Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Senator Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard. Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, and the Family and Medical Leave Act to name a few. Women have buried their anger that his support for the compromises in No Child Left Behind and the Medicare bogus drug benefit brought us the passage of these flawed bills. We have thanked him for his ardent support of many civil rights bills, BUT women are always waiting in the wings.
And now the greatest betrayal! We are repaid with his abandonment! He’s picked the new guy over us. He’s joined the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton (they will of course say they support a woman president, just not “this” one). “They” are Howard Dean and Jim Dean (Yup! That’s Howard’s brother) who run DFA (that’s the group and list from the Dean campaign that we women helped start and grow). "They" are Alternet, Progressive Democrats of America, democrats.com, Kucinich lovers and all the other groups that take women's money, say they’ll do feminist and women’s rights issues one of these days, and conveniently forget to mention women and children when they talk about poverty or human needs or America’s future.
This latest move by Kennedy, is so telling about the status of and respect for women’s rights, women’s voices, women’s equality, women’s authority and our ability – indeed, our obligation- to promote and earn and deserve and elect, unabashedly, a President that is the first woman after centuries of men who “know what’s best for us.
Wow. To start off, how did we Kucinich lovers get thrown into this mess? Kucinich has not endorsed anyone. And did those other groups have the misogynistic audacity to suggest that someone other than Senator Clinton could be a fine president? If Kennedy had endorsed Clinton, I doubt the NAACP would have stooped to that level. I guess NOW felt that this was the time to play the 'sex card.'
Kennedy has championed the rights of the underprivileged for 45 years in the Senate. He has been the standard bearer for equal rights, health care, and educational access. Those issues cross all lines, gender, race, religious and otherwise. Ultimate betrayal? I hardly think so. Even Clinton said that endorsements don't decide elections, voters do.
By taking this approach, NOW-NY sends a message that women should vote for Clinton simply because she is a woman. That is exactly the kind of identity politics that causes divisions in our society. There are those out there that will not vote for Clinton because she is a woman. That is wrong. There are those that will vote for Clinton only because she is a woman. That is fine. I refuse to believe that Kennedy, or anyone else, should be vilified for endorsing someone. If Kennedy endorsed a white male, you can make the case for status quo-ism. Endorsing a black man, does not fall into that category one bit. Shame on you, NOW-NY, for being sore losers. You have made yourself look foolish, small and petty. You have cheapened your wonderful platform and made yourself look like any other special interest group. Clinton knows Kennedy is not the end all of the Democratic Party. Clinton knows hard work and voters win elections, not endorsements from elected officials. You should be learning from her wisdom and guidance as an outstanding official and politician, and endorsing her agenda. Not merely endorsing her gender.
2 comments:
Kucinich and his supporters did help Senator Obama win Iowa. He has also appeared many times on the Ed Schultz show and other progressive radio touting Sen. Obama's laurels. And many of those same progressives have been incredibly venomous and hateful towards Sen. Clinton.
The fact is, that Sen. Clinton is the first realistic chance a woman has ever had at being President.
Who she is, is both her greatest asset and liability. She is in this position because she is Bill's wife and she might lose because she is Bill's wife.
This is her only shot. Whereas, Sen. Obama, will still be a viable candidate for the Presidency in 4, 8 or 12 years.
but dk has not endorsed anyone. who cares if she is the closest woman to being president. that doesn't mean she owed anything by the liberal establishment.
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