Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is under fire for an unusual caterpillar-centric defense of the so-called Republican “war on women” in an interview scheduled to air later this week.
According to Priebus, the war on women is a fictional media narrative.
“If the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and mainstream media outlets talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we have problems with caterpillars,” he said on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt.”
“The fact of the matter is it’s a fiction,” he added.
Democrats wasted little time harpooning Priebus for his analogy.
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who will also be appearing on the show, issued a statement Thursday claiming that Priebus’ comments show that the GOP does not understand the issue.
“[T]o have the head of the GOP say these attacks on women are as fictional as a ‘war on caterpillars’ is callous and dismissive of what matters to women and completely out of touch,” she said.
The Democratic National Committee also took to Twitter to attack the comment.
“GOP chair dismisses his party’s attacks on women’s rights, comparing it to a “war on caterpillars.” #WomenArentInsects,” said one tweet.
The Hill reports that Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter is requesting that the Romney campaign respond to the characterization, saying the remarks show “how little regard leading Republicans, including Mitt Romney, have for women’s health.”
“Women are already abandoning the Republican Party in droves because of their antiquated positions on women’s health and out-of-touch policies on the middle class,” Cutter said. “Reince Priebus’ comments today only reinforce why women simply cannot trust Mitt Romney or other leading Republicans to stand up for them.”