Reid links rise in domestic abuse to unemployment; critics say tie is overblown

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Reid links rise in domestic abuse to unemployment; critics say tie is overblown

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022304043.html?hpid=moreheadlines

By Garance Franke-Ruta
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 23, 2010; 5:25 PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) drew catcalls from conservatives Tuesday for saying that men "tend to become abusive" when out of work, but battered-women's advocates who have watched their caseloads grow as the recession took hold pointed to thick federally funded studies substantiating a link between financial strain and domestic abuse.

Reid spoke on the Senate floor on behalf of the $15 billion jobs bill late Monday afternoon. "I met with some people while I was home dealing with domestic abuse. It has gotten out of hand. Why? Men don't have jobs," he said.

"Women don't have jobs, either, but women aren't abusive, most of the time. Men, when they're out of work, tend to become abusive. Domestic crisis shelters in Nevada are jammed. That's the way it is all over the country."

The snark followed quickly. "Is that a threat from Harry Reid?" quipped National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez. RedState.com mocked up a mug shot of Reid under the captions, "Soon-to-be ex-Senator Harry Reid, arrested for fear of domestic abuse after he loses his job in November 2010" for its Tuesday morning briefing. Another site gunning for his ouster from public office labeled him a "future wife abuser."