On the Subject of Sexism [View All]

[TeamsterDem]

I'm a relative DU neophyte, and I suppose owing to that I'll either be ignored or berated for this post. Oh well. Here goes nothing.

Liz Trotta is a woman I can't stand. No matter that her recent statement addressed my candidate of choice, I'd be equally angry had she referenced Hillary Clinton with such ridiculous garbage. I don't dislike Liz because she's a woman but because she's an idiot.

Condoleeza Rice doesn't pass my likability test. She's supported President Jethro while he's waged a war of aggression, has done nothing to ameliorate the Middle East situation (in fact exacerbating it), and is generally one of the worst statespersons we have in government. She's not those things because she's a woman, but because individually she's an ideological buffoon.

Karen Hughes is a contemptible scoundrel. This ideologue served on the White House Iraq Group (the folks who packaged the war to the public), and failed rather miserably to improve the US image abroad (although that was likely because of Bush's Iraq war. Then again, she helped package that war so it's fair to blame her for both). She doesn't deserve scorn for being a woman. She deserves scorn for being an ideologically-driven partisan who was a complete failure and enabler for this war.

Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, E.D. Hill, Laura Ingraham, Debbie Schlussel, and the remaining coterie of female conservative voices are also equally repugnant, but not because they're female. They're repugnant because of their dangerous, simplistic, and downright wrong statements.

I'm sure most if not all of DU joins me in my views of these women. Most of us feel this way because these individuals - all of them - have either caused harm to the United States by way of their championing of the Iraq war or by way of their complicity in polarizing the country with inflammatory and often false statements.

So why is it, then, that we can all agree as to how we view these individuals - and some of you have called them all sorts of inflammatory names like "Ann the Man" and "Condosleeza" - but when any of us dissents against Hillary Clinton with reasoned arguments that we're labeled as "sexists" and "misogynists?" Can't you see that the vast majority of us (those who support Obama) don't oppose Clinton because of her gender, but instead because of her voting record (Iraq war authorization, for the most part) and because many of us don't have fond memories of the Clinton years that she herself has promoted a return to? Seriously all, it's time that we all grew up a bit and only slapped the "sexist" label where it belongs: On John McCain's campaign - the guy who famously called his wife the "C" word.

I'd make this same post if I saw a predominance of "they don't like Obama because he's black" arguments. I don't believe that most pro-Clinton folks are racists; they just have a different view of the candidates. Not every statement of opposition to Clinton is a sexist remark, and not every opponent of Obama is a racist. Quit twisting every damn thing into "sexism" when you know damn well it isn't. And quit suggesting that a considerable amount of Obama's supporters are sexists when you know damn well they're not. It's offensive, untrue, and damaging to your credibility.

Damn, I heard that a southern KKK group is supporting McCain: That make him a Nazi, does it? Get real. McCain is a lot of things but a Nazi isn't one of them. But going by your "logic," we should vote against a particular candidate because of who SOME of their supporters MIGHT be, never mind how small their percentages might be or how strained the interpolation is.

Obama said "out come the claws," they say. Yeah he did, but in fact (I'm a guy) I was in a meeting the other day with coworkers (who are my friends) and got in a heated debate with one of them who then charged that when I'm confronted "out come the claws." Can you explain to me - a guy - how my friend was being sexist?

Obama called a reporter "sweetie," they remind us. Yeah he did. Then again I went to a coffee shop two weeks ago and the older female waitress asked me "do you want cream with your coffee, sweetie?" Why the NERVE of that "sexist" waitress!!!!!

C'mon. Let's end the charade already.