...and it's obviously because they are total anti-abortion-rights misogynists. The fact that they've become quite savvy about the political chess games played in Washington for their combined 20-something years couldn't possibly have anything to do with it, right?
Well, that's what the not-actually-fully-empowered-after-all leader of the National Women's History Museum effort would have us believe.
"What they are doing is holding us to a standard that no museum associated with men has ever been held to," museum CEO Joan Wages said. "The content of the museum is being questioned, and it hasn't even been built. The Holocaust museum, the African-American history museum, the Native American museum — they all had very little money in the bank when Congress passed their legislation."
Quick! Somebody get the smelling salts - our delicate Ms. Wages is having a case of the vapors. But hey - what self-respecting feminist be caught without her victim card? The fact is that Coburn and DeMint indeed stopped the progress of the bill, sponsored by no other than the annoyingly flexible Susan Collins, but content isn't the issue submitted into the record. They're asserting that there are already more than 100 women's museums in existence already, and more importantly, the poverty-stricken group will probably be back in short order to ask for tax money to finance the deal. Now, why on earth would the honorable gentlemen suspect such a devious ploy from the weaker sex? Hmmm - let's take a look at the specific examples Ms. Wages proffered, shall we?
- The Holocaust Museum: The museum was “built on land donated by the federal government and funded with more than 200,000 private donations…As required by law, all funds for planning, constructing and equipping the museum were raised exclusively from private, tax-deductible contributions.” That was then, however. Now American taxpayers provide some 67 percent of the Holocaust Museum’s annual budget..."
- The African-American History Museum: From the Department Of Education: "The National Museum of African American History and Culture Act of 2003 authorizes ...a new grant program to strengthen African American museum services. IMLS will make its first grants in this program in 2006." The National Museum of African American History and Culture is scheduled to open in 2015 as a branch of the Smithsonian Institute. Funding comes from the House and Senate Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittees. Their budget is $791 million dollars for 2010. The museum itself is expected to cost $500 million, with half of that amount funded by taxpayers. And despite Our Ms. Wages assertions that men never had the troubles she's having, it took the lobbyists almost 20 years to get this project approved. (Of course, I suspect she would immediately assert all that opposition was simply racist.)
- The National Museum of the American Indian: Originally the million piece private collection of an oil heir in New York, the museum was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1989 after being unable to afford and/or maintain a decent display space for most of its existence. The original estimated construction cost of the museum was $106 million, 2/3rds of which was funded with tax money. The founding director was forced to resign and repay the taxpayers for part of the excessive expenses incurred during his 17 year tenure. These days, it is funded with more of that aforementioned $791 million tax dollars.
So here we are in 2010, listening to some whiny women's group that wants to buy a piece of federal land that is worth somewhere around $60 million. Never mind that they don't have any money - we obviously hate women if they're not allowed to tie up the rights to purchase that land. And we're supposed to believe there's nothing odd about that? Sorry sisters, but that innocent doe-eye-batting thing won't work on me. Even prostitutes earn their money in a more legitimate manner.
Here's how it is going to go. Right now, they're having rich people lunches, raising a little money to fund the construction and, if they're following the methodology constructed by the Holocaust Museum effort, also laying the groundwork to finagle some free land. They'll then pledge the money they've raised as the required private portion of the construction funds while lobbying Congress for three times as much in matching funds. Then, they'll come back and start lobbying for operating grants. After all, that's the way those men did it.
You know what? If those little ladies were really independent, maybe they'd be able to fund their hobby museum with the money they'd saved from clipping coupons or something. Instead, here they are, still begging their old man for money. Girls, is this really the reason we fought for the vote? So we can get our panties in a bunch when somebody won't give us money for shopping the Washington Mall?
Let's be serious. There's no way this vanity project will ever be a self-sustaining enterprise, and unlike a certain oil heir, Meryl Streep sure isn't going to leave her entire fortune in a trust to fund it, either. In short, they want the public to build a monument will undoubtedly suffer from PMS: Perpetual Money Shortages - very apropos, isn't it?
Tom, Jim, here's the deal. If Queen Meryl really wants to wage some cute little femnist war over the contents of our wallets, it is because she's betting that you were brought up not to hit girls, even if they hit you first. Don't worry about it - there's plenty of real, non-dependent women here on the right, and we've totally got your back on this.
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