Sometimes a politician says something so absurd and tone-deaf that you wonder whether they're trying to sabotage their own public career.
We've had our eye on Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy for some time. We covered one of his more absurd moments a few months ago. But we've rarely seen in local politics anything to match his recent trashing of efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
So we're officially launching our "Steve Christy Mansplains" series. This is Episode One.
This incident was covered in the Green Valley News at the time, but no other southern Arizona news outlet picked it up.
You know, it would be one thing if Christy spoke against women's rights legislation on rational, fact-based grounds. Then we could debate the merits. We wouldn't agree, but we might be able to have a rational debate.
But that's not what he did.
You can watch the whole meeting segment on our YouTube channel, excerpted from the official County video, and draw your own conclusions. It's about seven minutes long. We'll embed a short excerpt below. And see the end of this post for the full-length video embedded and a transcript of Christy's remarks.
The segment begins as Supervisor Sharon Bronson introduces a resolution supporting the Arizona legislature's efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which would provide that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
(Had it been written today, it would have said "gender" rather than "sex." In contemporary usage, "gender" is what it means.)
After Bronson's motion is seconded by Ramón Valadez, Christy is first to speak during discussion. He holds up a copy of the Wall Street Journal and says, "The headlines in the recent Wall Street Journal say that women outnumbered men in the workforce in December." True. But then he loses any connection to the world as we know it when he goes on, "So obviously there is absolutely zero discrimination being inflicted upon women in the workforce."
At this point Bronson scoffs audibly, Board Chairman Richard Elías guffaws, and a gasp ripples around the meeting room.
That little bit is immortalized in our excerpt:
As we're sure our readers already know, that's hogwash. Not only is it a leap of unconnected illogic from the percentage of women in the workforce to non-discrimination, but the statistics say emphatically that women are not treated equally. In fact, Christy only had to read a couple of paragraphs further into the same WSJ article he was waving around, and he'd have seen that yes, more women are entering the workforce. "However, those jobs are often in lower-paying fields, and those workers tend to be paid less than white, male counterparts."
Yes, we're quoting from the same article.
Then Christy, undeterred, digs himself in deeper. He suggests that the "original Constitution" already provides equal protection by incorporating phrases like "for all people," "liberty and justice for all," "equal justice of all." There's only one difficulty: Those phrases are nowhere in the US Constitution.
Do we have to say more? This is a stunning display of ignorance combined with utter lack of logical thinking. This guy doesn't deserve to be representing Pima County's residents.
Which is why we're so pleased to see that for the first time in 24 years this seat on the Board is being contested by a Democrat. And not just any Democrat, a solid candidate with business and community experience. See our previous post for more about Steve Diamond, and visit his website at VoteSteveDiamond.com.
Here's the full-length video, embedded:
And here's our unofficial transcript of Christy's remarks. You're invited to check it against the video for accuracy.
Supervisor Christy:
I read this resolution and I thought I was in a time warp back in college, because this is when I first remember it being brought forth. And, if I recall, there was a 1982 deadline involved with it. But, be that as it may, to speak directly to the resolution: If you look at any of the latest newspapers or news sources [holds up Wall Street Journal], it's universally accepted that “the fortunes of women in the labor market will determine the overall outcome of the labor market because they will be the predominant share.” [Marianne Wanamaker, a labor economist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and former adviser to President Trump, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 10, 2020.]
The headlines in the recent Wall Street Journal say that women outnumbered men in the workforce in December. So obviously there is absolutely zero discrimination being inflicted upon women in the workforce.
[exclamations audible on the dais and in the room]
The wording in the original Constitution seems pretty inclusive -- “for all people,” “liberty and justice for all,” “equal justice of all” -- and if there was such outrage as far as any kind of discrimination or issues of that, there are many lawyers that have in the past taken up that cause and have made sure that those issues are rectified and that justice has been served.
Women also have the opportunity to vote with their feet. If one employer doesn't pay what that job is worth, they can certainly go to a number of other employers for better pay.
I look at this in two ways: one, as a solution looking for a problem, and secondly, that this is another example of the resolutions that have come before this Board that will have absolutely no effect for their intended use, have really nothing at this particular point to do with Pima County business, and I will be obviously voting against this resolution.