Key Dem: Men 'sent home' comment 'irreverent' but correct

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) on Monday called "irreverent" but accurate, comments made by a female colleague that Congress could pass healthcare reform if men were sent home.

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) in a town hall meeting Saturday said that Republican and Democratic women agree that healthcare reform could get passed "this weekend" if they "sent the men home."

"Carol Shea-Porter was I think expressing the frustrations in an irreverent way of a lot of women across this country," Wasserman Schultz said on MSNBC. "We do have conversations like that in the bathroom among Republican and Democratic women."

Republicans in New Hampshire have called the remarks insensitive towards men. 

"As a resident of the First District, I find Carol Shea-Porter’s remarks divisive, uninformed and utterly embarrassing," said state Sen. Sharon Carson (R) in a statement.

But Wasserman Schultz, who is Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, agreed with Shea-Porter's premise; that women have greater family responsibilities when it comes to healthcare.

"In terms of healthcare decisions, women make virtually all of the healthcare decisions, or are the main decision makers for most families," Wasserman Schultz said.

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