CNN Panelist Defends Use Of 'Bitch' As Pejorative

Paging Geraldine Ferraro! When it comes to sexism, there exists a more fertile ground to critique than obscure hip-hop gestures. And, there are more fitting chauvinist villains than the Obama campaign. Take GOP consultant Alex Castellanos - the man best known for creating "Hands," an overtly race-baiting advertisement that Jesse Helms deployed to great effect in defeating his African-American opponent, Harvey Gantt.

Tonight, as a part of CNN's primary night panel, Castellanos took issue with Jeffery Toobin, who decried a recent newspaper column that referred to Clinton as a "white bitch." The thoroughly refined and scintillatingly relevant counterpoint that Castellanos interrupted Toobin to make - attached to an assertion that Toobin was "dead wrong" by the way - was that, "Some women, by the way, are named that, and it's accurate." Clinton was apparently one such woman, because she is "abrasive, aggressive [and] irritating."

Right about then, I really started noticing how abrasive, aggressive and irritating Castellanos was! See for yourself.

Comments

[jriegel]

I've listened to this man before and I'm usually 'floored' by his stupidity. CNN has accumulated an army of ignorant pundits - all of whom have discredited their network. Why do they continue to have people like this is beyond me. Have lost my faith in the quality of CNN commentary.

[anelder]

I offer this in defense of CNN. is it probable that they are covertly exposing their audience to all that ridiculous out there. I mean what better way for a lot of us to see the error of our ways than to see some of these ridiculous men and women in action. I say give Kristol of the Times, Coulter or the I know not what, and yes this gentleman of a background that seems to accept terms we are working at eliminating from our 'good compay' language.

[presto]

I don't think so - they've been getting slammed lately for bias by media watchdog groups and they've scaled back a bit. I'll bet they are totally furious at Castellanos and we will see some serious backtracking today.

[Philly4Obama]

This is a Republican ploy to foment division in the Democratic party. Despicable, but expected.

[loax]

I've seen this guy before on CNN. He is disgusting. It is men like this that give the majority of men a bad name and continues the sexist question. CNN should throw his ass off the air. he has nothing useful to add to the conversation.

[MagnaCarta]

Ditto!

[missjabez]

Alex Castellanos is assisting the angry feminists when he makes dumb comments like that, seemingly proving that Hillary Clinton is a helpless victim of gender discrimination. I happen to agree with his assessment of Hillary Clinton, but it's better to keep such sentiments to yourself, instead of trumpeting them far and wide.

[MWJacobs]

No! Castellanos represents the party the angry feminists want to run to if Obama wins. Let him speak.

[DAVESEAN]

Senator Hillary has done a great job,smashing myths along the way....she deserves respect from everybody

[Jaradan]

Smashing what myths? That women are overly emotional and unprofessional? She didn't smash those myths. She has provided great evidence to strengthen sexists' beliefs/comments. Who can argue that Hillary isn't a bitch? I wish I could, but I can't.

[presto]

Is there any way we can refrain from the constant name-calling? It completely destroys intelligent discussion. Glorifying sexism is as bad as glorifying racism. It is rooted in ignorance.

[kiga]

ejede,
I am sorry you feel that way about Senator Clinton. I just find her FANTASTIC. Especially as she is putting these long time jerks in their place! i love it, love it, love it, love it. GO HILLARY!!!!

[okmama]

I find her disgusting,,,but the word still should never have been used on national TV.

[YankeeCanuck]

Disgust is not rational. Perhaps you mean that you have reasons for not agreeing with Clinton's policies or campaign tactics. But she is a strong candidate who will reconcile with the other camp once there is a clear winner.

[thetruthbringer]

Yep...there is no room for such a word. I think it is wrong to use that to describe women. That said, I do find Hillary to be manipulative, conniving, and disgusting when it comes to this campaign. Funny enough, as bad as the word is...it seems to come to mind a lot with Clinton.
She used to be such an advocate for the people...Along the way, I believe she learned the wrong lessons from those years of Republicans attacking her and her husband. Now all she knows how to do is fight in the gutter.

[presto]

Constant media spin has generated that misconception. Hillary is and always has been an advocate for the people. You are engaging in nasty ad hominem attacks but you have not cited a single fact. A fact, not a rumor, not an opinion - just a fact - to back up anything whatsoever. What fact do you have in mind that proves she is not a strong advocate for the people?

[kiga]

Castellanos should sit in bucket of ice as he is overheating. Hillary Clinton must of done a number on him , because he sure hates her with a passion (maybe not as much as Tim Russert heats her). You would think their wives ran a way with Hillary!!!

[presto]

Lot of nastiness in one little paragraph.

[ejeder]

Mr. Castellanos is a fool: a bitch is a female dog.

Is it fair then to call males you dislike dogs or pigs in newspaper editorials?

The tenor of our national conversation is degraded by people like this. The yelling Coulters and O'Reillys who want to startle us with their obscenities, and agressions and soundbytes so that we won't think about the real issues and how they are trying to replace our American democracy with a corporate oligarchy.

And by they way, I do agree that Mrs. Clinton is abrasive, abusive, irritating, extremely dishonest, power-hungry. But she is definitely not a female dog.

The more accurate our words are, the more constructive our political discourse will be in building a better country.

[writeaway]

Its comments like these from the Obamatons that will result in my voting for one Republican this fall, McCain. Hillary haters have no class at all.

[McFlipFlop]

Well, be aware that you are voting for a man that is anti-choice, anti equal pay for women, and calls his wife a c*nt in public.

Yeah, vote for him. That'll show him!

[presto]

You personally may find her to be abrasive and irritating. Those are subjective traits and simply opinion. Calling her abusive, dishonest and power-hungry is not subjective. Those are personal attacks and if you cannot verify them it is intellectually dishonest to spew them out.

[westminster]

What's the issue here? If she can claim sexism believe you me, Barack can claim racism. If he were a white man, the superdelegates would have wrapped this thing up already. If Hillary were a man, she would not have gotten this far. People like Biden, Dodd and Edwards have mush more experience than she does. Who are we kidding?

[DSully]

Well put.

[YankeeCanuck]

Sexism and racism. It surely does exist-- great that we got that out in the open. Westminster is correct in saying there were more qualified candidates. More qualified than EITHER Clinton or Obama. Perhaps that's why the discussion has deteriorated.
We go with the current reality. No matter what we think of each candidate, they are similar in many policies and have a far superior vision than the present regime.

[presto]

If Hillary were a man, she would have been president long ago. If Barack were white, he would be president in his early 50's. No kidding.

[dollphingurl]

is bitch one of those inside words, like the N word that can only be used by the particular members of the group to whom it refers?

so, when tina fey says bitch is the new black, that's cool....well let me as a woman say it: hillary is an irritating.....nope, i'm supposed to play nice.

[Waitaminute]

No I DON'T THINK SO i am a male, i have been called a b many times. This castolano guy is a B. I noticed when you used the B word, you spelled it out. It should be in the same catagory as the N word. It 's calling a woman a dog. Thats unnatural. Calling a man one is calling him a player, wimp, punk, weak when they relate to women. Most time women just call us low down dirty dogs.

[Jaradan]

Yes, it's okay for another woman to call a woman bitch. Just like black people can get away with calling another black person n*gger. But understand that using either word may get you physically attacked. That's the risk. Language of the oppressed.

[presto]

No, it is not okay. Never.

[jubo]

Incidentally what is the word for 'male dog'? Are canines hegemonic as well?

[campgranata]

dog.

[nastyvirus]

Rover McRuffruff esq.

[presto]

Keith.

[Mirri]

The "b" word is just as loaded as the "n" word, and has no place in a political contest between a woman and an African American. Castellanos needs to be muzzled -- muy pronto!!

[citadelgrrl05]

are you seriously equating the two..really!! No woman was ever rape,lynched, killed b/c they were a bitch..while on the other hand being the n word has gotten the latter..Will you please get serious, if she had not been who she was, a woman she would have been out of the race a long time ago, if the situation was reversed barack would have been out!!

[SuzieG]

Why don't you take a walk to the next women's shelter before you open your mouth next!

[diboss]

As a black man, I disagree with your comment. Women have been mistreated for thousands of years. I doubt you could seriously think that no woman was ever raped because she was considered a b*tch, or a slut, or...a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time. Women have been killed for the silliest of reasons. Sexism is just as big a problem, and just as serious, as racism. To tolerate one is to tolerate the other. Both are playing their part in this campaign, I think if there's one thing that needs to be done, is for both campaigns to acknowledge the existence of these forces and agree to fight against it, and help the nation rise above it (while leaving those that can't be helped in the past).

[presto]

Does the phrase "domestic violence" ring a bell?

[Bibbo]

you can prevent people from saying it but not from thinking it.

[venicesurfer]

i like hillary i voted for her. im not offended at all by what he said. hillary is a bitch. a woman in a position of power has to be a bitch. its how they get to the top. there is no weakness in hillary. she is not weak, she just knows how to play one on tv.

[GingerB]

Evolve.

[ibivi]

Cute. If a woman seeks power she's automatically a bitch. It is a disrespectful word and it is being used way too much. Give it a rest!

[Waitaminute]

lets be fair. If a man who did and act the same way women who make it to the top, they should be labeled Bs also.

[Jaradan]

No, a woman does NOT have to be a bitch to be in a position of power. That's what Hillary's supporters have wrong. They are rewarding her bitchy, nasty, criminal behavior by voting for her. Ask any other classy female politician like Nancy Pelosi, Claire McCaskill, Kathleen Sebellius, JoAnne Favors, etc. how to get their jobs done without being bitches-on-wheels and treating people with respect when it's NOT an election year.

[presto]

It is not a word that has any place in the public discourse. It has a vague equivalence in the word "bastard" and you don't hear the media bandying that word around in reference to male politicians.

[GingerB]

Tell CNN what you think of GOP consultant Alex Castellanos.

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/cnntv/

[westminster]

I did. He was right. The sooner we speak truth on news networks the better. I would go so far to say she's a racist. If she's not, she soon becoming one.

[Mirri]

I wrote CNN and asked them to remove Mr. Castellanos -- muy pronto!! -- or I will contact all their sponsors.

[dtrain51]

This what we have to do e-mail thousands of e-mail to these networks and the same when we see the smears and untruths.

[shades3]

And take Glenn Beck along with him.

[MsLiz]

Done.
I miss Walter Cronkite. News with dignity and integrity, when the idea was to inform the nation, not sell products.

[presto]

PBS has some pretty good news coverage. It is far less biased and far more accurate. The only problem is that you cannot just flip it on like you can a cable news station. Maybe someday. Maybe after this election cycle someone will study the coverage and go for an audience that wants to avoid the spin.

[rosal]

And she thinks she can win the general? This is an example of what Republicans think of her. So much for the electability spin.

[presto]

She can't win the election because Alex Castellanos doesn't like her? You should think that through.