Women's Perspectives About Boscola - Disgust

I was appropriately put in my place a few days ago by a female blogger at LVPoliblog. "[I]t seems to me a lot of men are writing about what is important to women on blogs, but they don't really have a clue. I don't like when someone says they are speaking for me, when they don't know a thing about me." So this post is devoted entirely to female perspectives on Senator Lisa Boscola's decision to retain a sexist and misogynist chief of staff.

Look Out Lehigh Valley is one of two female bloggers that Boscola chief of staff Kieklak viciously attacked with sexual accusations. Here's part of what she wrote at LVPoliblog.

I guess I'm feeling slightly, well.... slighted that the story has been that he mouthed off about Charlie and Sam, but seemingly its no big deal that he shot extremely nasty insults my way. In the same breath, Boscola called both Sam and Charlie to apologize, but makes no mention at all anywhere that she's sorry that her chief of staff verbally attacked a 23 year old private citizen. I guess maybe as far as they are concerned it's no big deal that I was spoken to this way since neither of them will ever have to convince me to give them funding or support for a bill. I'm not saying I want a phone call from Boscola apologizing to me - I just want Lisa or Bernie K to stand up and say "Its inappropriate for him/me to speak to anyone the way I did, not just other elected officials or candidates." One of my coworkers said to me yesterday "well, they're all just missing the point."

Pamela Varkony, an Allentown writer and former member of Allentown city council, is the founder of Power of Women. She's also the Perspectives blogger at The Morning Call. Reading her blog is like sitting in some one's living room, having a nice conversation. Here's Pam's perspective.

What I want to say is directed to Lisa Boscola, woman to woman: Lisa, what you have done by leaving Bernie Kieklak in a position of authority on your staff and in your life, has set women's leadership back ten years. I am beyond disappointed, I am disgusted.

In a subsequent comment, Pam offers a possible explanation why there is no hue and outcry from women's groups. "I believe that if a male politician had retained a member of his staff who had said such things, there would be a much louder outcry from women in general and women's organizations in particular. But because 'the boss' is a woman and she's giving him a pass, so is everyone else."

Dottie, at LVPoliblog, chimes in with this. "[W]e should write letters to the editor, and question why the other elected women like Jennifer Mann are not speaking out on this. I saw two letters to the editor in the paper today but I believe they were written by men."

Finally, Aphrodite's Daughter, also at LVPoliblog, has this. "Today I wrote a letter to the Morning Call asking that the women who hold elected office in our community state publicly how they feel about the creep Bernie Kieklak's remarks. I would like a public C-O-N-D-M-N-A-T-I-O-N of Senator Boscola's overly lenient and inadequate punishment of her Chief of staff, by someone in government, mostly a powerful woman. I'd write a letter to Lt. Governor Knoll, but I'm not sure she's all there to begin with."