Senator Kelly Ayotte and National Committeewoman Ronna Romney McDaniel Join Terri Lynn Land to Call on Michelle Obama and Gary Peters to Denounce Anti-Mom Rhetoric

Press Release

Today U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (NH) and National Republican Committeewoman Ronna Romney McDaniel joined Terri Lynn Land on a tele-press conference to denounce the offensive and sexist campaign Congressman Gary Peters and his allies are running against Land, and called on First Lady Michelle Obama and Gary Peters to do the same. Senator Ayotte will campaign for Land in Michigan next week.

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire
With the First Lady in Michigan today, we certainly admire Mrs. Obama as a great mom for raising her daughters under unimaginable pressure, and we believe, and I certainly believe, that Mrs. Obama would not condone the rhetoric that we've heard that is being used against Terri Lynn Land in terms of her role as a mom and how that would inform her decision making in the U.S. Senate.

I'm a mom in the U.S. Senate, and you know frankly we don't have enough, we have 20 women in the U.S. Senate, we don't have enough people who have had the experience in the Senate who have children and are in a position where they can bring that perspective to the U.S. Senate. I think we need more moms in the Senate and people who would make the country better and safer for children and future generations of Americans.

So when I ran, and I continue all the time to talk about the experience of being a mother and what that means to policy decisions in Washington. Moms bring an incredibly important perspective. In many households, moms are the primary or sole breadwinners. They are making so many of the important decisions on family finances, on health care, and to me to see stereotypes being pushed, or to see Terri being criticized for referencing her experience as a mom, and how that would inform her decisions as a policy maker, you know, I can't believe that we are even here, that we aren't beyond this.

So the comments that are being made, it's just shocking that the Democratic Party in Michigan would actually say some of the things they've said in terms of coming after Terri's role as a mom and that's why I wanted to be part of this today because we need Terri in the U.S. Senate, we need her voice, and we need someone who is not going to just be like her opponent, a basically, a rubber stamp for the President but is going to put Michigan first.

So next week I am looking forward to coming to Michigan to campaign for Terri as I am so impressed with her record as a state leader and I look forward to talking more about how Terri would be a great Senator and to visiting your beautiful state of Michigan.
GOP Nominee for U.S. Senate Terri Lynn Land
First of all I want to say thank you Senator Ayotte and national committeewoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and all the members of the press who've joined us today to discuss this important issue. You know I learned that Congressman Peters campaign and allies took to Twitter for being a mom and framing it around important policy matters through the lens as a parent, you know I was offended. I mean, Congressman Peters went too far. But I'm not shocked by this.

I worked my entire life to public service and to helping our citizens here in Michigan. You know when I graduated from Hope College after starting my family with my husband, Dan, I was elected Kent County's first female County Clerk and Register of Deeds. And in addition to doing exactly what I said I'd do, which was modernize the office and cut costs and improve customer service, I also led the charge in our office for work-life balance for working parents. I opened up new tracks of management for working moms.

And after 8 years, I term-limited myself and didn't run for reelection as county clerk, and by the time I left we had more women managers than when I started. So when I ran for Secretary of State, and won, I made sure that we instituted those same programs there that we had in Kent County, and I implemented them statewide. We came up with a Lead Worker Program that would help female managers learn the skills that they needed to be managers and give them that flexibility. And by the time I left there we had more women managers than when I started.

You know, given the amount of attention and resources that the White House dedicates to the workplace flexibility, you know I thought for sure we'd be able to come together on this, Republicans and Democrats, implementing policies in the U.S. Senate. But I was wrong. You know, in the spring, President Obama himself criticized me for reforms to the workplace, the same types of reforms he called for this summer in his flexibility summit.

Now Congressman Peters has tried to criticize my record for working for women. But I'm not going to be lectured by a man who pays the women on his staff 67 cents on the dollar compared with male staff. And I'm not going to be criticized by a man who allows his staff to disrespect the moms in Michigan. You know, I don't accept these empty attacks, and I challenge him to denounce the attacks on Michigan moms.

Now, Congressman Peters and his allies are trying to make folks think that I don't have what it takes to be a U.S. Senator because I'm a mom. Well I think it's very important as Senator Ayotte mentioned and Ronna mentioned women bring that perspective to every job that they have. And it's very important that you have more moms in the U.S. Senate when they think about the issues that are affecting us today.

I look forward to serving in the U.S. Senate and looking at all of those issues that are important. So you know my entire life I've been told I couldn't do it, but we made sure that we did and we're going to do that and win the U.S. Senate seat.
Republican National Committeewoman Ronna Romney McDaniel
Like Senator Ayotte, I think we need more common sense moms who have a record of making government work, like Terri, in the United States Senate. Recent attacks from the Peters campaign and even the media are absurd and sexist. One Michigan columnist even called Terri a music video diva recovering from plastic surgery. This is not the first time a strong conservative woman has come under fire from the left. In 2012, my aunt, Ann Romney, was criticized by Democrat strategist Hillary Rosen for being a stay-at-home mom, choosing to raise 5 boys. Democrats and media alike were quick to condemn these attacks and distance themselves from Ms. Rosen's comments. I am calling on the Michigan press, Gary Peters and First Lady Michelle Obama to condemn the attacks on Terri for being a mom. It is troubling to see Gary Peters claim over and over that he is an outspoken supporter of women, only to have him remain silent as Terri is attacked. Does Gary Peters believe that moms have no business caring about foreign affairs, health care or earning a paycheck?

Gary Peters claims to support equal pay yet he only pays his female staffers 67 cents on the dollar compared to men, according to his own math. The same math he used in the spring to push the White House's agenda. While Peters is talking about fighting for women, he only pays the women that work for him a fraction of what he pays the men who work for him. Gary Peters and his friends have criticized Terri for her accomplishments in local and state government, increasing flexibility for working moms. While Terri was Kent County Clerk and Michigan Secretary of State, she instituted programs to put more women on the management track and give employees more flexibility in their jobs. Flexibility is crucial for working moms, and it is absolutely stunning to me that Democrats, including President Obama, have attacked Terri over workplace flexibility. Wasn't it the White House that hosted a forum on workplace flexibility earlier this year? Their attacks are absolutely hollow, and Michigan voters will reject them. Finally, not just moms but all voters want someone who will actually show up. Considering the number of votes that Gary Peters has missed to campaign, moms know that Gary Peters puts himself, not Michigan, first. Moms have knack for seeing through people and their intentions. While Gary Peters runs a campaign based on dividing women, Terri plans to go to Washington and put every Michigander first.

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