MORE Breaks the Left’s Ice on Palin
February 9, 2010
by Amy Siskind
|There’s an old Chinese proverb: A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. That has been our work here at The New Agenda – one small step at a time towards unity for women.
And so I was delighted yesterday to see an article over at MORE which gives reasons to like Sarah Palin. All the more so because it is a piece written by Judith Coyne, Exective Editor of MORE and like myself, a lifelong Democrat. Unlike myself, Judith pulled the lever for Obama.
You can read Judith’s beautifully written (as always) piece in full here. The three reasons cited in her piece:
(1) She has amazing hair. Always a plus for Palin, it now seems longer, with movie-star fullness. Maybe she’s found the world’s greatest volumizer. Maybe she finally has the time and money to give her hair the attention and expensive products we all know our hair deserves. Or maybe she’s the first former vice-presidential candidate to have extensions. However she got there, it looks goo-ood.
(2) She really is a mom. While being interviewed post-speech by tea-party convention organizer Judson Phillips, she answered a question about her son in the military while noting that Track didn’t want her to talk about him and now he might hear about her doing exactly that. The interviewer said, “Maybe he’s watching right now.” Her response must have drawn a smile from the mother of every twentysomething in America (except the ones who are grad students at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service): She smiled fondly and said she didn’t think her son had ever, “in his young life,” turned on C-Span. (And the way she said it even made me think, against all Couric evidence to the contrary, that perhaps Palin herself actually had.)
(3) She gives no quarter. After a year of watching Obama do the rope-a-dope, it’s refreshing to see some brashness. As in her taunting “How’s that hope-y, change-y stuff workin’ out for you?” Or the nasty “We need a commander in chief” not a professor of law. Or the possibly accurate “When you’re 0-3 [in mid-term elections], you’d better stop lecturing and start listening.”
Here’s the real gem that caught my eyes:
No, she didn’t go to Wellesley or any of the Ivies–but then, neither did I, and more to the point, neither did such Congressional powerhouses as Olympia Snowe (University of Maine in Orono), Barbara Boxer (Brooklyn College in, you know, Brooklyn) or Barbara Mikulski (Mount Saint Agnes College in Maryland).
I give Judith a lot of credit. Politically speaking she is cut from the same clothe as a certain writer over at Salon who wrote a not very nice piece about Palin on Sunday.
The Salon piece reminded me of something my tween daughter would say: “That’s so last year.” I mean really – can’t we just let the men practice the misogyny? They’re so much better at it (or are they?)
How can an educated woman refer to Palin as “dumb”? Disagree with her politics, sure. But baring that, get over yourself and grow up! This behavior is better left back in junior high school- although a good parent wouldn’t even let a teenage daughter demean another girl by calling her “dumb.” Let alone a girl who made it on her own all the way to become a governor!
Let’s be clear: TNA is not saying you must vote for Sarah Palin if she runs. What we have been saying is that Sarah Palin has, and continues to be a victim of a media smear campaign. And it takes an educated, independent thinker to see above the smog and consider who this woman actually is.
After all, there’s a decent shot that Sarah Palin will be our country’s first female president. She’s not afraid to color outside the lines – and frankly given the setup of our political system, the odds are stacked against a woman who chooses to run along the traditional path.
So please, in 2010, let’s all take a deep breath and stop being “so last year.” If you don’t vote for Palin on policy so be it. But give a chance to judge her on her merits. Then decide.
Oh, and in the mean time, head over to MORE and give Judith your support with a comment for breaking the ice on the left!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by the new agenda and SYD, Sarah Storm Report. Sarah Storm Report said: WOMEN'S VIEW: #tcot MORE Breaks the Left’s Ice on Palin http://bit.ly/bEqCdR #spwbt #palin12 #sgp [...]
“Let’s be clear: TNA is not saying you must vote for Sarah Palin if she runs. What we have been saying is that Sarah Palin has, and continues to be a victim of a media smear campaign. And it takes an educated, independent thinker to see above the smog and consider who this woman actually is. . . . After all, there’s a decent shot that Sarah Palin will be our country’s first female president. ”
Who is this woman? The article at MORE is more tongue in cheek with the author attempting to bring some leavity, I suppose, to MORE vs. the other Palin Superbowl article. Go read for yourself.
I would like to think I am an independent educated free thinker – rather a non-conformist thinker though I have been labeled a “liberal” for my stance on privacy and choice. Everyone knows that I don’t like Sarah expressly for her anti-choice position. Deal Breaker for me and millions of other educated smog-free thinkers!
That article did not strike me as tongue in cheek. It sounds like somebody coming to the genuine conclusion that Palin is a full human being, not a political cartoon character based on stereotypes and mockery.
I’d vote for Palin. You betcha. I did it once and I’ll do it again. Choice is not a deal breaker for me, politicians who wear “choice” on their sleeves with little or no thought to the women they serve is a deal breaker.
Lisa, it’s getting tough out there for choice advocates. Even dems aren’t doing such a good job with it! I don’t think choice is a priority for any political party at this moment and it is only being used as a strategic way to gather voters. I think of voting as a game which takes a bit of strategy sometimes so I no longer vote democrat 100 percent of the time.
I also think of the movie “Bullworth” where Warren Beatty plays a democratic senator who believes he is going to die and thus starts speaking the truth. He shows up at an African American church and tells his black audience that the dems have no intentions of keeping their promises to this community. Cause they know the black community isn’t going to vote Republican!
Dems are simply not delivering on choice and it’s time for pro-choice women to let this party know that they are not entitled to our votes.
“Disagree with her politics, sure. But baring that, get over yourself and grow up!” I agree! And the fact that a liberal Democrat woman is actually waking up and smelling the misogyny carried out by the party they apologize for at this late date is a D performance to me. I don’t congratulate supposedly superior people on D performances.
Open your eyes, Democrats are not delivering on the pro choice agenda. They can’t and won’t because using threats and fear to get female votes is the only form of communication they understand. There is no difference between the Dems and Republicans in terms of their attention to women’s issues.
It’s touigh for choice advocates precisely because women vote based only on choice. So the Dems know that they can jsut dangle it and never give it to us and they’ve got us locked up forever.
Paradoxically, voting based only on choice will NEVER GET YOU CHOICE, LADIES. Are you listening? Do you even GET the idea of advanced political strategy?
The ONLY way to get choice is to vote women-only, no matter their own opinion. But that’s a little too counterintuitive for most, so we’ll never get it.
Wah fuckin wah.
Privacy and Choice are deal breaker for many intelligent 50ish women. For me: Why: because my mother and her generation fought hard for Roe, then worked as a CASA worker for 15 years and was an escort for clinics. My mom is 78 and has history, perspective and experience on her side: do any of you?
Voting based on a vagina is the same thing Janis Wah
fucking wah back to you. And Choice is Legal ms. whiner. We have choose – we just need to continue ensuring it – and Palin is anti-choice! She is also a lot of other things but I don’t need to bring on the flames here.
OK My prior post did not make up here- why not?
We’ll get it eventually, Janis. We’re trapped in a backlash at the moment and things are going to get ugly before they get better. I really do believe it’s going to be conservative women smashing what’s left of the glass ceiling. Some people are going to wring their hands about that, but I’ll just be pleased to see the ceiling finally break. Once that is shattered, America can finally elect the best and the brightest instead of filtering everything thru a gender prism.
Janis: We are a tough group – having had to defend choice since its inception. I am not speaking as a democrat or liberal: I am speaking as an individual human being.
OK you want me to wink and node at the gals – get them in and then we can deal with devisive issues? Is that your strategy?
Last I check, Roe v. Wade is still good law – so we already have choice.
I am not about to vote for any gender unless they affirm Roe and Privacy. I’d rather stand tall and proud with men and women who stand firm on privacy – not just abortion – the entire spectrum of individual private choices.
Further, Voting based on a vagina is the same thing as my right to vote based on privacy or any other fundamental issue. Tsk Tsk Tsk
Lisa,
Do you really think it’s good strategy to pull the D lever each time? Look how choice is sliding away in the hands of democrats now. Clearly, choice is not a priority. And why should it be? With Democrats like yourself, our Democratic politicians can put choice on the back burner because they know that they have your vote regardless.
Sarah Palin is definitely not anti-choice. She believes that every woman should make ‘that’ choice personally, that it is a private decision that should be made between doctor and patient, and that the govt. should not pay for it. I too believe that (but I would let the govt. pay). I know this because I emailed her prior to stating publicly that I support her because this is a make it or break it issue with me. No decent society can force a woman to carry a fetus to birth if she cannot or does not want to do it.
Before you quote her or assume anything, write her an email. She is a very well thought out woman on this issue and deserves to be heard.
MOST Republicans are pro-choice if you get right down to it, and why they pander to that radical anti-abortion subset I do not know but they should stop it right now because it will help them in 2012….
Alison – what is the “D” lever? I don’t understand what you are trying to say here. If you are referring to me being a democrat – I am talking as an individual here not party politics.
Further how is “choice” slipping away: in what context – in the health care reform context – can you be more specific here?
If a bridge can be built between all women – health care reform is it. There is nothing in the health care reform that is going to eradicate choice. As far as funding -Hyde did that in the 1970’s create a discrimatory result. This is one area where conservative and progressive women can agree on – access to safe quality health care for all women not just women with resources.
Jennifer – if Sarah is pro-choice, then how come she doesn’t just say that? Do you have any evidence to support this – because I have never seen her state so as a matter of policy.
just a quick reminder:
Palin said that it was her daughter’s choice to carry through the pregnancy. she expressedly said that on the campaign trail.
just McCain did not make a huge thing out of it in contrast to other reps who went after Steele when he mentioned his birth mother made the choice to not abort him but give him up for adoption. he got in trouble for that and had to somehow scale back.
In a different interview about her last pregnancy, she said something like that she could understand women who would choose otherwise than her when confronted with a severely disabled embryo. but she chose life for her strong personal convictions. both statements make it clear to me that she respects individual choices. she contributed to pro-life feminists who support pregnant women financially, not attacking abortion clinics.
It is unclear to me who these stances can be interpreted as anti-choice.
How she feels personally is not the same as her rhetoric. She recently spoke at a Pro-Life Rally in Wisconsin. I will have to do some research but many of the other blogs post newstories where Palin is aligning herself if neo conservatives and pro-life groups. She does believe in limited government so I would hope her informal comments on choice and privacy would be the same as her formal policy. This is what I want – not a passing comment.
Lisa,
I was referring to Dem women voting exclusively Dem due to choice.
In regard to recent anti-choice sentiments from the dems:
- Obama appointing Tim Kaine to head the DNC. Tim Kaine, pro-lifer and HUGE fan of the pro-life Pregnancy Crisis Centers.
- And yes, the health care bill. Both the house version and the senate version are anti-choice.
87 percent of private insurance now covers abortion. This would change with the health care bill, thus regulating the private sector to not fund abortion. I look at this as the Hyde Amendment for those who have insurance.
Quote from Femisex:
“The bill goes far beyond blocking federal money, it blocks a woman from using her own money to buy insurance that covers abortion. In fact, if will send her to jail is she refuses to buy coverage with her own money that discriminates against her body and sex!”
http://www.femisex.com/content.....now-equals
I would not want to get pregnant under this health care plan. Even women who WANT to have children sometimes choose to abort (or are forced to abort due to life threatening conditions). Under the new health care plan, would “private” insurance cover an abortion that a woman might choose at 4 months due to complications during a pregnancy? Or the 50,000 dollar procedure of a woman who must “abort” at 5 months due to life threatening complications due to endometriosis? Or the young woman who is simply not ready to become a parent and wants an abortion at 8 weeks? Clearly, I am deeply offended that this bill would undermine the health of women by further making abortion a difficult procedure to access financially.
Also, check NOW, NARAL and Center for Reproductive Rights. They have lovely things to say about this health care bill.
Obama has also maintained the Hyde Amendment which he promised to rid us of as a candidate. He also abandoned FOCA which he promised would be the first thing on his agenda… back when he was a candidate.
Last, Obama’s language in regard to choice has been abysmal. His “we gotta listen to the other side” rhetoric in regard to the pro-life/ pro-choice divide has more people defining themselves as pro-life than ever.
But who cares about us pro-choice Dems??? Not Dem politicians ’cause we are gonna vote for them if they show themselves to be a few steps up from Rush Limbaugh.
Palins statements are declared to be anti-choice by The Powers That Be in the Democrat party and you are not supposed to question them or God when they speak. And when they are not busily mocking female candidates they are the ONLY voice for women so don’t forget that.
Regarding health care. What the Dems are doing is switching the costs of health care onto government in a Decmocrat style. That means government will tax you, they will determine what you need and they will make plans for you to get what they think you need. Once the government makes it impossible for women to get birth control or abortion coverage on health care plans then those services will go out of business in many communities which now have them as an option. The Republican style would be to give everyone a stipend for health care and then each person chooses what you want and need and plans which don’t offer what women want would naturally go out of business.
Right now on the private side – each side can decide the scope of “health coverage” for woman. Some states mandate for ex., fertility coverage (see IL, CA MA) while others do not require the private insurer to pay for this treatment such as SD.
So unless I got to mentioned sites and do the research – right now, how many states mandate abortion coverage in private policies – does anyone know. How about prescription coverage for birth control.
While conservatives like limited government – what do conservatives want in terms of health care reform. MCcain suggested giving a $5000 tax credit but happens if people do not use the money for health care costs – sure they would lose the credit but then who pays for their medical care – we do.
Surety as a nation we can do much better and I think at the end of the day if this bill gets reconciled – we will be ok – but after all – the opposition to coverage is coming from the right with the mid-Dems cowtowing to get the bill passed. This does not mean they are going to sell us out – I will reserve judgment but this would not even be an issue of the right would get the hell out of our uterus!
Lisa,
I believe you are referring to the house bill. The Stupak Ammendment in the Senate Bill is a bit tougher.
I’m not sure if any states “mandate” that the private sector insurance companies cover abortion. But 87 percent of our private sector insurance companies presently do cover abortion. Not having this coverage would be a big loss for women.
Surely this must be another way to go about health care reform! I understand single payer might be politically impossible but I do like one idea that I read about at Firedoglake, basically expanding Medicare.
I don’t know what McCain has to do with this now. I don’t think he has much power now in regard to health care reform, does he?
In regard to the anti-choice sentiments in these bills, this has nothing to do with the right. Republicans do not want this bill, no way, no how. It is actually, in this scenario at least, the dems who need to get out of our uterus. Yes, the plethora of pro-life dems who are starting to set up camp.
But hey, they like it better when we blame the Repubs for everything. It’s much cozier that way.
Why I referenced McCain was your comment on a stipend – which was McCain’s idea – or similar. I don’t think the government is going to send us a stipend – would it not be the same as McCain’s suggested tax credit?
Yes the Dems realize that to get a health care bill passed – it has to sell out choice but this is not the final version and I am confident that any restrictions can be watered down or challenged in Court.
Finally I did not ding Republicans – I called out conservatives. I know it must be hard not to be ultra sensative about being republican but I was speaking to conservatives – mostly neo bongers. And you can’t deny the fact that the neos took over the republican party on many privacy issues – during the last 10 years!
Lisa,
I’m not a republican. I don’t know how you inferred that. Apparently, even daring to critique the democratic establishment makes one a Republican these days. Very McCarthyist, IMHO.
Also, I didn’t mention stipends. That must have been somebody else.
Interesting that you are taking conservatives to task here. That’s fine and dandy but I don’t know what it has to do with the health care bill which is what we are talking about. The pro-life dems are the problem here as well as the selling out of choice by pro-choice dems.
So apparently you won’t vote for a candidate who is pro-life (like Sarah Palin) yet you are not interested in taking to task the party who identifies as being pro – choice (Democrats) for taking many clearly anti-choice actions. Any dem who cannot give democrats a good verbal spanking on these actions does not sound like a dem who is very heavily invested in the issue of choice, IMHO.
I guess you are willing to have “hope” that these choice issues will just work out and in the end will be “watered down” or dear god, “challenged in court”. After all the hopey stuff that Obama offered in regard to choice I’m not so optimistic and it is hard for me to understand how you are.
Sorry if I misinterpreted your POV. Really no need to reference Joe – afterall its Sarah that sounds like him with her “death panel” alarmist attitude.
So you want me to expressly put the DEMS on the whipping post about this issue -hand me a whip.
As far as hope: isn’t this what this site about: hoping that voting vagina will somehow move women forward together despite fundamental human differences?
See, this is the issue that just won’t allow women to ever stand arm-in-arm as much as I long for it to happen. Grown, adult, intelligent women let themselves be controlled by one issue. A candidate could be perfect in every way, but one hint that they are pro-life and women start flinging themselves around like horses spooked by a wolf. Roe v. Wade is settled law. No politician is going to be able to change that. It’s not going to happen. Yet women still let their vote be controlled by their uterus. Even horrible democrats can count on the female vote just on this issue, just like they can count on the welfare vote. It just breaks my heart.
Okay, Lisa, I am excited to know that you will now rant against the Dems… It can only make the Democrats stronger, but get ready to be called a Repugnican!
Kathleen – can you please reach out to me at one of the email addresses at “Contact Us”. Thank you.
Lisa,
I did not say she was pro-choice, because those words have not ever come from her or her campaign, but the first sentence of my post is what was emailed to me (approximately) when I emailed on asked her stance on abortion.
I think words like pro-choice, anti-abortion, pro-life, etc., etc., are as antiquated now as Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, progressive, etc., etc. We need new words. Sarah Palin, from what I can gather, wants to move abortion out of politics and into the private realm. She does NOT want to overturn Roe v. Wade, but she also does not want the American Govt. paying for abortions. She wants to promote less juvenile sexual activity, and more responsibility, and less abortions. I agree with EVERYTHING except I think the govt. should pay for abortions because child abuse is rampant and blah blah blah.
We had 800,000 abortions performed in America last year. I think we can do better women. It should be a last choice, and while I am not judging those women I am simply asking us all to do better. Better mentoring to young girls, young women making better decisions, older women being better role models–these are all readily achievable goals that might make that number go down.
I think Sarah Palin is a very interesting woman, and those who dismiss her quickly are, in my humble opinion, totally underestimating her power, her strength, and her courage. MOST people faced with the media nuclear bomb unleashed upon her last year would never set foot in the public limelight again, yet she is back bigger than ever. I read her book and still I want more. I need a heroine who won’t back down and won’t put party above country. Who knows, it just might be Sarah.
When a person tells me that are pro-choice – it usually indicates that the person is tolerant about all choices -not just Abortion. So its not really a single issue for me – its how someone perceives themselves in relationship to a community.
I don’t care if a candidate is male, female, white, black or gay: I look at the person across the board on many issues but privacy is so fundamental to me and encompasses much more than access to safe abortions.
Why is this so difficult to understand? My life experience requires me to keep this issue alive so we don’t forget: we owe it to the women who came before us and to the young women that follow us: I owe this to my mother and her generation.
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