Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Roseanne Barr Calls for End to Mommy Wars

The last time The Shmooze noticed what the outspoken Roseanne Barr was up to, she had just announced that she was running for the Green Party’s presidential nomination. Now, we’ve taken note that she has inserted herself into the recent debate ignited by Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney’s “never having worked a day in her life.”

“I almost got sick to my stomach when I heard Hilary Rosen’s unfortunate words regarding Mrs. Mitt Romney,” Barr wrote in an April 16 piece for the Daily Beast. “It’s a shame that Rosen lobbed the Romney campaign a fat political softball they could smack over the gender fence. It’s especially unfortunate because Romney was on the ropes with American women, at least the ones with an IQ higher than Ramblin’ Rick Santorum’s. After the Republicans had alienated at least half the voting public by all but condemning birth control, suddenly Rosen’s remark enabled them to self-righteously assume the role of defenders of American motherhood,” she continued without mincing words.

Then she went on to rant specifically against the Romneys, and in general against “Women of the Right” and the GOP. But she concluded with a rebuke to both the Republicans and the Democrats, accusing them of diverting the conversation from things that really matter with regard to women’s reproductive rights and economic policies affecting the distribution of wealth.

Calling the mommy wars a “fake issue,” she wrote: “Let us not be dragged back into the ‘working mom versus stay-at-home mom’ dialogue. Let us stay on topic, working to create new solutions that work for the majority of all people in the U.S. instead of getting caught up in these silly, divisive audibles both parties employ as their Hail Mary attempts to throw us off task.”

It’s really no surprise that presidential candidate Barr, who used to like to be (ironically) referred to as “The Domestic Goddess” would want to weigh in on this matter. What remains to be seen, however, is whether her stand on the issue will affect how people vote.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.