurisdiction. Higgins has no control whatsoever over it.
3. Higgins has no control over state or local or school taxes you pay.
4. The toll booth issue was a success, so as the adage goes, it has many fathers.
5. Kathy “listens” but what comes out of her mouth is repugnant, 99% of the time.
6. The League of Women Voters never sponsored debates locally under its Buffalo Niagara chapter. It served as timekeeper for debates, but never sponsored them. What it did sponsor was what it calls candidate “forums” or “meetings”. I’ll tell you this: Kathy has no begun running a campaign against the LWV and against the Buffalo News. If she’s this easily distracted from her putative goal during a campaign, she’d be lousy at government, too.
My point is… he does distribution of funds in #NY26
We should get our share for “Infastructure”. Sink holes, waterline breaks etc. It’s a mess!
If he has no control, why does he show up for photo ops when something does get done?
He NEVER has town hall meetings… he’s not Chuck Schumer.
My point is… he out of touch with his constituents. And you have no skin in this race…. he’s not your representative, Chris Collins is. I see him at many functions and honesty, I share my concerns with him and he listens?
Your points noted but no excuse for the Higster!
You see Collins at events because you go to right-wing events. As a non-right-wing constituent of his, I have seen him at exactly zero events.
With that said, Higgins shows up to celebrate wins that he’s had some hand in helping or getting funding for. He’s not in charge of the city’s pothole repair.
Is it right that you spew your ugly opinions about Kathy when you don’t live in the district? Whatever happened to being fair and let the people decide?
Reporting facts not opinions would be refreshing. Maybe you would get more readers?
She also sends her mailers to non-constituents (ME in particular). I wont speak on Alan’s behalf, but like him, i may reside outside the district, but a lot of my daily grind happens in NY26. So why do any of us care? Simple, Klownshoes Kathy wants to go to Washington and ignore her district to go fight ebola, ISIS and for gun rights in Canada. Higgins is fighting for a better quality of life in NY26. And his “ugly opinions” are all derived on her rhetoric. So technically, they are her ugly opinions laid out for us to read (and in my case, enjoy like they were the Sunday comics)
This is an opinion blog. Alan’s never made any secret of that. It’s his personal take on whatever he feels like writing about, in the same way that the Leonard Pitts, Froma Harrop et al columns that the Buffalo News carries are simply those people’s personal thoughts. I don’t see how he’s preventing people from deciding anything by stating his opinions about Weppner. And he’s got a right to tackle any topic he chooses. He’s written about Niagara Falls and Albania in the past, despite not living in either place.
I, too, would like to believe that reporting facts, not opinions, would garner one more attention. In an era when millions tune in to cable news for their rampant speculation and angry rants, I suspect that’s sadly not the case anymore.
Your the one spewing rhetoric. Your girl is going down in epic proportions next Tuesday and she/you have nothing to blame for it but yourselves…..go find another soapbox…..
1. If you can point out one factual error, please do so.
2. What I do is write my opinion. This is something I’ve done since 2003. You don’t agree, so you claim it’s unfair or “ugly”.
3. So what if I don’t live in the district? I live in the region and it matters who represents us.
4. I don’t need advice from you.
Is this a joke? Kathy and her WBEN cohorts do nothing but spew ugly opinions. Which is why I finally just stopped listening to the regions supposed “news source” and spend time encouraging people to not buy from their sponsors.
I don’t think Alan would even attempt to do that unless the candidate
was a Democrat. For someone who’s not totally in the tank for her you
are most floating at the top of the tank.
I’m not defending Kathy either. She went back and scrubbed comments she made in the past. If she is doing that now what would stop her once elected.
Tony, let’s just say you don’t know me.
The writer did a good job describing Brian Higgins more distinct feature, his wildly out of control hair. Every time I run into him, I cant stop staring at the coif, and i want to buy him a comb or even a hat.
I think it’s tougher to do that with KW. I mean, if she was described as a Joe Walsh lookalike, i’m pretty sure the proverbial shit would have hit the fan in the studio @ AM 930
Every-time I see her posts of her in sunglasses with a mic in hand, I’m expecting her to belt out a few verses from Rocky Mountain Way
Joe Walsh lookalike? Holy shit. Hilarious. Was thinking Rod Stewart but I like your vision.
dammit, i cant share a pic! i found the perfect one too…..
Bases are loaded and Kathy’s at bat
lets see if the pic shows up
Weppner has a long history (now deleted) of bashing the poor, the tea party mantra of the “takers” versus the “job creators”. The facts and common sense don’t support this argument but it plays very well with the rubes and the haters.
Income inequality is by far our greatest challenge and has undermined our economy, our society, and our government. We need to address that root problem, Weppner’s ideology would only perpetuate and increase inequity.
I have deleted some comments that mocked Weppner’s personal appearance. I don’t think it’s fair commentary. There’s enough substantive reasons why she’s horrible, let’s keep it to that.
OK – now that that is over…can we officially end this moron’s 15 minutes? Please KKKathy, sink back into the obscurity of your life as Williamsville Stepford Wife. The only damage you can do anymore is tooling your Escalade around the village, menacing pedestrians and other drivers between the BAC for Women and Wegmans.