Patriarchy:1000, Hillary:0
Ever since I wrote an article in the Washington Post ten days ago, I've been getting love letters from women and super-smart men and brickbats from the Hillary-Haters. Unfortunately the Hillary-Haters are in charge. They monopolize the networks, the newspapers, the talk shows -- both radio and TV. They are crossing their legs for fear of castration. They are wearing the body armor our troops never got. Or got too late to matter. They are determined that a woman will not prove herself competent as Commander in Chief.
What's their ammunition? Oh, it's simple. They call her Mrs. Clinton, not Ms. or Senator. They pull out those nutcrackers in the shape of her supposed thighs. They complain about her ankles -- too thick. They complain on Fox TV that "White women are the problem" -- (idiot boy Kristol, the brain-damaged scion of Irving who rose through nepotism like our unelected "president"). Then they say she has "baggage" -- which could mean wrinkles, or her husband, or her daughter Chelsea whom they say she is "pimping." Then they say she never divorced Bill -- as if it's anyone's business. Then they moon over Obama's rhetorical style. Then they make it appear that she's a drone or a worker bee and has no royal jelly. Or else she has royal jelly and is queen bee. And that's her problem.
If Bill defends her, he's a pimp. If he doesn't, he's a creep. If Chelsea campaigns, it's cynical. If Obama trots out those cute little girls Michelle gave birth to, he's a family man. If Michelle attacks Hillary, it's news. If Hillary attacks Michelle -- well she can't because that would be racist. All we need now is a black woman in this race -- Maya or Oprah or Toni or Gayle or Donna -- any of whom would be a far better president than the one we've still got (not to mention his surrogate Dad, Dick Cheney, his co war-criminal). You couldn't attack Oprah or Maya or Toni or Gayle or Donna because of their color. Wow -- what an idea! Oprah for President. I'd definitely vote for that. I adore Maya Angelou as both person and poet. Toni Morrison is a genius and a true progressive. Gayle King is an executive, mother, communicator. Donna B. is a spokeswoman on CNN. Oprah -- well, she's Oprah -- way beyond having a last name.
Let me tell you about the Hillary-Haters who fill my inbox, they can't spell. They also believe in witchcraft. They believe HRC boils eye of newt with unborn baby's hair and little Jewish children not yet circumcised. They think she had a child with Vince Foster (even though Chelsea looks much like Bill and even his mother), then murdered him. They think she will leave Iraq, not leave Iraq, give us universal health care, not give us universal health care, sanction the killing of fetuses, not sanction the killing of fetuses, defend Israel, not defend Israel, end the Death Tax, not end the Death tax.
Honey, they are all mixed up. But they know they hate. And not just her -- but lots of people and things and ideas.
Ho hum. We've seen this all before in the United States of Amnesia (Gore Vidal's brilliant phrase). Remember Geraldine Ferraro -- tarred with the brush of her Italian-American husband, whom they claimed was a mafioso? Remember Bella Abzug, attacked for her hats (which covered too large a brain)? Remember Eleanor Roosevelt, attacked for her teeth? Remember Victoria Woodhull (the first woman to run for president) "hanged" as a whore? Remember Emma Goldman rode out of town on a rail -- for being Jewish, liking to dance and supporting the rights of the working classes?
Perhaps you know the history. Most likely you don't. They'd rather you didn't know it. Hence trillions for guns and pennies for education. The military industrial complex needs your boys and your girls in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan. But there's no one to guard the "homeland" -- a nice Hitlerian locution. Perhaps they'd rather you didn't know that every great empire -- from Persia to Greece to Rome -- fell when it spent more on war than on its people. This is history, kids. But we don't read history any more. History begins with Britney and ends with Paris.
I give up. If I have to watch another great American woman thrown in the dustbin of history to please the patriarchy, I'll move to Canada -- where they live four years longer than we because they have universal health care. Or Italy -- where Berlusconi played at being Mussolini but life is sweet anyway and people take vacations in August and at Chanukah (Christmas or Diwali or Kwaanza) and Passover (Easter).
Ok folks, stick your heads in the sand like Maureen Dowd who thinks we're not against women but just against Clinton "baggage." Or Barbara Walters who seems to have forgotten how viciously she was attacked when she got her first million dollar contract -- worth only half a million in Euros today.
Or Oprah who forgets she wasn't always Oprah -- I knew her when she had two names. She was always really smart, but she used to identify with women. And now she's joined the Obamarama. I get it. I understand. People want their own color in the White House (pun intended). And nobody said Barack wasn't brilliant.
But the truth is, we have no idea what he stands for. At least I don't. All we have are soundbites and attacks on "the" Clintons. But I guess the great American Amnesiate prefers it that way. And they always get what they deserve in the White House. Last time it was Dubya -- the dumb son of the CIA who showed them by never heeding their warnings. We lost Al Gore to sound bites about his nerdiness. Then we lost him again to hanging chads in Florida. We lost Adlai for being too intellectual. They used to say "egghead" in the olden days. And we lost Kerry to touch screens in Ohio and to election officials later indicted and tried and convicted. I didn't like him anyway. I especially hated his not returning fire at the Swiftboaters, and that stupid salute at the Democratic convention where Barack was born from the head of Athena.
Flip Flop, Flop Flip. This is the nature of our political dialogue. Might as well vote Repugnican as Democratic -- though I never have in my whole life. They're all just pols who secretly pledge to ignore fifty three percent of the population. And guess what? The fifty three percent is resigned to it. We don't like it. We wish it were otherwise. But we adore our sons and grandsons and husbands and fathers and grandfathers -- not to mention our nephews whom we happily nepotize.
One of my nephews works for Hillary. I bet his heart is breaking too.
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I will vote for either candidate I prefer Clinton because I believe her to be a smart and a very engaging leader who will do a great job of putting a team together to lead our country in a positive direction. I also feel Barack will do a good job as well but his short years on the national scene makes me a bit nervous. Better the devil you know as they say. I understand how the Bush years have affected all of us progresive thinkers and can undersatnd the desire to wipe the slate clean and start over with a fresh face. I do not want to see another pro-war candidate win for the republicans. I read the huffpo every day and fret over the awful venom that runs through both camps. They can't both win so whomever does needs all our support, not bitter resentment. We have this oppurtunity don't blow it by being petty.
The media bombards Hillary with every disparaging allusion they can dredge up out of the mysogynistic depths of their annals. AOL had a series of photos posted following this weeks' elections. The first 19 were of Obama looking semi-godlike, gazing to the heavens, in full preacher mode, followed by two horribly unflattering pictures of Hillary and Patty Doyle, in private moments looking very tired. Then they went on to six more Obama recruiting poster photos.
There is no balance, and the Republican-controlled media is fueling Obama's meteoric rise. Even Ultra-Republican Rupert Murdoch is endorsing Obama. (Fox, NY Post, Wall St. Journal) Do you think he really wants Obama to be President? Or do you think there might just be an ulterior motive? Easier to beat? Doesn't want McCain to have to go up against Hillary?
Obama is in the "promises" business.
Hillary is in the business of SOLUTIONS!
Let's get real about the future.
VOTE Hillary Clinton
Contribute $10, $25, $50...whatever you can at www.hillaryclinton.com. Let's take back our country, with a candidate who is fully prepared to make the changes we need.
"Take back our country" is yet another line stolen from the Obama campaign. Can't you guys think up your own stuff without stealing???
Thank-you Erica! Wake up Democrats: A vote for Obama is a vote for McCain. That's all there is to it. So if you all want another 4 years of war, all your tax dollars going to the horrific military build-up, more tax cuts for the rich, more illegal covert operations, more domestic spying, the ongoing erosion & sub-version of our great constitution, education in the toilet, womens rights reversing, no health care... I can go on and on. Go ahead,vote for Obama.You must be on some other planet if you believe that the white male system will allow a black man, with little experience in either foreign and/or domestic affairs, to be president of the United States of America at this time in our history! You are doing EXACTLY what the republication machine wants & plans for... you are their "another dream come true". So vote for Obama, put the presidency right in their lap... at this point, as far as I am concerned, you will get what you'll DESERVE: President McCain.
Brilliant! Brilliant! cont.
Erica:
By affecting an arrogant, condescending, contemptuous tone you are reminding many of us of the personal qualities of HRC that we find so disturbing. Remember her threat to "demonize" the opponents of her health plan? Keep up the terrific work and keep writing those wonderful columns. Hopefully they will be read by thousands in Ohio and Texas. They should disgust thousands who are considering supporting HRC. Once again, thank you. Thank You! Absolutely Brilliant!
Male, right? :-)
Or is it possible they see the massive corruption that Hillary represents. Your devotion to this candidate, based on one thing, that she is a woman, is everything you are trying to see in the opposition, and none of the real reasons no one wants, not a woman, but THIS woman, in the oval office.
Erica:
I just figured it out. You are really an Obama supporter. By posing as a Hillary advocate and using racist, sexist reasoning to support her you are convincing more and more people to support Barack. Absolutely Brilliant! By depicting people who have well researched objections to Hillary as ignorant low-lifes and doing it quite hysterically, you are turning off thousands to HRC's campaign. Thank you! Thank you! You have sacrificed your reputation for the cause. Once again, Brilliant! Brilliant!
skycontrol:
It's time to get out of the sky and come back down to earth. Your thinking seems to be more than a bit askew, my friend. Lack of oxygen maybe, chanting change,change, change make you a bit lightheaded?
Everyone keeps saying that both democratic candidates are brilliant. But I say they are brilliant in very different ways, she is smart, experienced and very knowledgeable. He is very clever, says what you want to hear, and is self-aggrandizing.
I wish just one Obama crushee whould acknowledge what many of us are trying to tell you. Supporting Obama now will give us President McCain in 2009. You don't have to believe it, just acknowledge that you have heard it, read it, saw it, and with any luck, at least thought about it.
(Remember the Nader supporters!)
I am one of those Super-Smart Men that supports Hillary.
BTW I love all Super-Smart Women... Happy Valentines Day.
Do you love Bill too? Because he comes with her. It's his backdoor into the white house for another 8 years. Real feminist stuff!!!
Dear Erica, I had to wipe the vitupe off my screen after reading your latest. Do you really think Clinton is sliding just because the Big Bad Men Are (as always) Threatened by The Strong Woman? As a woman, I'm especially sorry to see you vent your (entirely appropriate) anti-Bushite rage in this (entirely inappropriate) context. You are a Hillary hater hater: just as knee-jerk, long-suffering, tangential and vindictive as the people you despise. We don't need any more of this gender-ist mud in the mix. In any case, Senator Clinton has done quite enough to turn off thoughtful voters, all by herself.
Very well said. I won't go so far as to say I'm a super-smart man, but I know all about Abzug, E. Roosevelt, Woodhull and (one of my favorite people in American history) Goldman. I still don't support Hillary Clinton. She's not left-wing enough for me. I was a Kucinich backer. To compare that DLC loser HRC to Emma Goldman must have all the great socialists spinning in their graves.
Erica, you cannot bully or shame me into supporting Hillary Clinton. I didn't vote for her husband and I certainly won't vote for her. I'm a progressive and I need a progressive to support. Who that will be is anyone's guess.
I can tell you what Obama stands for, what he means by change. His overarching themes are HONESTY and TRANSPARENCY. This is what America is looking for after a Bush administration.
Honesty and transparency are in the eye of the beholder. Bin Laden, in all his speeches, emphasizes honesty and transparency, and so does President Ahmadinejad. Hitler and Goebbels never ceased to invoke honesty and transparency. What I would like to know, what honesty and transparency mean for Sen. Obama, Sen. Hilary, and Sen. McCain!
vegangypsie:
You say Obama stand for honesty and transparency?
They why is he hiding from debating Hillary. What is he afraid of if he's soooo into honesty and transparency? It's easy to make pretty speeches but it doesn't let anyone know what he's REALLY made of does it.
Hiding behind a media fantasy machine doesn't cut it either. Mind you it is a change, for sure when your Republican opponents go on a marketing campaign on your behalf. That's really a change. Never seen it before in my lifetime anywhere. Honest, sure, tell me another one.
How many debates have they had? And don't they have one scheduled at the end of the month? Why should he agree to her terms? It's all about risk and power plays, etc., etc. Yes, Obama is a horrible, horrible man for capitalizing on his oratorical skills. Just like Clinton wants to capitalize on her debating skills. Let's face it, both of them are smart as hell. Or, at least I can face it.
Honesty and transparency. Who, except the shrubs do not want these? Furthermore these aren't policy statements about what he plans to achieve for the country and how he plans to implement his goals. If he thinks honesty and transparency are all we expect of a president then he has his head further up his clouds than I ever thought!
Plus very ineffective/inefficient people can be honest and they are usually transparent too. Pay attention to what you write and try to say something about what you believe his substantial goals and policies are about.
Ok Erica, we get it. You want ANYWOMAN as President. I don't, nor do I want ANYMAN. Years ago, when working as an administrator successively, in several small cities, many of us would have welcomed the wives of the Councilmen (then only men) in their places bringing sanity, absence of crippling egos, and good sense to the matters at hand. I would still wish for it, locally and nationally. But I'm stuck with who throws his/her hat in the ring. Hillary has always had ugly hats, but is probably the most competent administrator of all the Democrats running, may be the brightest, and comes with the most baggage. Part of that is Bill who I can't see hunkering down in the background. Although I would vote for him again, I can't see how he's going to be held in appropriate check by his spouse-an absolute requirement for me and for so many who hate his guts.
And she is less than the warmest coverlet in the 'hope' chest. She has all the charisma of Mitt Romney, and probably his technocratic chops. Neither much attract.
I am concerned about Obama being all hope and promise and a yard wide. His depth has never been tested.
Give me Oprah and Obama. She's been publicly more-than-competent and without baggage for a long enough time. That ticket or Obama and Hillary might be able to overcome the resolute antipathy which Sen. Clinton alone engenders. But I don't want to sacrifice the next eight years to a Republican presidency because we Democrats, unlike most redcaps, can't identify the baggage she brings, and want just any female. There are too many who could serve us better and hire her competence to work for them.
I would gladly support a woman for president. Just not THAT women, OK Erica? I was all for Patricia Schroeder when she was considering a run at the presidency.
jwod:
Your give me Oprah Obama says it all. The media made superstars will rule America. My GAWD!!!
Until I actually stated it in a previous post, I think I have been afraid to say it right out. Yes, that's right, I WANT A WOMAN AS PRESIDENT. And I mean almost ANY woman. Okay, I don't want Elizabeth Dole, or Christy Todd Whitman, or Condi Rice, or not even Faux Dem Claire McCaskill. But almost any other. What most of you men don't understand is, many of us have MAN FATIGUE. Make that Male-President Fatigue. You talk about dreading four more years of Clintons? What do you think it's like for us, looking at the same phony suits covering up testosterone hard drives for lo these many decades ... no, centuries! Really, just toss us a bone, will you? Can we have Hillary for four years if we promise we'll give up and retrograde back to men after that? Honest, we will. Hey, hey, don't look behind my back at my fingers.
I just thought of a real probability. Many of the Senator Clinton haters are actually neocons. They invade this post regularly, have always hated Senator Clinton AND have the ultimate motivation -- the highly defeatable Obama candidacy.
I will definitely vote for Obama if he is our candidate. I do not believe most of the Hillary-bashers on this post will pledge the same if Hillary is our candidate. They are not genuine Democrats.
Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you...
I will vote for Hillary if she is the nominee; hopefully she will be smart enough to choose Obama or Edwards as her vice; or another woman...hmmmm...
And I just thought of a possibility....perhaps the Clinton lovers who say that Obama cannot possibly win against the repub machine are actually neocons! They would love to eat Hillary alive!
I agree with those who've responded, "Erica, get a grip." I'm a 55-year-old woman, the very "base" which supports Senator Clinton just because she is a woman. It's disturbing to think women are supporting a candidate given allegiance to sex, a pattern that hopefully won't be perceived as a reason to question the sanity of giving women the vote in the first place! Personally, I'd love to see a female president, but one with the right motives and allegiances. Clinton buddied up to GW from the start and has her hands firmly in the pockets of corporate interests. Let's face it, if the corporatization of America is not halted, we're doomed. That may be the paramount issue at this moment in American history -- which Senator Edwards knew -- and it is an issue being shoved under the table by the corporations (which, of course, own the news (using that term loosely) outlets).
To quote Goethe, an ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words, and Clinton comes up short on both accounts. I and others who comprehend the grave state of our nation and wonder who will lead and inspire each one of us, every citizen, to change our nation's present disastrous path are responding to Senator Obama because of his words as well as actions, while sensing that Clinton, IRREGARDLESS OF HER SEX, will only give us more of the same. And what is frighteningly clear is that we cannot afford more of the same at this delicate, crucial moment in history.
Imagine, quoting Goethe but now knowing that irregardless is not a legitimate word and also not able to see the difference between Senator Clinton and the neocons. I guess that if you actually believe this then you would be willing to risk a McCain neocon-presidency.
Support Obama now, genuflect to McCain later.
It's a copyout to say 'I'd vote for a woman, just not THIS women' - this is the woman that's running. Vote for her. There's no other one running. You're a woman, vote for her. No matter how much you might not like her, she'll have your interest at heart. Instinctively. If Hillary doesn't win, it's because of the women, not the men. It's sad, but women loath women who have ambition 'above their station'.
Discrimination against women comes far more from woman than from men. If I don't want more, bigger, better, how dare she want so much. Obama's a wuss, he's weak, he's got 'dreams' and no coherent policy that will fly. But he's got a set of balls, and that's what makes him qualified. It's sad. I'm checking out Canada myself.
Does that mean all women in the UK needed to vote for Margaret Thatcher? Come on!
I love how the Hillary-hater haters make this a boys-against-the-girls battle. I would happily vote for a woman for president who I thought would make a good president. HRC ain't it.
Stop helping.
AngelaM, "Vote for her because she's the woman running. You're a woman, vote for her?" You did not comprehend the point of my blog. And Ms. Clinton will have my interests at heart? Oh please. Clinton represents many things -- ties to corporations, corruption, pandering, power for the sake of power -- but they're not my issues, my concerns, my interests. By the way, you're espousing counter-discrimination. And by the way, I believe the word is "cop out" not copyout, which you're espousing in counter fashion as well. To paraphrase another of your statements, "Clinton's got a vagina, and that's what makes her qualified." Don't think so. Right words, right action, right intentions -- that's what makes someone a good candidate. Not their private parts.
Do check out Canada. The U.S. is in dire need of intelligent voters and an informed citizenry.
Do I want a woman for president just because she's a woman that voted for a stupid war and then said if she knew then what she knows now she would not have voted for it? Do I want a president that obviously didn't take the time to think about the hundreds of thousands of Americans who opposed this war -- her constituents -- who at the end of the day had better judgment than she did? Do I want a woman who attacks her opponent with lies and innueudos, and sends out her surrogates to fill the internet and blogs with baseless accusations about her opponent? Do I want a woman who, though her name has never appeared on any major legislation, continues to brainwash her mindless followers with the unfounded mantra that she has more "experience?" Because 35 years ago she went to work for a civic organization. Well, 26 years ago, he became a community organizer and led one of the most successful voter registration drives in Chicago's history. Part of her experience is 8 years in the White House where she traveled and made speeches and fired the Travel Department and participated in a few scandals (along with her new campaign manager, Maggie Williams). Part of his experience is 8 years in the Illinois Legislature where he spearheaded the death penalty moratorium, created a bill to mitigate racial profiling, sponsored another bill to require tape recorded interrogations, and sponsored the legislation that made Illinois the first State to provide health care to all children whose families can't afford it. Do I want a president who is polarizing, who has a 52% negative rating, and who has a tiny Democratic base of mostly white women and 60+ people; or a president whose supporters transcend race, color, age, political party preference and economic status?
Hillary's supporters say "yes she can" Obama's say "yes we can." I'd rather participate as part of the "we!"
"she'll have your interest at heart. Instinctively."
Why is that?
There are definitely biases against women and many injustices which I detest, but you can't defend Hillary because she is a woman, no more than you can defend Barack because he is black. This is about integrity, being true, and taking a stand. Hillary has shown serious problems in these areas. How many times has she changed her tune to re-position herself throughout this campaign? First, she wanted to get the troops out in 2013, and just last week she said something about starting in two weeks! Now, I ask you, why would she change her position? I could forgive Hillary for voting for the war, like a lot of democratic fools, but the problem is that she shows no sign of remorse about it, and this reveals her heart, her inner core. How easy it is to forget that thousands of Iraqi women and children were destroyed by this decision. I did not see Hillary standing up for the mothers and the children then, and where was she this week when it came to voting against immunity for the telecom companies? Hillary is no butterball. She is intense and would be a dictator that all of us would live to regret if she were to gain the White House. For Hillary, it is "my way or the highway." No, Hillary. You are simply not true enough for me. I don't hate Hillary. I simply dislike her for her deceit and changing her political face when it is convenient. So, please get off this "poor Hillary" train. Remember. There is nothing poor about Hillary.
Hmm, sadly Ms. Jong's posting is a reflection of what she writes about: anger, anti-intellectualism, and prejudice. While I agree with many of her points, she is guilty of adopting them.
I'm getting tired of hearing that Obama has no substance. After watching a year of HRC ads with the sonorous music and the slow-motion American flags in the background, everyone must take responsibility for spewing feel-good, vapid drivel. There are more than enough wonkish white papers on the candidates' website to put the entire country to sleep through November. The problem is nobody wants to read them. They want everything delivered in 30 seconds.
Just remember this: while the country believed W. was a good-ole compassionate Christian, he was surrounding himself with advisers that wanted to militarily contain China. Those of us who bothered to dig beneath the commercials and stump speeches figured out he was trouble. We need to take responsibility for our own decisions.
I don't hate Hillary Clinton; I do hate the sexist media, and the general stupidity that animates public discourse in this country. But ... now that John Edwards has withdrawn, I am supporting Barak Obama because of his experience and public record. I will never forgive Sen. Clinton her votes regarding Iraq and Iran, nor her muted response to (our) state-supported torture. I'm a nearly 60 year old lesbian woman, by the way - a flaming liberal and proud of it. Your simplistic support for Sen. Clinton is infuriating.
Dear Angryhumanist, if the same fact were presented to you that was presented to Hillary you probably would of voted the same way she did. Obama does not have the experience Hillary has - Hillary has outstanding record regarding trying to support women, poor folks and working people. Also --- why did not Obama vote regarding Irag-- easy to condemn when you were not part of it. Remember he did not vote is different than not showing to vote. If you really are a humanist stop being angry it is not good for you, change your mind and support Hillary and you will see that she will do as she says not just talk about it. Cheers and Happy Valentines day to you
angryhumanist,
Thank you for your response! I was about apoplectic trying to figure out what to say in response to this extremely patronizing blog but you said it perfectly.
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