War on Men? Lundergan Grimes's Attack on McConnell's 'Kidney Stone'

Last weekend, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the main Democratic challenger to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2014, used kidney stones as a metaphor for the alleged obstructionism of her rival: “If doctors told McConnell he had a kidney stone, he’d refuse to pass it.”

Though women can develop kidney stones, men are far more likely to do so. It is inconceivable that a male candidate for political office could mock a female rival by joking about breast cancer and get away with it, though men occasionally develop breast cancer as well. 

Lundergan Grimes’ remarks were widely reported in coverage of the annual Fancy Farm political forum, but drew little objection from the mainstream media.