This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Why have Sen. Mike Lee, Gov. Gary Herbert and Rep. Jason Chaffetz finally become offended by Donald Trump? Using the name Pocahontas in a degrading manner, saying a judge can't do his job because he is Mexican, accusing the president of not being born in the United States, demeaning people based on race, religion, disability, gender, weight, looks, was not sufficient to cause them to separate themselves from Donald Trump.
Maybe Mitt Romney's words help us understand why now Donald Trump's words matter. In Nevada, campaigning for a Republican senator, Romney said, Trump is "degrading to our women." Why are Trump's words not degrading to all women? Why is it "our women"? Why are the comments not degrading to all people, men and women? Now that we have heard Trump grossly ogle a beautiful, thin, white woman walking toward him, are some men concerned about the treatment of "their" women?
I am sure Romney and others mean well. Maybe these leaders should think about how they have voted on issues such as violence against women, equal pay, rape laws, family leave for men and women. I say to them: Here is an opportunity to show that you are not simply paternalistic toward "your" women, but you support equality and empowerment for all people, all women, even those women you think are "yours."
Charlotte L. Miller
Salt Lake City