It his attempted take-down of American conservative punditry, David Frum posited that there are no woman at The Federalist, a publication for which I, an actual woman, am a senior contributor.
It his attempted take-down of American conservative punditry, The Atlantic's David Frum posited that there are no women at The Federalist, a publication for which I, an actual woman, am a senior contributor.
I don't think it's a coincidence that this group includes no women. https://t.co/bAnVzHCE6w
— David Frum (@davidfrum)
Frum is doing his classic thing of bashing Trump, and anyone he feels is affiliated with Trump, and he's doing so by using social justice arguments of diversity and inclusion to do it.
But with The Federalist, which was co-founded by Mollie Hemingway, and is helmed by executive editor Joy Pullman, he's got it dead wrong. The masthead of women writers and editors at The Federalist speaks for itself. Talented, outspoken, thoughtful, considerate, open-minded, hard-nosed, badass women write for The Federalist.
We have more women writers and editorial representation than any other major publication, period. And I have more babies than every other woman editor in the entire world. ? https://t.co/lKeIs3vvCV
— Joy Pullmann (@JoyPullmann)
But for Frum, who wants to believe that someone who he doesn't agree with on one issue, like Trump, is also opposed to every other ivory pillar of his dogmatic ideology, the fact that The Federalist is fully vested in brilliant women writers is not a fact he can afford.
The other outlets he takes down are simply men, who undoubtedly have women on their considerable staffs, such as Tucker Carlson. Carlson's show routinely features women, has featured two from this publication, as well as those from The Federalist, the New York Post, and other editorial outlets.
Joe Rogan has hosted a number of fascinating women on his show, including Debra Soh and Melissa Chen, two thinkers who any intellectual would be remiss in ignoring.
Glenn Greenwald co-founded The Intercept, and though he announced today that he left that publication, the editor-in-chief is Betsy Reed.
Donald Trump, Jr. the president's son, is a guy, as is Matt Taibbi. Frum put together this list of influential conservatives and heterodox thinkers, then claimed their were no women on it, despite including a publication heavily staffed and run by women. Does Frum even have any idea what he's talking about?
There's this pervasive idea on the left that the right is opposed to women, LGBT+ folks, black, indigenous, persons of colour, and anyone else that can be perceived of as having been marginalized. But it's not true, evidence proves that it's not true. While past iterations of both the Republican and Democrat parties undoubtedly left people out, for reasons having to do with bias and prejudice, that is no longer true of the conservative side of things.
Instead, contemporary conservatism is about treating everyone with dignity and respect, assuming that each individual is the ruler of their own destiny, has agency and the ability to make their own choices, and that rights to liberty and freedom are paramount to other concerns. Women want their freedom too, and the women of The Federalist are lovers of liberty, and anxious for the fray.
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
