Brilliant article by Steinem on Palin

Wrong Woman, Wrong Message

By Gloria Steinem

Sept. 4th, 2008 LA Times

Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.

But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need.

Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

This is not to beat up on Palin. I defend her right to be wrong, even on issues that matter most to me. I regret that people say she can't do the job because she has children in need of care, especially if they wouldn't say the same about a father. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience.

Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."

She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income or sales tax. Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Or perhaps McCain is following the Bush administration habit, as in the Justice Department, of putting a job candidate's views on "God, guns and gays" ahead of competence. The difference is that McCain is filling a job one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.

So let's be clear: The culprit is John McCain. He may have chosen Palin out of change-envy, or a belief that women can't tell the difference between form and content, but the main motive was to please right-wing ideologues; the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom. If that were not the case, McCain could have chosen a woman who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; someone like Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

McCain could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions, right down to opposing the Violence Against Women Act.

Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.

I don't doubt her sincerity. As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., she doesn't just support killing animals from helicopters, she does it herself. She doesn't just talk about increasing the use of fossil fuels but puts a coal-burning power plant in her own small town. She doesn't just echo McCain's pledge to criminalize abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade, she says that if one of her daughters were impregnated by rape or incest, she should bear the child. She not only opposes reproductive freedom as a human right but implies that it dictates abortion, without saying that it also protects the right to have a child.

So far, the major new McCain supporter that Palin has attracted is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Of course, for Dobson, "women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership," so he may be voting for Palin's husband.

Being a hope-a-holic, however, I can see two long-term bipartisan gains from this contest.

Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.

And American women, who suffer more because of having two full-time jobs than from any other single injustice, finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are campaigning on their belief that men should be, can be and want to be at home for their children.

This could be huge.

_____

Gloria Steinem is an author, feminist organizer and co-founder of the Women's Media Center. She supported Hillary Clinton and is now supporting Barack Obama.

The True Story on Palin

http://my2bucks.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/a-letter-from-someone-who-has-known-sarah-palin-since-1992/

"A woman voting for Sarah Palin would be like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders."

:)

You go, girl!! To the polls, that is...

Today, August 26th, is the 88th anniversary of women getting the right to vote.

This means that there are women currently on this planet that were alive during a time when it was illegal for them to vote.

This blows my mind.

It boggles me that it hasn't even been 100 years yet that women have had the right to vote.

That's sort of depressing, actually. And inspiring at the same time. I will absolutely be going to the polls this fall! And so should every woman of legal age, no matter who you're voting for.

Put your heart where your brain is

Those of you who've been reading this blog since the Democratic primaries know that I was a huge Hillary supporter from day one. And I still am. I found it near impossible to switch gears to Obama when he won the nomination, and I have been having a devil of a time mustering up enthusiasm for the upcoming fall election because of it.

Which is so odd. I am very much aligned with Obama on pretty much every single issue, and I think he's an amazing man. He is already an incredible role model for the African American population, and that will only be magnified exponentially if he's our next President. I also admire what an airtight campaign he has run and believe that contributed to his huge success. He moved forward with integrity and didn't use the same old "war room" mudslinging tactics that Hillary used, and I think it appealed to the more evolved voter (which is perhaps why he has such a huge young following).

And yet, still, I couldn't get behind him. I think what turned me off, what repelled me so strongly, was all the hype. I have never been one to follow fads or crowds. Call me a "free spirit" if you will, but that's how I've always been. The way he would get crowds all riled up, southern baptist church revival style, without really putting forth any concrete solutions or strategies as to how to fix the issues he got everyone pumped up against/about, really put me off.

Then there's the whole thing about how young he is, and how inexperienced. I have to admit, I was very concerned about that too.

But now that he's announced Biden...I am so relieved. I adore Biden. I have laughed out loud watching him on C-Span, which most of the time is one of the most mindnumbingly boring channels on the planet. When Roberts was getting grilled before his appointment to the Supreme Court, I remember him just getting in the guy's face and telling him off when he was evading questions. I had to admire him. This video personifies what I love about him.

And I think that he complements Obama well. Plus he has loads of foreign policy experience, and he's been around the block. Now that's a team I can get behind. I'm not going to campaign or anything, but now I can go to the polls in November and feel good about who I'm voting for.

For that I am quite relieved.

NPR Commentary: Why I love Hillary

I heard this AWESOME editorial on NPR yesterday, and I just had to share it. It completely sums up why I was so excited that Hillary was in the game, and is a very accurate portrayal of the female experience in this country - from my vantage point, anyway. It reminded me of one summer wedding I attended, where someone asked me, "You didn't bring a date?! When are you getting married?" after I'd just gotten home from going on tour to Europe with one of the biggest and best orchestras in the world and had found out I was going to solo with one of the orchestras I was contracted with. But none of that mattered.

So when I heard this commentary on the radio, I was saying "Amen, sistah!" in my kitchen as I prepared dinner. I couldn't have said it better myself!! (I suppose that's why she's the writer and I'm the musician....)

****************

Commentary
Why I Love Hillary
by Susan Cheever
Listen Now [2 min 32 sec] add to playlist

All Things Considered, May 14, 2008 · Why is it that the more Hillary loses, the better I like her? (Yes, I know she won last night but that's already being dismissed.) She's glowing with the inner fire of the warrior in a battle she can't win without a miracle — why do I identify with that so much? Why do I feel after forty years of voting, that at last for once, there is a politician who truly represents me and not just because she wears pansuits?

When I tell a handsome man at a party that I support Hillary, he looks my black pantsuit up and down. "That figures, you're an older woman," he says. I am hurt, but he is right. Woman get their power from their looks and Hillary has worn away her youth in the service of a difficult husband, a smart child and the ideal of service. She was never the pretty, simpering, long-legged blonde we were all supposed to be; she had to find another way to be a woman. Me too.

"I love her because she is a loser, and I'm a loser," I tell my brother.

"But Sue, you are a big success," he says.

Hillary's a success too, but she's a worker, and women don't get respect for being hard workers, they get respect for having good legs. She's a woman dedicated to social justice, but women don't get respect for their dedication — they get it for their baking skills. She's a woman with staying power. But women don't get respect for their staying power, they get respect for their sexual power.

My generation of women were told that our biggest job was to marry the right guy — and the sooner the better. When I went for career counseling my last year of college, the dean gave me her condolences.

"All our best girls are engaged," she said. Oh yes, it sounds outrageously antique, but is it? I never talk for long about my 26-year-old daughter, a lawyer and an activist at Harvard, without someone asking: "And is she seeing someone?"

Women like me usually run for president of the PTA or president of some nice arts organization. We don't usually get to run for president of the United States. At last here's a woman who wants to play with the big boys, and she's qualified, and she's giving them a run for her money. And I love her for that.

Susan Cheever is a writer who lives in New York City.

Thank you, Hillary....

....you are officially making it easier for me to envision voting for Barack in November, as I suspsect will be the case, when you say crap like this unabashedly to the press:

"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said April 22 in an interview with ABC. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."

Girl, what were you thinking?! Is this really a democrat talking?!

Election apathy

Well, after being initially all fired up about Hillary and put off by Obama, I am now pretty much disgusted with both of them. This primary delegate crap has gone on too long, and while I'm still halfheartedly rooting for Hillary to win the candidacy, I pretty much don't care at this point. The fact that this has been drawn out so long does not serve the party well in the least, and as evidenced by the tight race for the ticket, there are going to be a slew of pissed off Democrats who wanted someone else no matter who wins.

Unless there's a combined ticket with both of their names on it. I don't really see either of them as second fiddle to the other, though many feel Hillary should concede to Obama. Of gender and race, I think unfortunately sexism is the weightier variable in this contest, though being white I certainly am no expert on such commentary.

It's just a big mess. I am preparing myself to be disappointed that Barack will probably win the ticket and I will have to somehow stomach voting for a candidate that I am not enthusiastic about. After Hillary's "enemy fire" video stunt recently, though, it won't be as hard as I initially feared it would be. {sigh}

Black Liberation Theology

I remember back when I was freelancing in NE Ohio, playing Principal Horn with the Akron Symphony. We did this annual outreach benefit concert that was an outrageous success every year. It was called "Gospel Meets Symphony." I remember being completely blown away by the incredible power of the energy onstage.

I was raised Methodist in a wonderful church in Cincinnati. It was a great church to grow up in, and I'll always be thankful for my roots there. As I've grown spiritually through the years, I've delved into many versions of Christianity: UCC, Presbyterian, non-denominational fundamentalist (yes, it's true!) and Pentecostal, in reverse order. After much angst-filled soul searching, I happily came home to the Unitarians - a place that embraces and freely welcomes anything and everything.

Okay, so, back to the Gospel concert. I remember being there on that stage, feeling the pulse and vibrancy of the 300+ voice gospel choir, witnessing the unfettered joy of its members as they cried out and sang with spinetingling resonance. The choir's irrepressable joy, the gorgeously rich jazz chords from the Steinway grand, the unmistakeable texture added by the Hammond organ, the rhythmic explosion of the drum set (played by a ridiculously hot brother who I had a mini-crush on), and the synergy of the whole 85 piece orchestra - what a synthesis of talent. It was overwhelmingly powerful.

I remember being so blown away by this particular version of Christianity, very unlike many of the others I had experienced. The emotions weren't based on fear (believe or you'll go to hell), guilt (you're a sinner, so you'd better be grateful for Jesus's ransom), superiority (God only accepts Christians into heaven, so obviously it's the best religion), or intolerance (of homosexuality, feminism, interracism, sexuality in general, etc.).

The focus was very simple, and very different. The message was about healing, of defying convention and expressing your joy and energy and letting it all out unselfconsciously. About finding strength in the midst of oppression. Of sadness, of trials and tribulations, of immense suffering, slavery and bondage. These are issues which much of the black community knows all too intimately. When you consider that it's been less than 60 years since the shameful Jim Crow laws were in effect - that there are still human beings walking this earth who remember legalized segregation - it makes logical sense that this group would still be feeling the impact of such treatment. I cringe whenever I hear my white peers say things like, "why should they get special treatment?" How about retributive treatment? Affirmative action can't logically be "special" or seen as an "advantage over" another race unless everyone has, at the very least, adequate resources, educative opportunities, well-funded schools, low-crime living environments, and role models to burgeon aspirations for better lives. How can you achieve it if you can't even envision it?

I remember feeling so incredibly lucky to be on that stage, with all of these new people, experiencing all of these new (to me) feelings and approaches to religion. I learned by listening to this great story on Terry Gross's Fresh Air (NPR) that such a Christianity that focuses on empowerment, reversing oppression, and finding strength in the midst of intense difficulty is called Black Liberation Theology.

Now that is a cause I can get behind.

Judging others as bad, going to hell, or otherwise religiously/politically inferior does not ultimately uplift the spirit or do much good for anyone. Much of what is in the Bible doesn't really do it for me either most of the time. But focusing on Jesus's radical message, his persistence in saying it even when the majority didn't want to hear it, his persecution and suffering at the hands of those who didn't want the oppressed to be empowered, and how his message of acceptance, love, and compassion transcends even his brutal murder...that makes sense to me. That is relevant.

While I would never try to claim kinship with the experiences of African Americans (I acknowledge that I grew up with white privilege), I find the concepts of healing suffering, overcoming adversity, social justice, compassion and acceptance, and equality to be incredibly relevant and compelling. If I had to pick a church that had a specifically Christian focus, one that celebrates Black Liberation Theology might be it.

But as it stands, I'm perfectly at home with the Unitarians! ;)

An honest question...

I truly do not understand the need for delegates (and the electoral college, for that matter) in our democratic process. It seems to me that they both undermine the democratic process. Why vote when others are going to do it for you?

I really honestly want to know why they are necessary. Am I missing something here? Isn't an individual vote count enough? Why don't we trust American citizens to make decisions all by themselves?

Cooling down my hot head

Okay, I have to stop and breathe here for a minute.

I apologize for the vehemence and over-opinionation of my last post and particularly my response to BigRedEO's comment. This primary election is the most heated and hotly contested one that I have ever seen (or been aware or interested enough to notice) in my life, and I have to admit that I have gotten overly involved emotionally.

The good news is that Democrats are energized, that there are two incredibly viable candidates neither of whom are white males, and change is in the air no matter who wins the ticket.

Tonight I went to my Buddhist study and meditation group at my church and we discussed the precept for "right speech", which means carefully evaluating what you're saying and how you say it to make sure it's not harmful. I am very passionate about Hillary, and I will be extremely disappointed if she loses the ticket; but that does not excuse my bad-mouthing Obama and making fun of him. I do stand by my deep concerns for his inexperience and lack of ability/strategy, but I don't need to be calling him names or being sarcastic. And some of my emails/blog comments/conversations with Obama supporters have been hostile and otherwise angry and judgmental. I apologize openly to all I may have offended.

Phew. {*exhales*} I feel better now. It's not good for me to get too emotionally wrapped up in things that are so largely outside of my control (another Buddhist concept). My happiness and peace of mind is just a breath away...it is all in my mind. Breathe in, breathe out...

HILL-A-RY!! HILL-A-RY!! (jumping up and down)

Yay!!!

After being disappointed by Wisconsin's bahama mama Obama-rama last month, I am proud to see that my dear home state of Ohio did not fail me! Hillary is my GIRL!!

I find it hilarious that Barack's slogan, "Yes We Can", is also the mantra of the kid's show "Bob The Builder". Hmm....

Much more presidential:

Yes SHE can!

And I believe: Yes, she WILL!!!

Man! I haven't been this excited since Al Gore won the 2000 vote. I'm even more excited now!!

Okaybye, I have to go bounce off the walls now.

Don't give up, Hillary!!

I'm officially bummed out that Hillary lost the Wisconsin primaries...but there is yet hope! I am optimistic that she will win Ohio, and Texas is looking good too. I'm sorry, but the more I see and hear of Obama, the less I like him. He has the vocal intonations of a preacher getting his congregation all riled up (which in and of itself is annoying), but where are his strategies? Where is the problem solving? Where are the answers? I'm not saying he hasn't gotten results in his career, but I wish he'd say more than "uh....we should do this" and start talking about how we should do it. Every single time I see my girl Hillary, she's right there, with answers, with plans - and she never has to stop and say "uh..." to think about it.

Ah, politics. As I had to learn to survive W, politicians are only a small part of life. The good news is that Ben is 2 months old now, and he's gained 4 pounds in the last 6 weeks! I'm glad he's thriving. I'm focusing on that when I start to get blue about all the Obamaniacs in this state...

Primary colors

This morning, I was for Obama to get the nomination for the Democratic ticket, but now I'm not so sure. I watched the live streaming video on cnn.com of the California Democratic primary debates tonight, and man, I was so blown away by Hillary I couldn't believe it. I absolutely loved her.

It was hilarious - a woman wrote in to the debates, saying that she was 38 years old (I'll be 38 this Sept.) and that as long as she's been old enough to vote, there has been either a Bush or a Clinton on the ballot. I forget what her question was, but I had to laugh - that's obviously true for me, too. Hillary answered the question extremely well, saying that a Clinton had cleaned up well after the first Bush, and that we could use another Clinton to clean up for the second. I laughed out loud at that one.

What impressed me about her was her leadership and her concise, clear, brilliant answers to everything. She was so sharp. Obama has great ideas and somewhat good answers, but IMO he isn't as good of a public speaker. He says "uh" a lot, and I felt he didn't answer the questions as specifically or decisively as Hillary did. They're both excellent candidates, though, and obviously in November I'll vote for whoever is on the ticket. But I'm really feeling Hillary tonight. As of tonight, I'm voting for her!