Integrity Score 2097
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Lord have mercy, on the right wing especially
Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg had taken a paid ‘paternity leave’ after he and his husband became parents in August. He says, like any parent in his situation would say, that he is entitled to spend time with his family and that ‘paternity leave’ is what the administration wants to make available for all. His Republican critics say he shouldn’t have when the transport sector is at a critical juncture. The added layer here is about gays’ right to a paternal leave.
Though there had been no formal announcement, neither from the Department nor him, criticism was mounting about his absence.
A Politico report alleged Buttigieg was ‘MIA’, launching a debate over his leave: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2021/10/14/can-pete-buttigieg-have-it-all-494710 It said, the Transportation Secretary was ‘missing in action’, with a paid leave, just when US ports faced heavy traffic amid supply-chain issues and Congress was considering the President’s infrastructure bill. It quoted a department spokesperson that the Secretary had been mostly offline for the first four weeks except for the most important decisions.
Buttigieg told MSNBC that he had been “available 24/7 on issues that can’t wait.”: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/15/buttigieg-tucker-carlson-paternity-leave-516111
Whether a President or a Secretary, political leaders are human beings too, they have family responsibilities, and they too need to spare time for that. On the other hand, when you hold the responsibility for the whole nation, your duty sometimes must take priority over family. As for paternal leave, there’s a question of gender parity, and both parents are expected to be there for the newborn. On paternity leave, the US is an exception among advanced economies, and the Biden administration seeks to change that: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/
That’s one debate. Another (unnecessary) debate is over the fact that the new parents in this case are both males.
Was Fox News host Tucker Carlson indulging in predictable political mudslinging or outright homophobia when he said, “Paternity leave, they call it, trying to figure out how to breastfeed. No word on how that went.” An LGBTQ activist said the breastfeeding line was simply an attack on Buttigieg “for being a gay dad.” Tucker could have made the political point without “throwing in a homophobic trope.”: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/10/15/pete-buttigieg-time-off-parental-leave/