Baron Heffernan

I'd like to think we've moved on from the days of Henry VIII, and accusing women of being 'barren'.

Apparently not, though.

Senator Heffernan said Ms Gillard was "deliberately barren" and therefore unfit for political leadership.

Blatant sexism like this doesn't belong in modern Australian politics, and even back in the time of Henry, the reasoning of such an argument would be just as nonsensical.

Of course, such a line of reasoning isn't unique to Baron Heffernan, in fact it's quite common in Russia.

The leader of the Liberal and Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Vladimir Zhirinovsky, expressed his opinion on the matter in an exclusive interview with Pravda.Ru.

”Condoleezza Rice released a coarse anti-Russian statement. This is because she is a single woman who has no children. She loses her reason because of her late single status. Nature takes it all.

Ah Heff, you know where you belong.

I must say, I was both surprised and glad to see Malcom Turnbull come out to voice his disgust.
Of course, Abbott came out to defend the comments. This isn't suprising given he no doubt shares Heffernan's medieval views of women.

This has hurt the Liberals more than their religious far-right will realise, which is why the more moderate of the party are trying to come out and condemn the comments.

And Howard is being too lenient on Heffernan by far; coming up to an election, the only response can be to sack Heffernan.