Not That Stupid: Erica Jong's Dear John Letter

Dear John McCain:

We're not that stupid. Sure it would be nice if the women of America believed that everyone with breasts and a vagina believed in equality. But it ain't so. Women have differing views -- just like men.

Some like beer; some like chardonnay. And some prefer AA. Some like automatic weapons; some don't. Some think every pregnancy is sanctified; some don't. Some think presidents should be qualified for office; some don't care.

But to take the struggle for equal rights that has gone on for two centuries and embody it in the person of Sarah Palin is not just misleading but abusive. Charging rape victims for rape kits is a travesty of equal rights. Insisting that government impose your own views of abortion on others is anti-equality. Cutting funding for black teenage mothers is anti-feminist and racist. Lying to the electorate about your record is insolent. Do you think we're too stupid or indolent to check?

We have checked. You are lying and so is she. But you must think that a big lie repeated over and over becomes the truth. And it seems that many Americans are with you on that.

You are so good at the bold-faced lie that you even seem to believe it yourself. When Barbara Walters and Joy Behar accused you of lying on "The View," you claimed you weren't.

I guess your handlers have decided that after eight years of Cheney-Bush saying one thing and doing another, truth no longer has any meaning. Say it often enough and we'll believe anything -- like the good commercial-watchers we are. So, prep Sarah to sound like Hillary -- and we'll be fooled.

It remains to be seen how many will.

But one thing is clear. You have reached a new low in your regard for the public. You have blown your credibility. Usually politicians wait to be elected to do that.

It's fascinating to watch you and your party try to co-opt the idea of change, the idea of equal rights after eight years of being in total control and trashing the country for women, for workers, for taxpayers and for anyone who earns dollars.

Do you really think we're that stupid? Apparently you do.

Tax cuts for the rich have produced trickle-down unemployment. You want to try that again? We don't. The private sector has not policed itself. Failing banks and mortgage companies prove that. The deficit has swelled. Insurance rates for health care have swelled. Women are joining the ranks of the poor faster than ever.

Play it again, John?

As Sarah Palin said, lying about her lust for earmarks, "Thanks but no thanks."

Sincerely,
Erica Jong

Comments

[CompetenceMatters]

Well said. It’s no longer about how smart the candidates are, we know who is smart and who isn’t. IT’S ALL ABOUT HOW SMART WE THE PEOPLE ARE..

[saami]

Thank you Erica. Harry Truman said, "how many times do you have to get hit on the head before you figure out what is hitting you on your head?"

[Miami Me]

Ericka,

Thanks for rocking the vote with your note!

Value truth, when you walk into the booth,
Look towards the future, away from the loser
No more Drama, Vote OBAMA!

[Jo Manning]

Lying apparently wins elections. We've had the Big Lie and the Big Liars in the last two. I hope people will wake up.

As for Johnny Mac, it's obvious he's learned the lying thing from Bush and Cheney -- and Ms. Palin is a quick study, she caught on fast! -- and that he will do ANYTHING to win in November.

Register everyone you know who has a brain and get the honest vote out in November! This is a disastrous ticket. God save America.

[ohng]

McCain may be lying like a trooper but he is leading the polls so he is right about the electorate.

[ully]

who is erica?? like to be the vice president ??

[hgovernick]

Ms. Jong. Thank you for your insights, although I feel you may be preaching to the choir. Only people who aren't stupid will understand your logic. The (Bush-propelled) McCain strategists are counting (vote-by-vote) on those who are stupid for a win. They've used the "stupidity formula" successfully to keep their current spokesperson / salesman in office. As I observe the "show" from outside the perimeter of the circus tent, I wonder why the "stupidity formula" works. Some thoughts:
1. Marlboro Man: For decades Madison Avenue Ad Agencies have been using the stupidity formula successfully to sell products no one needs to everyone who doesn't need them.
2. The Stadium Mentality: In 1930 boxer Max Baer became known as "the killer" afer an opponent died a day after losing a match with Baer. The fans loved it. The current election process has been presented as a sporting event. It's "Reds vs. Blues", and the fans love it. It doesn't matter who's on the team - what matters is winning.
3. False Pride - Stupider than Stupid: Who among them will say, "I was wrong the last eight-years. I am wrong now."? Better to win an election than lose one's pride.
4. Some people are just born stupid, but that's not their fault.
One question I can't answer: How do we preach to those outside the choir?

[jamesdaddio]

agreed..
unfortunate but it's seems very true it's about pride and tradition rather than issue and truth american optimism is crazy you can take a way peoples houses and their rights and they continue to believe
I guess it's all they really have.

[CompetenceMatters]

Insightful. To your last question: in very simple language, with pictures and concrete examples, slowly, enunciating every word clearly, involving people's personal pocket books.

[GhostNyc]

Be sure to mail this article out to your friends and family- start the discussion.

Get the TRUTH OUT THERE.

ENOUGH

Time for Republicans to take the blame for their own actions.

OBAMA/BIDEN 08

[dharmamom]

Not us, Erica, them. You are preaching to the choir here. I live among "them". Dumbed down, reality tv based, bar lowered, easily manipulated average americans are the majority. Read the watergate tapes to find out how some back room discussions during Nixon years all but unraveled the strides the "new left" created in quality college education in the humanities etc. that would continue the critical thinking skills of the public. It's stuff that slowly over the next four decades all but eroded "intelligence" amongst the populace. Sorry, but the facts are the facts. Pax Americana, Project for a New American Century, Heritage Group, etc. all created from the seeds sowed during that critical time in the early seventies. The best example of all that is the staggering costs of college...one cannot go to "learn" , one goes to "earn"..to pay back those enormous loans. The progressives must understand the past, or we are doomed to repeat it....

Love and peace to all

[richmond46]

This is absolutely wonderful. Say it again sister. We AREN'T STUPID MCCAIN!!!!

[slang1209]

When "W" was elected in 2000, my 21 year old son commented about how far the bar had been lowered for qualifications to be President. Who would have dreamed that the sanctimonious, self-righteous RIGHT would rush to lower the bar even further. The Roman Empire fell after 1000 years. The US is only 225 years old, has been brought to its economic knees under this Republican administration, and is now on life-support. By electing McCain/Palin, we might as well give ourselves last rites.

[NamelessGenXer]

By electing McCain/Palin, we might as well become expatriates (St. Maarten for me :)

[Zubeck]

I'm packing in advance just in case

[CompetenceMatters]

I am seriously considering returning to a modern, civilized western democracy whence I came from. My mother, who stayed there, died last year worrying about me, and kept sending me real estate ads and asking when I was coming back. Sad, but funny, but sad.

[dawn1041]

WOW, thanks Erica. You hit every not, with the TRUTH! Of course, McCain will not be able to comprehend the truth!

[kallisti7]

I just have to say something else. Running the country is like household management writ large. So who do you want to run the country: the ditzy chick and your grandpop or your dad and his cool friend from work? But, seriously. We can't be dicking around with people who have, like, zero integrity. Why is it so hard to draw straight line from our current situation to the republican party?

[kallisti7]

Amen, Sister!

[mayimbamusic]

Brilliant comedic relief!