It appears that whilst supporting the call for a female president, American women are voting in the thousands against Sarah Palin - because of her choices. I may not agree with Palin's personal choices - but they are hers.
Am I so naive in assuming that it is my right as a woman to choose - what I think, what I do, etc. I don't recall being told by my local chapter of Feminists Are Us that I had to toe the party line. Isn't this what we fought for so long ago - the right to choose. And now, those self-same women are telling us - no, you do what we tell you. Frankly, I don't always agree with their politics!
From The Independent:
"The National Organisation for Women (NOW) is 500,000 strong and hugely influential. The feminist organisation almost never supports a presidential candidate, but the Alaska governor's Christian fundamentalist faith and her opposition to abortion rights has forced its hand.
Other women's rights organisations are also campaigning against Governor Palin, pushed along by a spontaneous anti-Palin movement among women.
NOW's decision to back Senator Obama when a woman is within striking distance of becoming elected is a bold step for the group and a setback for John McCain's hopes of luring the millions of women who supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries."
From Boston.com:
"Women's rights groups endorsed Barack Obama for president Tuesday, asserting the historic selection of a female Republican vice presidential candidate does not make up for John McCain's lack of support on issues important to women.
"We don't think it's much to break a glass ceiling for one woman and leave millions of women behind," said Eleanor Smeal, chairman of the Feminist Majority Political Action Committee.
Smeal was among leaders from six organizations that announced their endorsement of the Democratic presidential nominee at a news conference.
Obama also won the support of the National Organization for Women, which said it has not endorsed a candidate for president since Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro shared the Democratic ticket in 1984. Ferraro was the first female major-party vice presidential candidate.
NOW backed New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries. "We join with her in saying 'no,'" said NOW President Kim Gandy, referring to a line Clinton used at the Democratic convention last month. "No way, no how, no McCain."
The McCain campaign said it was unhappy with NOW's decision to endorse Obama.
"It's extremely disappointing that an organization that purports to be an advocate for all women not only opposes but feels compelled to go out of its way to criticize and make negative comments about the only ticket in the presidential race with a woman on the ticket," Palin's spokeswoman Maria Comella said in an e-mail.
Smeal said the organizations have and will continue to protest any sexism in the presidential campaign, but she added, "We think it's time to get off issues such as lipstick and on to the issues, really, that are challenging this nation."
Gandy criticized Republicans for changing their tone on sexism.
Obama was also endorsed by leaders from Business and Professional Women/USA, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Congress of Black Women and the Women's Information Network."
Am I so naive in assuming that it is my right as a woman to choose - what I think, what I do, etc. I don't recall being told by my local chapter of Feminists Are Us that I had to toe the party line. Isn't this what we fought for so long ago - the right to choose. And now, those self-same women are telling us - no, you do what we tell you. Frankly, I don't always agree with their politics!
From The Independent:
"The National Organisation for Women (NOW) is 500,000 strong and hugely influential. The feminist organisation almost never supports a presidential candidate, but the Alaska governor's Christian fundamentalist faith and her opposition to abortion rights has forced its hand.
Other women's rights organisations are also campaigning against Governor Palin, pushed along by a spontaneous anti-Palin movement among women.
NOW's decision to back Senator Obama when a woman is within striking distance of becoming elected is a bold step for the group and a setback for John McCain's hopes of luring the millions of women who supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries."
From Boston.com:
"Women's rights groups endorsed Barack Obama for president Tuesday, asserting the historic selection of a female Republican vice presidential candidate does not make up for John McCain's lack of support on issues important to women.
"We don't think it's much to break a glass ceiling for one woman and leave millions of women behind," said Eleanor Smeal, chairman of the Feminist Majority Political Action Committee.
Smeal was among leaders from six organizations that announced their endorsement of the Democratic presidential nominee at a news conference.
Obama also won the support of the National Organization for Women, which said it has not endorsed a candidate for president since Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro shared the Democratic ticket in 1984. Ferraro was the first female major-party vice presidential candidate.
NOW backed New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries. "We join with her in saying 'no,'" said NOW President Kim Gandy, referring to a line Clinton used at the Democratic convention last month. "No way, no how, no McCain."
The McCain campaign said it was unhappy with NOW's decision to endorse Obama.
"It's extremely disappointing that an organization that purports to be an advocate for all women not only opposes but feels compelled to go out of its way to criticize and make negative comments about the only ticket in the presidential race with a woman on the ticket," Palin's spokeswoman Maria Comella said in an e-mail.
Smeal said the organizations have and will continue to protest any sexism in the presidential campaign, but she added, "We think it's time to get off issues such as lipstick and on to the issues, really, that are challenging this nation."
Gandy criticized Republicans for changing their tone on sexism.
Obama was also endorsed by leaders from Business and Professional Women/USA, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Congress of Black Women and the Women's Information Network."
I think its about time women starting making up their own minds - and stop being told how to think but "organisations" and other such political groups. Assess the worthiness of the candidates for yourselves - make sure that your choice is your choice.
I seem to be missing something here. Women are making a choice to say no to Palin because they don't agree with her positions. How is that leaving choice to someone else? The fact that people in general band together because of shared interests and thus can "come out" as a group for or against any particular thing does not deny this in any way. Any member is still more than capable of chosing otherwise. That it is unlikely they will because they share the same opinion is of no consequence. McCain's fatal error was in thinking that women voted their vagina and not their minds. He is the one who was taking women for granted. We simply don't intend to be taken in by a woman who by and large doesn't share any of our values.
ReplyDelete