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

[TenThings]

So Sarah Palin bears lots of children, supposedly stands up to "the good old boys", and her daddy taught her to shoot a rifle and gut a moose. One would think, the way the good old boys, i mean, the Republicans, are carefully crafting Palin's image, in their view, she did all this in High Heels too? "See ladies, she has no identity crisis, she's authentically a women, but man tough too!"

You would think, she's the second coming of Theodora, the most influential and powerful woman in the Byzantine Empire's history.

The only difference, is that women, of such historical power, had compassion, provided shelter, provided community service and ascended to their power while increasing the rights of women. Palin, does neither.

[GrainOSand]

Sarah Palin is one woman but superwoman with some women and some Oedipus afflicted men tying their identity to hers. That would be like me tying my identity to Barack Obama, it would be ridiculous. All of our identities as Americans are tied to the viability of this nation. Some are susceptible to the gimmick because they have yet to feel or become empathetic to real pain and real suffering. Life has a way of changing minds. Humans cannot change minds with words of caution or statement of facts. Some people require the blunt aspect of hardship to bludgeon them into understanding that this is not the time for the same old BS that put us in the situation “WE” face now.

It is easier to move a mountain than it is to change a mind.

[Star2000dancer]

I bet Joe Biden would gladly step down & rather have Hillary on the ticket. He knows Hillary is the best qualified for President. Pelosi kept Clinton out because she knew she could'nt control her. At the very least we knock Pelosi out & puy Hillary in her place. Impeachment is off the table indeed!!

[wallygator]

Let me get this straight,you are saying Hillary Clinton should give up her seat in the Senate for a 2 year seat in the House?
I say lets get a Democratic President elected, then turn Rep Waxman and Rep. Conyers loose, forget about impeachment ,think war crimes,think no chance of pardons.Ma­ke them pay for what they have done to our country.

[GrainOSand]

Some in the media continue to use Hillary Clinton as wedge issue in reporting on what matters today and some within the electorate are mad concerning the outcome of the primary to the degree they are poised to fall on a sharp political object and self-impale by voting for McCain. Do what you must do is the rational salute for such madness.

Hillary Clinton lost her moral way on the way to grandma’s house; yes, there were some wolves of sexism in that forest like Limbaugh and others in the media. No one associated with the Obama campaign used sexist rhetoric in referring to the senator. She did not make it to grandma’s house because there were some other wolves in the forest of her ambition that told her it was ok to take the shortcut through the haunted thicket of kitchen sink and false innuendo politics. She did that and ticked off people in such numbers that she was no longer inevitable. She went off-script due to Iowans seeing something in Obama. It freaked her out and her compass went haywire. Bill loves his wife, tried to help, and only ended up hurting not only his wife, but also people within the populace who believed he would never manipulate surrounding the tragic subject of race in America.

Hillary Clinton strayed from the proven path. The light of love is still on at the home of empathy. If it is about legacy, she will never come home.

[Jandie]

I can bet a million dollars that if the Democratic candidate would of been Hillary Clinton, John McCain would of chosen a "minority" as his running mate (even if it ran against the core of the Republican party) to "gain" the votes of the blacks disillusioned with Obama's lost or gain the Latino votes that were for Hillary - Sara Palin is nothing more than a "token" for McCain's ambition to the White House. Unfortunately we have a lot of "gullible" people in this nation that can't see when the wool is being pulled over their eyes.

[arachne646]

Gov. Palin wants to push through that glass ceiling that has so many cracks in it, but she'll be stepping on so many women underneath her (in her high heels?) to reach the top, that it wouldn't matter to me. The McCain campaign must think women are idiots to dangle this media ornament in front of us to lead us along like a pied piper..

[bibb]

Any old woman in the White House is NOT good enough.

It has to be the right woman, and that is NOT Sarah Palin.

All of the "wealthy, gun-toting, right-wing, war-loving, anti-choice, anti-environmental, shove one church down our throats women who don't care whether the potential leader of this country knows anything about most of our important national issues women can go ahead and vote for Palin.

The rest of us who care about equal education and health care for all, ending this pointless war in Iraq, improving our economy, planning an energy policy for the future, and taking care of this world that we live in will pass on her. We DO care about the issues, not just the celebrity.

[bibb]

I want to amend my comments about "gun-totin­g." I have no problems with gun ownership. I just have problems with Palin's promotion of killing wolves from airplanes. Besides not giving a majestic animal a sporting chance, the practice of needlessly killing a species for sport hunters (wolf numbers is not the issue-contrary to the lies) and not using all of the wolf shows disrespect for this animal and for the sport of hunting. My apologies to responsible gun owners.

[deliriousgod]

after she's done with it, it might be a long time before another female candidate can live down the association. We had the same stunt in Canada where a long conservative era was drawing to a close with historically unprecedented low approval for conservatism, and the Prime Minister resigned and made the deputy PM the first female PM so she could preside over their utter ruination in the following election.

[iyamchazz]

True, Kim Campbell was a sacrificial lamb.

[Jonni Rae]

Great post, Erica. Let's try, "Truth for a Change"

[payos]

Unfortunately, it is obvious that they DO think that people are that stupid, and racist. I'm sorry, but let's not pretend that racism is not in play here.

[DrFrasierCrane]

Payos - You are so right. The Right-Wingnuts would have been against HRClinton had she been the candidiate. Now with Obama everybody who has issues with Blacks in leadership roles (read: uppity) are now seeing a greater fear - a Black President. Racism is still around, maybe not as open as before but when the GOP's election night strategy is to prevent minorities from voting because of technicalities; voting machines in key States still not working or too few number of voting machines in the poorer neighborhoods; or just plain smears to win (remember what happened to Congressman Ford of Tennessee) - the GOP...yes the lily white folks of the party - and now the white women who just want "one of their own" in the White House - should be a concern for all. How stupid and narrow-minded 50% of Americans appear to be. I could just see the GOP winning through election fraud and over the next four years of Bush's third term: reinstatement of the military draft ; Roe V. Wade being overturned; the return to the Cold War (Halliburton needs to continue to make money ); McCain is incapacitated and President Palin is now in charge. Please God...wake me up from this nightmare. Women's rights and all of the progress made will evaporate and all because of the one-issue voter who can't see the whole picture. More Bush policies area coming...u­nless people wake up NOW.

[Citizenofreality]

America needs to wake up! This woman is dangerous and the probability of her becoming President of the United States should McCain be elected is very high. John McCain has had several serious bouts of skin cancer, it is not something to be glossed over. We are talking about a man who had stage 2 melanoma. I beg my fellow citizens to do a reality check and ask themselves honestly if they believe she is capable of handling the job. I think it is clear that she is not.

[Raco]

I didn't know she ( Erica) was still alive. Where has your strong, feminist voice been? Keep up the good work.

[Fight4USA8]

Thank you Ms. Jong.

We hope every smart woman like yourself would speak up, and expose McCain the male "Chauvinist Pig" why he picked "Sarah The Barracuda" as his #2.

If there are still women who want "Sarah The Barracuda" for "Mother of the Year" they should go to their PTA meetings.

The World is now saying, "When America Sneezes, the World Catches Influenza.­" So, after 8 years of Bush turning USA & the World upside down, if Americans keep selecting Stupid & Dangerous Presidents, the 2008 US Election is also the World's Election, therefore we have to get involved and do something about it.

http://www.mydailymirror.com/newspapersview.php?view=39452&day=04&month=11&year=2004

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/mccain-adviser-apologizes-for-terrorism-remark/

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/28/russia.georgia.cold.war/index.html


>>>>>COPY & PASTE THIS LINK ... IN YOUR BROWSER & go to page 1.
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_200.html

[igiveup]

Even if a million smart women like Erica Jong speak up, it will not influence the opinions of the millions of not-so-smart women who intend to vote for Palin because she's "one of us."

Heaven help us.

[sammy cole]

Does this mean we're gonna have to burn our bras AGAIN?????

[PristineLady]

Logic has obviously disappeared from this campaign!, so any complaining or explaining is useless!

We've entered the stage of a no-holds-barred visceral Culture War - you're either for freedom or against it, you're either for white Christian superiority or you're against it! The next 50 days won't change anybody's mind.

All we can do is find the people who agree with us, get them registered and get them to the polls. And then pray that the numbers add up in our favor!

If, in the process, you need a strong dose of pick-me-up sacrilegious humor, I'd highly suggest watching "Coming Soon", a brilliant faux-documentary that'll get your brain spinning. I think it's still streaming for free at http://www.comingsoon.cz. Definitely worth it!!!

Obama-Bide­n-Democrac­y 08!!!

[crat4ever]

Although it does energize me to purge myself on the blogspots, this won't get Obama elected. The only way we can insure his election (and thus the salvation of our society as we knew it), is to vote for him. I know WE all will, but there are people out there who would but aren't, because they aren't registered. Our righteous indignation is going to be the damnation of us if he doesn't win. I go out every Saturday and register people. My goal is 500 by Oct. 10 (the last day of registration in my state). I try to go places where people are likely to vote for him (grocery stores, liquor stores, churches where black and hispanic people tend to go. You would be surprised how many people wear T-shirts with his picture on them, but aren't registered. Call your local or state Dem headquarters or go to barackobama.com and click on your state to find out what you can do to help. I try to make it viral. I ask the people I register to get 2 more people to register, and so on.

[hellodollygoodluck]

Thank You So Much!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!

[muhair]

McCain doesn't "think" we're that stupid. He knows we are. Perhaps should say he knows "they" are. And just as the not-so-smart American people delivered W to the country TWICE, they will also present us come November with President McCain and Vice-President Palin. Better get used to it. It's the downside to democracy.­... a pretty big one, actually.

[stayinsouth1981]

Apparently 59 million people were that stupid during the last election. We are afraid or intelligence, OBVIOUSLY.

[Military1]

Does John McCain appear to be Forgetting and gettig himself in trouble trying to keep up with the Lies?