Daily Caller Runs Sexist Commentary On Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby

At one stroke, Baltimore state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby became a high-profile prosecutor when she announced indictments against six Baltimore police officers who allowed Freddie Gray to suffer a fatal spinal cord injury on their watch. Hours later, Mosby became the target of one of the lowest moments in the sordid history of The Daily Caller. Tucker Carlson’s cyber-rag saw fit to run a blatantly sexist article about Mosby.

Tucker Carlson at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Tucker Carlson at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Hours after the announcement, Daily Caller sports editor Christian Datoc took to his computer to write an article calling Mosby “kind of a smokeshow”–which, for those who don’t know, is slang for a “seriously hot girl.” He also saw fit to comment on her “crazy girl” eyes. After posting a bunch of tweets commenting on how “smouldering” she was, Datoc–as if he couldn’t get degrading enough–suggested, “I wouldn’t mind being unrestrained in the back of Ms. Mosby’s paddy wagon.”

If I were to say anything like this to most of my lady friends, I’d probably come out of it with a fat lip, a black eye, and my ears ringing from getting cussed out. How in the world does Datoc–and for that matter, Carlson–think this is even remotely acceptable commentary about a woman? If Daily Kos or Mother Jones published something like this about a prominent conservative prosecutor announcing indictments, suffice to say their switchboards would melt from all the complaints.

But then again, as Media Matters points out, this is par for the course at the Daily Caller. Back in March, one of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokespersons, Amy Spitalnick, requested a correction on a Daily Caller piece about her boss, Daily Caller reporter Christopher Bedford responded by calling her “whiny and annoying”–which Carlson blew off as “helpful correction” when Spitalnick complained to him. Carlson’s brother, Buckley, then chimed in by calling Spitalnick a “self-righteous bitch” and a number of other obscene names. Somehow, it wouldn’t surprise me if anyone from the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office who demanded an apology for this would get a similar response.

A few days later, it ran a column making fun of Meghan McCain’s new talk show suggesting that viewers will only tune in because of McCain’s appearance. That column was illustrated with a political cartoon showing speech bubbles coming out of McCain’s breasts. Carlson himself openly admits that he runs “slideshows of the female form” in order to generate more traffic.

I count no fewer than nine women on the Daily Caller’s masthead. Additionally, Ann Coulter contributes a column. I have to wonder what it takes to be a woman in an environment that sees fit to run this kind of sexist garbage. After all, I find it hard to believe that any of my more conservative female friends would find Datoc’s commentary on Mosby, as well as the other examples of blatant sexism from the Daily Caller, at all acceptable.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.