Talking Points Memo Defends Sexist Harry Reid's Announcement of Kirsten Gillibrand as 'Hottest Member' of the Senate

I couldn't pass this up.

The main story's at Politico, with a lengthy thread now building at Memeorandum. The best part is how the lefties are all over the place on this. An outraged Melissa McEwan slams the Democratic Majority Leader, for example:

Oh, well, as long as he praised her for her work, then it's totally fine that he SEXUALLY OBJECTIFIED A SITTING US SENATOR.

The Democrats want my support, my money, and my votes. They constantly assert to be the party that values women and women's issues. And yet their Senate Majority Leader publicly humiliates a fellow Democrat by commenting on her "hotness" at a fundraising event, and then sends out his spokesperson to argue with a straight fucking face that it's not inappropriate.

I just...wow.

I probably wouldn't put it in so many words, but I doubt I could get away with calling some of my female colleagues the "hottest" members of the department. Thus it's pretty hilarious that TPM's going to bat for Senator Reid:

It should be noted that Gillibrand was in fact recently declared number three on The Hill's Top 50 Most Beautiful People list -- and neither of the top two are members of the Senate. So logically speaking, this would make her the hottest member of the Senate according to a major Washington publication.

So objectifying New York's junior senator as a "hottie" is totally cool then. Hey, a "major Washington publication" says she's hot, so let's just follow the drill at a party fundraiser. Got it.

Meanwhile, Weasel Zippers removes the, er, blinders: