Stephen Moore’s History of Misogyny Disqualifying for the Fed

April 17, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Add a record of anti-women rhetoric to the long list of reasons why Stephen Moore has no business overseeing the nation’s monetary policy. From his advice to men in a “position of power” to never take meetings alone with women, to waxing nostalgic about a “bygone era” when “drunken, lustful frat boys” could “chase skirts” before “radical feminism” came along, Moore’s extreme views don’t even belong on a construction site, let alone on the Federal Reserve Board.

“Stephen Moore’s antiquated beliefs don’t stop at economic policy. He also relishes trafficking in sexism and misogyny like he’s in an 80s frat flick,” said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Allied Progress. “President Trump may see a kindred spirit in Moore when it comes to degrading women, but his views have no place on the Fed board or in any government position for that matter.” 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

In A 2000 Column, Stephen Moore Wrote That White Males Were The “New Oppressed Minority On College Campuses” Because Of “Radical Feminism”…

In September 2000, Stephen Moore Criticized “Radical Feminism” For Helping Make White Males “The New Oppressed Minority On College Campuses.” “There is a new oppressed minority on college campuses these days, and it is not women, blacks, Latinos or gays. In fact in this era of ultra-political correctness at universities, these other groups enjoy such an exalted status of privilege that even the most unintended slur can lead a student to instant expulsion. No, the group that has fallen into great disfavor is the white male. You see, your son is an oppressor and is being forced to pay for the sins of his father and grandfathers. It is a well-established fact that radical feminism has taken over the culture, especially at the elite East Coast universities.” [Stephen Moore, “Cornered on campus,” The Washington Times, 09/05/00]

…Reminisced About The “Bygone Era” When College Students Did “Stupid Things” And “Chase[d] Skirts”…

Moore Reminisced About A “Bygone Era” When College Students Did “Stupid Things” And “Chase[d] Skirts.” “They also seem hell bent on draining all the fun out of college life. Colleges are places for rabble-rousing. For men to lose their boyhood innocence. To do stupid things. To stay out way too late drinking. To chase skirts. (At the University of Illinois, we used to say that the best thing about Sunday nights was sleeping alone.) It’s all a time-tested rite of passage into adulthood. […] Now all that is turning into a bygone era. How is this for sacrilege? Dartmouth has announced plans to open up fraternities to women. Many schools now require men to go through a sensitivity training during their orientation. Can you imagine Bluto of Animal House suffering through this indignity?” [Stephen Moore, “Cornered on campus,” The Washington Times, 09/05/00]

…And Suggested That If Women “Were So Oppressed And Offended,” They Wouldn’t Show Up “In Droves In Tight Skirts To The Keg Parties.”

Stephen Moore Wrote, “The Women Seemed To Survive Just Fine. If They Were So Oppressed And Offended By Drunken, Lustful Frat Boys, Why Is It That On Friday Nights They Showed Up In Droves In Tight Skirts To The Keg Parties?”“They also seem hell bent on draining all the fun out of college life. Colleges are places for rabble-rousing. For men to lose their boyhood innocence. To do stupid things. To stay out way too late drinking. To chase skirts. (At the University of Illinois, we used to say that the best thing about Sunday nights was sleeping alone.) It’s all a time-tested rite of passage into adulthood. And the women seemed to survive just fine. If they were so oppressed and offended by drunken, lustful frat boys, why is it that on Friday nights they showed up in droves in tight skirts to the keg parties?” [Stephen Moore, “Cornered on campus,” The Washington Times, 09/05/00]

Stephen Moore Said “It’s Probably Not A Good Idea” For Powerful Men To Have Meetings Alone With Women Because Of Sexual Harassment Claims, Citing Bill O’Reilly And Donald Trump As Examples.

Stephen Moore Said, “If You’re In A Position Of Power, It’s Probably Not A Good Idea” To “Have A Meeting With A Woman Without Someone Else In The Room,” Citing Bill O’Reilly And Donald Trump As Examples. “Stephen Moore: I remember I had a meeting with a major, you know, top 20 CEO of Fortune 100 company. and he said to me about two or three years ago something that I thought was very good advice for people who run companies, this is very good advice. He said, ‘I would never have a meeting with a woman without someone else in the room.’ And this is, unfortunately, this is where we’re at today. If you are in a position of power, a Bill O’Reilly, a Donald Trump, anyone who is running a company, you cannot be in a room, you just can’t. Kirsten Powers: Sean Hannity has never been accused of sexual harassment. Sean Hannity has never been accused of sexual harassment. Anderson Cooper has never been accused of sexual harassment. What are you talking about? Stephen Moore: I’m saying that… Kirsten Powers: So any powerful man cannot be alone with a woman? That’s ridiculous. I have meetings with Jeff Zucker alone all the time, I don’t have any problems, like what? This would effect women negatively that you can’t even meet privately with your boss? Stephen Moore: If you’re in a position of power, it’s probably not a good idea.” [“CNN’s Stephen Moore’s answer to sexual harassment is to never take a one-on-one meeting with a woman,” Media Matters For America, 10/23/17]

Stephen Moore Said That Fox News Was “A Great Place To Work” Because He “Met A Lot Of Beautiful Women” There, Adding That Greta Van Susteren Was “Absolutely Perfect For Fox News” Because “She’s Fair, Balanced, And Blonde.”

At A 2012 Fundraising Dinner, Stephen Moore Said That Fox News Was “A Great Place To Work” Because He Had “Met A Lot Of Beautiful Women At Fox News,” Adding That Greta Van Susteren Was “Absolutely Perfect For Fox News” Because “She’s Fair, Balanced, And Blonde.” “I used to do, I don’t do it quite as often, Greta Van Susteren’s show every night, who’s a Wisconsin native. People are always asking me, what’s Greta really like? And, I would say, Greta is absolutely perfect for Fox News: she’s fair, balanced, and blonde. [Laughs] And that is, that is the philosophy of Fox News. […] One of the great things about working at Fox News is that I’ve met a lot of beautiful women at Fox News. It’s a great place to work.” [“CCHF Fundraising Dinner Event with Stephen Moore,” Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom via YouTube, 11/26/12 (05:06)]

Days After Rush Limbaugh Called A Georgetown Student A “Slut” And “Prostitute” For Testifying In Favor Of Birth Control Access, Stephen Moore Said In A Television Appearance That He’d “Been Friends With Rush For Twenty Years” And Predicted That “His Show Will Continue To Be Extremely Popular” Despite The Controversy.

In 2012, After Rush Limbaugh Controversially Called Georgetown Student Sandra Fluke A “Slut” And “Prostitute” On His Radio Show, Stephen Moore Said On Television That He’d “Been Friends With Rush For Twenty Years” And Predicted That “His Show Will Continue To Be Extremely Popular.”Moore said, “I can guarantee you this is not the end of Rush Limbaugh. Rush Limbaugh arguably — and I’ve been friends with Rush for 20 years. I’ll say that in full disclosure. He is, in my opinion, still the most important conservative voice in America. He has six to eight million listeners every day. You mentioned that some of the — and by the way, I’m not in any way excusing his behavior, because I’ve told Rush I thought it was out of bounds. But I do think that his show will continue to be extremely popular. And in terms of the advertisers, he’ll have no problem replacing them.” [“Starting Point With Soledad O’Brien,” CNN via Archive.org, 03/06/12 (0:31)]

• Fluke Had “Argued That Birth Control Should Be Covered By Health Insurance At Religious Institutions” While Testifying “During An Unofficial Hearing” Led By Then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “The Georgetown law student derided as a ‘slut’ and ‘prostitute’ by Rush Limbaugh for her support of women’s access to birth control spoke out against the conservative talk show host […]. Appearing on NBC’s ‘Today,’ Sandra Fluke said she was ‘stunned’ and ‘outraged’ by Limbaugh’s comments, which she deemed ‘an attempt to silence me, to silence all of us from speaking about the healthcare we need.’ Fluke, a third-year law student, testified about Georgetown’s policy on contraception during an unofficial hearing last Thursday that was led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). She argued that birth control should be covered by health insurance at religious institutions.” [Maggie Fazeli Fard, “Sandra Fluke, Georgetown student called a ‘slut’ by Rush Limbaugh, speaks out,”The Washington Post, 03/02/12]

In Columns From The Early 2000s, Stephen Moore Derisively Referenced His Wife’s Unemployment, Calling Her The Family’s “’Loss Leader.’”

In A December 2003 Column, Stephen Moore Wrote That His Then-Wife Was The Family’s “‘Loss Leader’” And Kept Herself Busy Through “‘Anger-Management Class,’” “Weight Watchers’” And “‘Couple’s Therapy.’”“But Allison Moore’s lack of a job was a subject of jabs by her husband in the joke-laden National Review Online columns — which appear to be written as parodies of annual family Christmas letters. In the essays, he routinely referred to himself in the third person. ‘Allison consumes, but she still doesn’t produce,’ Moore wrote of his then-wife in a December 2003 column in the National Review. ‘She now falls into the category of what economists call ‘long-term unemployed.’ Steve describes her as the family’s ‘loss leader.’ ‘She manages to keep busy though, what with her anger-management class in the morning, Weight Watchers in the afternoon, and then Tuesday and Thursday evenings when she and Steve attend couple’s therapy,’ he wrote.’” [Dan Mangan, “Trump Fed pick Stephen Moore tried to be funny about his wife — and much more — in past writings years before contentious divorce,” CNBC, 04/16/19]

• “A Year Later, Moore Wrote In A Column, ‘No, Allison STILL Doesn’t Have A Job, But Thanks SO Much For Asking.’” [Dan Mangan, “Trump Fed pick Stephen Moore tried to be funny about his wife — and much more — in past writings years before contentious divorce,” CNBC, 04/16/19]

In Her Divorce Complaint, Stephen Moore’s Ex-Wife Stated That She Quit Her Job To Become Their Children’s Primary Caregiver.

In Her 2010 Divorce Complaint, Stephen Moore’s Ex-Wife Stated She Was The “‘Primary Caretaker And Role Model For The Parties’ Children’” – And Even Quit Her Job To “‘Devote Her Time To Raising Their Children.’” “In her 2010 divorce complaint, Allison Moore said she was the ‘primary caretaker and role model for the parties’ children.’ ‘She quit her job to devote her time to raising their children,’ the complaint said.” [Dan Mangan, “Trump Fed pick Stephen Moore tried to be funny about his wife — and much more — in past writings years before contentious divorce,” CNBC, 04/16/19]

According To The Filing, Moore Later Created Two Accounts On A Dating Website And Even Mentioned His Extramarital Affair In Front Of His Wife And Their Children.

According To The Divorce Filing, Stephen Moore “Created Two Match.com Accounts With The Aim Of Connecting “‘Romantically With Other Women'” And Even Referenced His Extramarital Affair In Front Of Their Children. “In her divorce filing, Allison said Moore in 2010 had created two Match.com accounts with the aim of connecting ‘romantically with other women.’ The filing said Moore began what was ‘by his own admission … a romantic adulterous relationship’ with a woman, and that he once said to the Moores’ children in front of Allison: ‘I have two women, and what’s really bad is when they fight over you.’” [Dan Mangan, “Trump Fed pick Stephen Moore tried to be funny about his wife — and much more — in past writings years before contentious divorce,” CNBC, 04/16/19]

In 2012, Stephen Moore Joked That Republicans And Democrats Sitting Next To Each Other At The State Of The Union Address Was “Like Date Rape” And Laughed.

In 2012, Stephen Moore Joked,“This Idea Of All The Members, The Republicans And Democrats Sitting Next To Each Other, That’s Like Date Rape” And Laughed. In a January 2012 appearance on Fox Business, Stephen Moore said, of the 2012 State of the Union address, “Well it’s not just another campaign speech, it’s maybe Barack Obama’s most important speech that’s he’s going to give all year because he has a captive American audience. But this idea of all the members, the Republicans and Democrats sitting next to each other, that’s like date rape. [Laughs]. I don’t understand the logic behind that, but this will be an ode to big government.” [“WSJ’s Moore: Bipartisan Seating At State Of The Union Is ‘Like Date Rape,’” Media Matters for America, 01/23/12 (0:31)]

Previously from Allied Progress:

• A Tax Day Reminder: Stephen Moore’s Tax Ideas Are So Bad They Wrecked Kansas’ Economy
• Even the Big Banks Think Stephen Moore’s Monetary Policy Ideas Are Too Extreme
• More Moore Thoughts on Social Security: “We’ve probably gone too far in providing a safety net for the elderly”, “Essentially was a Ponzi scheme”
• Moore Urged Kids to Burn Up Their Social Security Cards in Support of Privatization

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