“You’re toast, Graham,” cracked Ms. McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat.
This comment, as reported by the New York Times this morning, was said in jest by Senator Claire McCaskill to Senator Lindsey Graham as she walked past him before a Senate Armed Services Committee.
This is an example of a powerful woman using humor towards a powerful man. You have to wonder: did Senator McCaskill’s comment put Senator Graham off balance? Perhaps, or perhaps Senator McCaskill uses sarcastic humor frequently and he is used to it. I think that the fact the New York Times quoted her as saying what she did is notable. Until recently, we have not been used to women wielding humor towards men in powerful positions. But now we are.
The ratio of women to men on the in the senate is still small, but the 20 senators who are women are using their power in significant ways to effect change. The exposure of the alarming number of rapes in the US military may be in part due to the women Senators serving on the Armed Services Committee. The Senator for New York, Kirsten Gilibrand said when she served on the House Armed Services Committee. “The men asked all the questions about ships, hardware, that sort of thing,” she said. “We asked why divorce and suicide rates were so high.”
Women bring a new perspective to whatever table they are sitting at, and it benefits everyone. And we are using humor to accent–and perhaps even strengthen– the power we have.
You can find me on twitter, where I am sometimes humorous.
Senator McCaskill's Humorous Jab At Senator Graham Is Newsworthy
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