Reintroducing THE NEW AGENDA
November 6, 2008
by The New Agenda
|The New Agenda was formed on August 11th at a meeting of 30 Hillary Clinton Supporters. What we shared was our collective upset over the grave mistreatment of Senator Clinton during the Primary Campaign. We wanted, in tribute to Senator Clinton’s historic run, to form a group that could help Hillary’s voters: the millions of women in this country who often have no voice.
At our first meeting, we decided on two parameters that differentiated our group: 1) that The New Agenda would be non-partisan and would not be beholden to any political party; and 2) we would set aside reproductive rights as a platform issue. These somewhat revolutionary concepts came about for good reason: women in this country have become a divided majority, and as such, we have no power. So long as political alliance and choice can be used to divide us, we cannot collectively work on the 85-90% of issues that all women have in common. These women’s issues would become our goals.
We set out four areas of focus for The New Agenda:
1. Accountability (speaking out against sexism);
2. Platform Group (promoting a platform of women’s issues to all candidates);
3. Grass Roots (setting up a national grass roots effort); and
4. Grass Tops (identifying and grooming female candidates to run for congress and president).
During the presidential campaign, our focus was on Accountability and Platform. Now that the election is over, we will spread our wings and start our Grass Roots and Grass Tops efforts.
From the time we started, The New Agenda has received a tremendous amount of national attention. During the first month of our existence, we were the subject of stories by the LA Times, Real Clear Politics, and The Boston Globe. We were the first women’s group to speak against the sexism directed at Governor Palin. We were the only women’s group to speak out about NOW’s endorsement (for the first time in that organization’s history) of an all male ticket, which was covered by the Washington Post. After the Washington Post article, Amy Siskind was asked to appear on MSNBC. She refused, as Jeff Zucker had not met with us to discuss Chris Matthews misogynist conduct. Matthews remains a target for The New Agenda after the election.
Along the way, The New Agenda has been attacked by some of the Second Wave Feminists such as Marilyn Fitterman and Robin Morgan. You see, The New Agenda views women’s rights in a somewhat unique way. We are an inclusive women’s group for any and all. We are not tied to any political party. The issue of choice is not integral to our existence. These notions allowed The New Agenda to be the only women’s rights group to speak out on the misogyny faced by Governor Palin.
Finally, in our three months of existence, The New Agenda has gathered members from almost every state. We have members that are women and men, ultra liberal and staunchly conservative, grandmothers and granddaughters. We have spoken out through member action alerts, as well as through focused protest aimed at organizations affiliated with the offending individuals .
We invite you all to join us and make history together. We can and will make this country better for all women, their children and grandchildren.
It seems like the media continue to eviscerate Palin. They are doing that to prevent number 4.
votermom, I believe you’re exactly right. This video is just incredible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZHTJsR4Bc
I can’t recall seeing a content-free attack like this against a politician before.
Sexism rears its ugly head all over. I was just at FOX News and came acorss this article by Noell Watters/FOX News Crews in which he is critical of Michelle Obama’s dress the night of the One’s acceptance speech. Gimme’ a break! What the he** does the style of her dress have to do with anything of importance to this nation? It is just another standard applied to the sick meme of women-as-objects. There were a slug of comments and about half of them were as mindless as the author’s fashion critique. Are we really this collectively shallow?There simply is a massive amount of work to be done by the New Agenda, my God I had no idea how rampant misogyny is.
Can ‘foreigners’ (not American, not living in the U.S.) get membership?
yes, but all of our actions at this point will relate to women’s rights in the united states.
I love this platform, especially #4, the grass tops.
Where has NOW been on that?!
I have an idea for New Agenda.
This morning I remembered that on Bush’s first day in the Oval Office he reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule and closed the Office of Women’s Initiatives and Outreach.
I think we should have a First Day initiative to have Obama reinstate the Women’s Office.
And we could challenge NOW to do the same for the Global Gag Rule: on the First Day.
Bush has also over the years deleted and altered information on women’s issues from government websites:
“A report from the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW), released in mid-April, says the deletion of information on subjects including pay equity and childcare was ‘apparently [done] in pursuit of a political agenda.’ At least 25 publications were removed from the website of the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau alone.”
That could be next…to replace all that info by March.
We need a very public campaign to get Obama to send a clear message on DAY ONE that he is going to work on women’s issues.
Also, regarding #4, Anglachel notes seats to target for 2010. Maybe we could start in those states looking for women to back.
Dawn, that’s an unbelievable news clip. I almost could not sit through it.
Where were the news stories on “Obama doesn’t know there are 50 states?” and on Biden’s rewriting the history of television and FDR’s presidency?
I’ve heard it’s the Romney campaign out to undercut Sarah Palin before 2012. And did she really apologize for costing McCain “even one vote?”
In his zeal to promote his own elevation to great power, Barack Obama tried to destroy two women who, as elected public officials, hold high office with serious responsibilities.
In both cases, the women — Senator Hillary Clinton and Gov. Sarah Palin — have PROVEN their political skills and served their constituents well. Both of these women have earned and still receive HIGH approval ratings from their constituents.
Yet, it was considered okay and “fun” — and the “in” thing to do — to trash both women as if they were hags or bimbos. Women as well as men joined in the “fun.” Yes, it is a sad truth that many women feel they can deal with men holding high public office but, for some reason that eludes me, think it is okay to question the abilities of EQUALLY competent women.
Trust me, I have served on public boards with men who were blithering idiots, yet everyone deferred to them as if they were Solomon himself.
But women in high office are held to a different standard and are expected to be devoted and constant wives, mothers and caregivers to elderly parents even while holding down important jobs with serious responsibilities — and still be beautiful, sexy, well-groomed, and have bodies that look like they spend five days a week at the gym. Oh, and did I mention they had better have a Nobel Prize or a Pulitzer under their belts or some people will doubt that they have achieved anything worth respecting?
Men can be overweight, but overweight women are more likely to be the subject of cruel and snide remarks.
Men can be verbose, but every word a public woman utters must be significant — and she must not speak slowly for fear she will bore everyone.
On the other hand, a man as ugly, dull, unintelligible, wrong and boring as Alan Greenspan is praised and listened to with great reverence — even though he’s been grossly wrong about every economic issue he has testified about to Congress in the past ten years.
I am going to say it again: Gov. Palin is smart, honest, hard-working, honorable, dedicated and ACCOMPLISHED — which is MORE than can be said for MOST politicians.
And she deserved NONE of the insults and degrading jokes about her or her abilities. She is at least as smart, honest and capable as 95% of the American presidents have been.
Yes, it is an historic occasion that America has elected a black man, but he did it by destroying two women — so I find it hard to consider this a “win” for America.
–
“SHADOW” now . . . and “SHADOW” forever!
“Stop Humiliation And Disparagement Of Women”
And yet the continued bashing of Gov. Palin continues…UNNAMED aides are bashing her and uttering just ridiculous claims. Again a woman is taking the blame. She was as genuine as they come. I am boycotting all MSM.Fox news has started running “news” stories about her. I am writing to them in protest. Please join me if able.
Thank you for all of your efforts to bring us together to fight sexism and elevate women. Thank you for giving us a voice. I am looking forward to all we can accomplish in the future!
There is a site to leave a message for Gov. Palin.
ww.thepetitionsite.com/1/thank-you-sarah-palin
I have had enough! This election has been an eye opener on women’s rights in America. It started for me with a personal life experience of losing my tenure battle in the last two years much of it because of sexism and woeful lack of support from women colleagues and in fact the opposite from half of them and that revelation has finally culminated in this year’s presidential elections. Now I am ready to act, especially in the face of the latest onslaughts on Gov. Palin. I used to think of myself as a Democrat but changed my affiliation on May 31, after the RBC debacle. Palin has been good for democracy. We need a critical mass of women of all persuasions in political establishments to reach a point when gender considerations become irrelevant. For that reason alone I am willing to find and work with women of all parties to find that common ground and progress together. We need to have goals of having a woman on the national ticket within the next couple election cycles. We can’t wait for another generation. Steinem and her ilk are a failure for dropping that ball and dropping it again in this election.
So, The New Agenda, how can I help you to help myself? I live around DC and have plenty of time to volunteer and run things.
You shoul initiate a kind of movement for True Civil Rights in America. Of this way you’d show that Women Rights are obivliated.
*obliviated
Just like a person can not control the color of their skin, we can not help the sex to which we are born. I am thrilled that there are women who are willing to fight against the bias that we face every day. I have been a stay-at-home, home-schooling mom. I work in Sales. I attend a Conservative church. But I did not raise my daughters to be second-class citizens. I am grateful that women can use birth control, it has not always been available. I am grateful that I can hope to get a good job and get the same pay for the same work. However, the smearing of Sarah Palin, by the pompous jack asses on TV, has raised my ire. This is not the way I want my daughters to be treated. Sarah is not a saint, but a hard working woman. She deserves respect. Speak louder!
When white Southern racists lynched a black man, they didn’t “just” lynch that black man … they sent a SIGNAL to ALL black men that this could happen to them, too, if they dared to do anything the whites didn’t like.
So it has been with the humiliation, degradation, disparagement, distortions, lies and the disgusting jokes about Senator Hillary Clinton and Gov. Sarah Palin.
All of this activity was NOT just about destroying Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin– it was a warning shot across the bow to any other women who thought they might make a try for either of the two highest public offices in America: “You run, and we’ll destroy you.”
I think both Clinton and Palin were remarkable for their grit and fortitude; they kept on going when others might have wilted.
If Obama had been treated to the disgusting treatment inflicted on these two women, he (of the thin skin) would have melted in a pool of self-pity. Instead, even though Obama was treated like he was already The Emperor, he fired back at any criticism accusing the critic of being a “racist.” That silenced most people because most people, by now, are ashamed of being racist or even of being thought to be racist.
But, it is still okay and even admired in some circles to trash and bash women political figures.
Back when Clarence Thomas was being interviewed by the senate judiciary committee, as he sought appointment t to the U.S. Supreme Court, Thomas finally ended what he felt was his “torment” by claiming the questioning was the “high-tech lynching of a black man.” It actually wasn’t at all, and he had been treated far more courteously than Joe Biden (the committee chairman) had treated Anita Hill who, as Clarence Thomas’s principal accuser, had testified under oath that Thomas had sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor.
But the point I make here is that it is high time we accused the people who insult and disparage women of committing the “high-tech lynching (or rape) of women.”
We have to fight this bias against women with all our strength and creativity, because the ugly Americans have just enjoyed open season on two highly accomplished women; and no woman will soon run for high public office unless we level the playing field and end the humiliation and disparagement of women.
“SHADOW” now . . . and “SHADOW” forever!
“Stop Humiliation And Disparagement Of Women”
can we really exspect president elect Obama to choose women as cabinet members? He was never taught to respect women and probably never will. I say we just give him enough rope with which to hang himself. Summers is a very appropriate appointment for the He Man Women Haters, Obama administration. All I hope and pray for is for Obama to be revealed as the fruad and the corupt corporate hack that he is.
I email Fox News to inform them that they stand to lose many new viewers if they choose to engage in the ridiculous stoning of Sarah, as they ( Carl Cammeran) have today. I thought Fox was above this. Maybe they need to hear from all of us.
Yourcomments@foxnews.com; O’Reilly@foxnews.com
See Fox News site for many other emails addresses.
can we really expect….
sorry for the mistake.
Juliette – Thanks, I emailed Fox.
lightacandle – Your statement is worth repeating, so I am reposting: . . . it is high time we accused the people who insult and disparage women of committing the “high-tech lynching (or rape) of women.”
A step in the right direction.
http://www.nowhampshire.com/co.....e-majority
Misogyny is the WRONG word for us to be using; I do not believe that most of the disrespect for women politicians is based on hatred of women — yet that is what misogyny means: “hatred of women.”
Oh yes, some people — men AND women — do have a problem with strong, capable women who know how to lead and govern, but that’s not what’s going on here with Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin.
I think the problem here in America is that it is FASHIONABLE to disparage the accomplishments of political women and to disrespect their achievements.
People tune in to the TV talk shows and TV “comedians” and think they have permission to join in on the bashing and trashing of women they see on TV. Ridiculing women is a habit, a tradition, a pastime.
Women took one look at Sarah Palin’s hair and decided she “had” to be “dumb.” She was too sexy and beautiful to be smart. Those same women did not bother to do ANY research into Palin’s record as mayor and, now, governor. She has an outstanding record as governor — a record of accomplishment and reform most of us would welcome in our own states.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had no political experience when California, with its many problems and challenges, elected him to be governor. Californians even re-elected him a year or two later. California is now in huge financial trouble and looking to the federal government for financial help, but I guarantee you that if Arnold were a natural-born citizen the same people who ridicule Sarah Palin would be drooling in support of Arnold for president.
Why do you suppose this is? Arnold has proven his incompetence and Sarah Palin has proven her competence.
Joe Biden has almost permanent foot-in-mouth trouble, has had two brain aneurysms, garnered almost NO support for his presidential run in the primaries, has been wrong about the last 15 international crisis issues, and voted WRONG (according to Barack Obama) on the Iraq war resolution — yet, the media goons are applauding Biden’s elevation to the vice-presidency, and he is first in line to be president.
Why do you suppose this is?
People point to Palin’s interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson as “proof” she is not informed, but they forget how badly Obama did in his early interviews and how deer-in-the-headlights he appeared at the early Democratic debates. Media people were shaking their heads in stunned disbelief after Obama’s poor performance in those early debates and speculating that maybe Joe Biden was right that Obama was NOT READY for the big time yet.
I would also point out that what most people saw of those two early Palin TV interviews were the heavily EDITED and CUT versions, and they had been cut is a way that left out key parts and made Palin look as bad as the editors could make her.
Well, as I said up top, I think misogyny is the WRONG word here; I think what we are dealing with here is obliviousness: people are oblivious to the harm they do by disrespecting women and trivializing their achievements. I do NOT believe this disrespect is attributable to hatred of women but to habit.
Mocking women is a national pastime in America culture. Disparaging women’s accomplishments is a sick, sick American habit.
It is a habit that we must think about and then re-think.
It is time to measure women’s achievements with factual “yardsticks” — and it is time to CHANGE OUR WAYS of looking at women.
It is time — past time — to kick the habit of humiliating and disparaging women.
–
“SHADOW” now . . . and “SHADOW” forever!
“Stop Humiliation And Disparagement Of Women”
I am appalled at how savage the attacks against Palin continue to be. They are absolutely DETERMINED to destroy this woman.
They’re going to “finish the job” in order to slap us all down HARD.
So that we don’t get up again.
We have to escalate our efforts on her behalf. We have to fight her attackers as if they were our own – because they are.
They still see Palin as emblematic of our struggle – so we must continue to embrace her as such.
Lets get medieval on their asses.
Women defending women: its a new age(nda)
I think this — stopping the social/political/media rape of women — is the most important agenda of our time. I got tired of watching white men — pundits, not sociologists — on t.v. tell me that racism was rampant and that sexism was nonexistent in this campaign. I got tired of elite liberal ideologues who proclaim themselves the only “true” feminists tell me what is sexism and what is not sexism. I also think this agenda deserves more thought and planning than my weary brain can do in a short time. My personal fantasy? I would love to see the modern day equivalent of a Seneca Falls, a Convention for, by, and about Women, with nonpartisan pro-woman (I’m afraid I don’t feel confident about what “feminism” means anymore) experts in social psychology, sociology, women’s studies, media studies, political science, history, etc. as well as women politicians, poets, public figures, and us — everywoman — to coherently document and publish with a diversified yet unified voice what just happened, and to brainstorm and organize where to go from here.
I’ll join- I think this will be my goal that replaces the partisan political goal I held till my party told me to stay home, it didn’t need me anymore. How’s that for respect?
It’s not permissible to spout racist remarks on the news and
I plan on making it not permissible to do the same with sexist remarks.
Hanging a Palin effigy needs to be seen as a “hate crime” also.
Maybe it will need the actions that worked for the AA’s. And the
time frame too- but now is the time to (re)start.
Viva la sisterhood!
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