Posted on 08/08/2011 4:38:53 PM PDT by Hojczyk
An abashed Mike Gallagher appeared today on “America Live with Megyn Kelly” to (sort of) defend the remarks he made earlier this summer about Kelly’s three-month-long maternity leave. Back then, Gallagher called such a luxurious leave “a racket.”
Today, once again in the host’s chair after the birth of her second child, daughter Yardley, four months, everybody’s favorite Fox anchor appeared keen to elicit a retraction from the radio host. She all but got it.
Gallagher shamefacedly muttered several unintelligible excuses — including a half-hearted hint that he had hoped the comment wouldn’t make it through the grapevine to the great Kelly herself — before saying (one hopes jokingly!), “I’d been drinking.”
“Now you’re more along the path of what I expected,” Kelly quipped back to the man she assured viewers is, in fact, her friend.
But the power mom didn’t let Gallagher off the hook that easily.
“What is it about getting pregnant and carrying a baby for nine months and giving birth to a child that you think doesn’t deserve a little time for bonding and recovery?” she asked, after asserting at the outset of the interview that Gallagher’s comment was a “moronic thing to say.”
Gallagher really had no words. As the interview faded out, he could be heard stating frankly, “I’m sorry,” before welcoming Kelly back to Fox’s dayside.
He wasn’t the only person glad Kelly is back to revive the program that bears her name. Numerous fans on social media sites happily sounded off about Kelly’s new haircut and celebrated her return to Fox.
Unlike Gallagher, I find nothing appalling in Fox funding a three-month maternity leave for one of the top names in news. If anything, I’m just disappointed for Kelly’s sake that she had to return so soon. She says she’s not the sort of mother to be effective as a stay-at-home mom (“I’d worry that I’d get stale because I’d be missing my old life”), but I can’t help feeling at least a little bit that America’s gain is Yates’, Yardley’s and Kelly’s loss. Mother-child time is pretty precious, after all. And while all kinds of families manage to make any number of approaches to child-rearing work, in general, daycare does few favors for children (which is not to say Kelly’s kids are in daycare — I don’t know that for a fact). So, as much as I love Megyn Kelly on-air, if someday we see a little less of her because she wants to scale it back and spend more time with her kiddos, I’ll be OK with that.
Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya!
...dump her...with faux noose...
I don’t have a problem with her taking time off at her employer’s expense, where I disagree with her is when she started spouting that gibberish about the U.S. being the only advanced nation that doesn’t require it of employers.
LOL....didn’t you watch the video?
On the flip side, if a man makes a comment on how women should behave, he is a misogynist. If a woman makes a comment on how a man should behave, she gets to be in a Sit-com.
You dont know that Policts4US was saying she is obnoxious because she is a woman. Maybe, he just finds her obnoxious in general. I find Doocy, and Boling, and the other moring host with dark brown hair to be obnoxious. I find Hannity to be obnoxious, and most of the time the same for O’Reilly. I think Greta is their best interviewer, but they dont let her do anything good.
But just because you think that everyone has the same criteria for judging media people that you do, doesnt make it so.
I’m a conservative. I didn’t say that a woman couldn’t be hard on the guests, but she’s obnoxious. I’ve seen her on O’Reilly a lot also. She’s the same as the others on Fox News. She’s not good for conservatives.
If you react to another FReeper's comments by threatening to "never come back to FR" ... please DO take a break for at least a few hours and do some deep-breathing exercises.
Then we want you to come back to FR and contribute to the discussion.
I would think that if you blow up like this just because a “man” makes a statement, and then you threaten to leave over one thread that doesnt go your way, that maybe that is what you should do.
Truthfully, no, I didn’t watch the video. I have no problem with employers providing maturnity leave for women, and some (perhaps more than that) also offer the same leave for fathers). I do not agree the government should force employers to provide such leave. If Megyn Kelly made such a statement, I would disagree with her on that point.
She looked great today! My husband would have hated that she cut her hair though!! : )
You’re reacting to a minority position, I’m sure. There are more people who do not have a problem with maturnity leave than there are people who complain about it. Plus, I believe the compliant is more about the government mandating maturnity leave as opposed to employers offering it without government requirement.
Exactly.
If you have an employer who offers benefits, great. They are benefits, not rights. You don’t have a right to 12 weeks paid maternity. It’s a privilege to have an employer that offers that benefit, but there’s no right to demand it or expect it.
And that time should not be expected to count for any seniority at that company. You aren’t there working and contributing. Plus the company may be in the lurch if you decide not to come back.
I assume her employers', FoxNews. I'm sure she negotiated that in her contract with the news organization, as any female on-air personality would have. And we have no idea how much of that was paid time off, and how much was just her use of sick time, personal time, etc.
That term of leave isn't outrageous. 30 years ago, I was offered almost four months of paid time off after our son was born, because of 'disability' insurance. I never intended to return after the baby was born, but my boss encouraged me NOT to give notice before the birth, so that I could take advantage of that perq.
Yes. I think a 3 month leave of absence is a very nice benefit for a company to give employees. It should not be enforced by gvt.
I understand it’s hard to have a baby and be in a competitive field. Life is hard. Plan your life. I honestly don’t care how you do it.
Neanderthals ROCK bump!
You’re entitled to your view of her. I have a different view of her. As for O’Blowhard? Now there’s an obnoxious SOB.
Of course, employers can offer whatever compensation they like, but women shouldn’t complain about earning less than men as though the disruption costs the employer nothing. Employers need to take into account how much time off women of childbearing age will require as compared to men in the same position.
Forget you are talking about women as someone describes a group of potential employees as chemically imbalanced 10% of the time, with a 30% chance that in any given year they will spend 6 months running to the bathroom every 15 minutes and eating at their desks continuously during the workday, expect their coworkers to throw them parties in the middle of the workday, have to leave for doctor’s appointments every couple weeks, followed by a 3 month paid absence, then expect to return to their job but have personal emergencies requiring them to leave an average of twice a month in the middle of the day for the next 10 years. Then they told you that you would be sued for refusing to hire them because they belong to this group. How much less would you be willing to pay for those employees compared to other applicants ?
You asked me for the proof and I gave it too you, Megyn is wrong...watch the video.
You’re attempting an arguement where none exists. I didn’t say Megyn was correct.
I’ve always liked Megyn Kelly, but I thought she came off as a bi-ch, and worse than that, a liberal.
By the way, I am a mother of two children.
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