After three senators doomed any chance Republicans may have had of repealing President Obama's legacy healthcare reform this week, some conservatives did not take the news well. And because three women took down Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plan to leave the country without a comprehensive healthcare law, trolls came out of the woodwork to tweet sexist comments about the female Republicans.
If you missed all the healthcare commotion (or couldn't keep up, because boy did things move quickly), here's the gist: Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski opposed the Senate Republicans' healthcare proposal from the beginning because it would have defunded Planned Parenthood for a year. When it became clear that bill didn't have the votes to pass, even after Sen. Ted Cruz added an amendment, McConnell proposed just repealing the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare). However, in less than a day, Republican Sens. Collins, Murkowski, and Shelley Moore Capito all came out strongly against scrapping the current legislation without a replacement plan.
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In a statement posted online, Murkowski said the Senate should work toward bipartisan legislation. And speaking more candidly, Capito said, "I did not come to Washington to hurt people."
While many on the left praised them for vowing to vote "no" on a repeal bill, not everyone was pleased. But, not all those unhappy about the failed healthcare efforts criticized the women for their political ideologies or actions, turning instead to blatantly sexist remarks about their age and gender.
Let's get rid of them three old hags they apparently have wore out their welcome in the Republican Party classified as never Trumper's??????
— Who Am I? (@blueknot1965) July 19, 2017
These 3 women are lying feminazi's
— G. Brown (@browngravy_93) July 18, 2017
Falling into the age-old stereotype of criticizing women's looks, there were also attacks on their appearances.
Susan Collins needs to retire. She looks worse off than Ruth Vader Ginsburg.
— Boudicca (@BoudicaVictoria) July 19, 2017
Bill Mitchell, a conservative radio host, even said they don't belong in the Republican Party. Considering there are currently just five female Republicans in the Senate including Collins, Capito, and Murkowski, their departure would leave an already male-majority party almost void of any women.
I've honestly never understood why Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito and Lisa Murkowski are even Republicans?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) July 18, 2017
By now it should be obvious that criticizing politicians' comments or positions on issues is valid, but doing so in a way that evokes anything other than policy isn't acceptable.