On Tuesday, October 8, 2013, we lost Harriet Christian, a lifelong and outspoken champion of equal rights. I came to know her after her honest outburst at the Democratic National Convention’s Rules and Bylaws Committee was captured on video and picked up by major media outlets. Hundreds of us had traveled to DC to picket and protest the committee’s slanted meeting that would decide the fate of millions of citizens’ votes in Michigan and Florida.
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton kept her name on those states’ ballots, whereas Dem party and media darlings Obama and (that guy who used to make the women swoon), John Edwards (who?), had removed their names from those ballots. As Harold Ickes said, although Hillary won those states, The Party, “hijacked” the votes–and later the election–by strong-arming delegates to switch their votes from Hillary–to whom they were pledged–to Obama.
Harriet wasn’t having any of it and courageously protested from the peanut gallery during the RBC meeting and outside in the lobby after being tossed out of the meeting. This meeting’s decision created the spontaneous citizens’ uprising, which immediately spawned the PUMA (Party Unity, My Ass) Movement. Lifelong Democrats, we had become Democratic Party refugees, saying we didn’t leave the party, the party left us.
We PUMAs had a pre-Denver convention in DC to plan our protest and media strategy, and in Denver, our headquarters and events were a hub for protests at the Democratic National Convention. There was lots of pre-convention press about the Dems plans to outfit cops on horseback in riot gear to control protestors by herding them into fenced cages and also by lobbing shit bombs (you heard me).
After all, Hillary Clinton had won the Democratic primary vote, and the party, basically, abandoned her. You may not have known or remembered this, but the language, tone, and accusations were brutal, sexist, and misogynistic. The media laughed at her when she cried, decried her for showing cleavage (eek, a Prez with breasts!), and slammed her for deftly answering debate questions. Tucker Carlson said he’d cross his legs when she walked by, and Keith Olbermann said someone should take her into a back room and only the man come back out. Hillary bloggers received death threats. Her Party made her withdraw from the race although she’d won it. It was shameful. Those were just a few tidbits of many, many more horrible references. That year, 2008, I, finally, became an ardent feminist.
Harriet entered our Denver HQ like gangbusters, the media lightening rod that she was, and she knew it too. This was her/our time, and she was in her element. She lifted everyone’s spirits.
Harriet arrives at PUMA HQ in Denver, site of 2008 Democratic Presidential Convention
We then marched to the big outdoor MSNBC TV booth, where Hillary slammers Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann held court. When pressured by security to take the Hillary for President sign down and move out of the way, Harriet wouldn’t budge. She won.
Harriet’s dear friend Deborah Schutt captures Harriet on cam
Harriet was not afraid. She spoke truth to power. I met her at a PUMA gathering/party in NYC at the home of her dear friends, Liz and Deborah, when she was there with her partner, Van. Turns out, I had captured a pic of Harriet and Van before I even knew them, when we attended a Hillary rally in February 2008 at Hunter College. It was a heady time, and we were ardent!
My friends before I knew them: Hillary’s Hunter College rally–Harriet with her big hair (upper R), Van (to her L), Deborah Schutt (on phone cam), Liz Wiseman (in glasses)
After Harriet spoke out and got so much media attention, she was continually slammed by Obama supporters, who called her a racist for standing up for a woman, instead of stepping aside, “for a black man” as she put it. She well knew the history of America when suffragettes had deferred finally getting the right for women to vote, which had been imminent, in order to let black men go first–and she wasn’t having it happen again. It’s a shame that it had to be a choice–both times–and that women were relegated to last in line. Why couldn’t both be advanced?
Harriet battled cancer, but, still, she never gave up, and she worked up until a couple of weeks before she passed. I was delighted to be invited and attend her 2011 Christmas party and saw her a year ago when she hosted an Obama/Romney presidential debate party at a pub. I’d sent her my poem after Van died and when I learned Harriet had cancer, we spoke on the phone. I offered to do a healing session on her, so she could relax into her body, and, although it wasn’t her way, she began warming to the idea. “Interesting. I’ll think about it.” I knew she wouldn’t take me up on it, but I could tell, when I saw her at the debate party, that it had touched her. I thought she was getting better, but her death came suddenly, and as a shock to all.
I know you’re still raising a ruckus, Harriet. I’m honored to have known you and to have been touched by your strength and good-natured feistiness. Keep on, sister!
Geraldine Ferraro died today at 75 years old. We lost her way too young. What a champion she was – especially for women. She will be missed. I miss her already. Rest in peace, Geraldine, and thank you for all your hard work and service to our country.
Addendum: Here’s a NYT video interview where Geraldine talks about her life. It’s an historical rather than a controversial piece.
——
I published this post on May 30, 2008, comprised of the video Part 1 up top and Part 2 below, under the title of Geraldine on Greta: Tells It Like It Is:
Finally, Geraldine Ferraro is back! After being race-baited by the Obama campaign for saying that a majority of Black people were voting for him, being shamed off the air, going underground, writing articles, and fielding calls from Obamabots who published her number, she speaks for the many people who called to complain about the state of this sorry Democratic Primary process. On the May 29, 2008 10pm edition of FOX News show On The Record,Greta Van Susteren interviews Ferraro who discusses Hillary’s poor treatment by what I’m afraid have now become the usual suspects. Van Susteren seems to be one of the few talk show hosts who is giving Hillary supporters a voice. Isn’t that what Obama gets in the media every single day? Here’s the video in two parts. Enjoy, take a deep breath and cheer for the dedication, stamina, and forthrightness of one of our women leaders with the courage to stand up and tell it like it is.
Here’s former Presidential VP Candidate Ferraro’s op-ed piece in the May 30, 2008 Boston Globe.
Many feminists were disgusted this past year by the sexist, misogynistic treatment that former NY Senator Hillary Clinton received during her Presidential run, at the hands of the mainstream media, the fauxgressive blogosphere, stalwart feminist organizations, and members of her party. This time, Republicans didn’t seem to have quite as much to add, because Clinton’s own Democratic Party, we were shocked to observe, outperformed them in maltreating her.
Amy Sewell, award-winning filmmaker of the endearing 2005 documentary, Mad, Hot Ballroom, is doing her part to help elect a woman President of the United States. Her latest thought-provoking 2008 release, What’s Your Point, Honey?, is the first social justice cause film that’s being marketed on amazon.com and on iTunes, too. I’d agree with her point that:
Feminism, gender inequality, is the longest revolution and the last social justice cause to have a great need to be brought to the surface and pushed out there.
Radio Interview Explores Feminism, Gender Equality, and Path to Politics
In January, 2009, I sat down with the dynamic and articulate filmmaker to record the audio interview from which this article is drawn. In the interview, Amy and I also discuss: women’s pay equality issues, the Lilli Ledbetter Act, gender inequality awakening of Baby Boomers as compared to the MTV generation. Plus, there’s an update about the lives of the seven diverse young women in her film, and their quest to run for political and organizational office.
Click arrow to play Lady Boomer’s interview with filmmaker Amy Sewell (1:41)
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The Point of What’s Your Point, Honey?
The film’s title, What’s Your Point, Honey?, was inspired by a 2007 Jim Borgman cartoon in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The cartoon depicts Hillary Clinton standing, pointer in hand, appearing to school Uncle Sam in front of a chart entitled, “Countries That Have ALREADY HAD FEMALE Heads of State.”
Here’s the list: Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Burundi, Liberia, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, India, Germany, Serbia, Israel, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, England, Latvia, Iceland, Ireland.
And in response, a schlumpy-looking Uncle Sam asks Hillary,
What’s your point, honey?
In our interview, Sewell expands on the cartoon’s irony: The US is 71st in the world in women’s representation in government — we’re laggin’. We’re behind the -stans and Cape Verde. . . . Despite often horrible treatment in some of the countries that have had women leaders, women are proportionally better represented and lead other countries in far greater numbers.
The filmmakers set out to influence the younger generations with their film, and to create an awareness of feminism in them, because many young women “do not believe that they’re not equal.” Additionally, Sewell says that she and the film’s director, Susan Toffler, decided to reclaim the term “honey,” in order to devalue it when used by the oppressor, so to speak
Co-stars of the documentary, “What’s Your Point Honey?,” include Sewell’s twin daughters, the generation of girls “that doesn’t believe that they’re not equal.”
Hidden Inequality
They made a movie for an audience that doesn’t want to hear it, Sewell asserts, because they think they’ve got it all in the bag. They see their moms going to work and just think that everything is equal—after all, mom’s working. Girls don’t really know what their moms go through at work, regarding career advancement, pay differences, harassment, and what is expected of them as compared to men.
Girls don’t grasp that women, despite feminist gains of the last forty years, are largely responsible for taking care of: the house, the kids, doctors’ appointments, day care, child care, shopping for groceries, supplies, and clothing, cooking, cleaning up, housecleaning, laundry, and more. Additionally, their moms are often caregivers for their elderly parents or in-laws. Yet, girls of today think that life is, and will be, the same for them as it is for the boys they’re growing up with.
Forget about equal pay: Sewell says that women should actually get paid MORE than men. After all, the mom does everything, and the dad “just goes to work,” as a young boy observes in the film. Yes, we’re swimming in the patriarchy, so much so that many fish don’t know it, haven’t seen it. However, girls are beginning to see sexism and inequality at home, and more women saw it in the political atmosphere of the 2008 Presidential election.
Eyes Wide Open—Lessons from Sarah
Sewell claims Sarah Palin lit a fire under many liberal women who thought, “hey if she can do it, why can’t I?” We should be running for local offices and positions that grow us into more and higher national prominence. A way to begin is to step up and get active about the projects and issues you really care about in your local community, and just go ahead and start to run things.
She enumerates three lessons women learned from Palin’s Vice Presidential run:
Women can be raising a family and become a major player, with the right support systems.
If you multiply out all the ways you run your household, you can do it on a larger scale in your community, city, state, and nation.
If Sarah can do it, why are we liberal women still on the sidelines, waiting for men or somebody to hand this to us?
The White House Project: “Beyond Gender to Agenda”
Wilson believes strongly in having a nonpartisan organization, because her philosophy is that all women bring the same basic life issues to the table, such as: child rearing, child and elder care, the wage gap, working in male-dominated fields, and, of course, who owns their bodies. The goal is to get more women into office. Women are 51 percent of the population, and 80 percent of the purchasing power. Women decide how 80 cents of every dollar in American households will be spent.
I questioned Amy: If women treat each other so poorly when running for office—as they did with Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin last year—will women be discouraged from running in the future, expecting that they might face a similar fate? Introducing the pipeline theory, she said that “it’s not about one. As long as you have only one woman running, everyone will always rip her apart.”
Sewell contends that if you have just as many women running as men, you get “beyond gender to agenda,” to quote Marie Wilson. There are many amazing, accomplished, powerful women out there; we just haven’t seen it happen in enough numbers yet, so we have to make our own way! But the environment is changing: Initially, Wilson asked women to run for office, because she knew that women needed to be asked. However, there seems to be an attitude shift in that women are beginning to step up and run. There were 100 applicants for the program in NY State, and several women who were in the film announced their plans to run for office right after completing their training.
Winners of the 2024 Project, co-sponsored by The White House Project and COSMOgirl, gather in front of The White House during the making of the documentary
The Key to Success: Fill the Pipeline with Young Candidates
As a way to keep the ball rolling and get younger generations involved, What’s Your Point, Honey? shows inequalities in their world today “wrapped around the metaphor of a woman running for President.” The filmmaker sees that girls can look up to the current women in power, like Hillary and Sarah Palin, but they don’t relate to them as they do to twenty year-olds, like those in the film.
If we build the pipeline, the more women we have wanting to come into political power, the easier it will be for all male political figures in the future to have a pool of applicants to choose from [for cabinet and other appointments.] [. . . ]
Our hope is someday that it won’t even be a question. We’ll have so many women in politics that we’ll de-genderize it.
Further, an educational pilot program is being rolled out by North Carolina Political Center for Women: the What’s Your Point, Honey? DVD and study guides will be used as part of high school programs in North Carolina. This will be followed by programs throughout the US in middle schools, high schools, and colleges, accompanied by study guides appropriate for each educational level. Amy has generously provided the Viewers’ Guide here for you to download FOR FREE, which you can use when you buy the DVD, or rent or buy the video-on-demand (VOD) download.
Women Have Power
Sewell sees little advantage in fighting with people who do not and will not ever agree fundamentally, and I agree! Women need to join together and get involved with whatever social justice causes that move them. Furthermore, WOMEN have the purchasing power. Money speaks, and we have power here. For example, ads and products that call for our attention to speak out against: Boycott! The PUMA and some of the feminist movement made a difference by boycotting MSNBC, CNN, PBS, NPR, and network television due to their commentators’ misogynistic and biased stances about then Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, and VP nominee, Sarah Palin.
The movie purposely uses a light touch to draw new people into wanting to be active, and has a carryover affect. Viewers report that they begin to notice more instances of inequality or sexism in their daily lives, whereas before they wouldn’t have seen it. I encourage everyone to see and discuss this film, especially families. Be sure to rate, comment, and see what others are saying.
This is such an enthusiastic, supportive article, you’d think I have an ulterior motive, or am receiving some kind of net gain. I hope I am and do. I believe passionately, based on my spiritual and community background, that the societal road forward, onward, and upward must be: positive, collective, supportive, have dignity—and—be ignited, and driven by and for women. We can accomplish this by expanding girls’ and young women’s horizons, education, and opportunities for governance, and yes, the Presidency. Elect a woman? . . . “It’s not about one.”
Photo: Lady Boomer NYC (pic snapped from Hillary tribute video)
In a 94 Yes, 2 No (Vitter and DeMint) vote on the Senate floor, Hillary Clinton was confirmed as Secretary of State, today, Wednesday, January, 21, 2009.
Sigh. I feel grounded and strong that we are all as a country, finally, in good hands.
I’ve been live-blogging with my fellow Conflucians re: the debate goings on, beginning at about 930 am, then again at about 2:15 in the comments. I hate to send you away, but in lieu of typing up my notes, a time-consuming effort, you can check through comment thread here.
At last, I can breathe a deep sigh of relief and am going to work out!
Thursday, January 15, 2009 was an unusual day. Early that morning, my blog boss (unpaid, of course), the venerable and wily Riverdaughter, was calling. She had an emergency and asked if I wanted her ticket to that evening’s New York City campaign debt benefit, “Thank You, Hillary! A Salute to Hillary Clinton,” with Bill Clinton and Jon Bon Jovi. I jumped at the chance.
It was a special time for Hillary. She had just delivered her hallmark clear, knowledgeable opening remarks and Q&A testimony in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. They gave her their vote of confidence for Secretary of State on the following day. She would be giving her farewell speech to the Senate this very morning, and the full Senate was expected to confirm her on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, the day after the Presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. It was to be the last political appearance of Senator Clinton prior to her assuming her position on the worldwide stage.
It was also a miraculous day. A day where the perfect confluence came together to combine an extremely experienced airline pilot, who also happened to be a master glider pilot; was able to have the presence of mind to take control from his co-pilot; at 4,000 feet do a hard bank of the US Airways Airbus to line up correctly on the Hudson River, over which the plane just happened to be flying; miss the George Washington Bridge by a mere 900 feet, with Manhattan on one side, Jersey City on the other; radio the tower; and alert the passengers and crew to brace for a hard landing. That day 155 people successfully made it out on the wings, and were rescued within one minute by a coordinated, concerted effort of the New York Waterway ferry company, New York Police and Fire Rescue, and The Red Cross. They had about 5-8 minutes in the 36 degree water before hypothermia could set in. The entire city was jubilant, because following the tragedy of 9/11, this was a story of life, living, and everything gone right.
That chilly evening, arriving at The Town Hall, it was great to run into several PUMAs that I knew from DC, Denver, and Ricki Lieberman’s campaign events. I prepared my camera.
Salute to Hillary Clinton in NYC, 1/15/09 — Lady Boomer NYC
Governor David Paterson, who was introduced by NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, described Senator Clinton as “dynamic and outspoken.” He said,
Whether it’s housing, education, programs for the poor, the unemployed, the environment, homeland security, or agriculture reform, Hillary Clinton is in the center of everything for New York.
He honored her for her eight years of steadfast discipline and honesty, for being a finalist in her party’s nomination, adding, (striking a bittersweet PUMA tooth),
And one day, we will elect a woman President. I hope that Hillary Clinton will be around to be thanked as the person who made it responsible for them to be President.
Paterson recalled the US Airways perfect ditch landing on the Hudson that afternoon, and expressed how grateful he and all New Yorkers are to the pilot and crew. He explained that Hillary and Chuck Schumer were unable to fly in as a result, and were on their way from Washington, D.C. via train. He concluded by saying,
This is a unique event in that today Hillary Clinton was cleared in committee to be Secretary of State. She is a woman with a worldwide record, and she will now be performing on the worldwide stage. Barack Obama got the best and brightest of New York.
They screened the uplifting “One woman’s journey” video, some shots of which are included in my slideshow.
I didn’t walk in a fan of Jon Bon Jovi one way or the other, but I left one. He did a beautifully executed, unplugged-style electric acoustic set with three other musicians. Actually, I was so entranced that it didn’t occur to me until the last song to record it on my digital camera. So I got “Here Comes the Sun. He also sang a slow burn version of “Livin’ On A Prayer,” a rousing “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?,” The Beatles’ “Help!,” and a soulful version of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” (Yes, it’s about “change,” and I’m sure he’ll be doing at the inauguration celebration. Whatevah. ) The videos don’t exactly do the music justice, but close enough for rock ‘n roll.
Jon Bon Jovi: “Here Comes The Sun” — Video: Lady Boomer NYC
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Jon Bon Jovi: A Change Is Gonna Come — Video: JCorso728
After his set, Jon said some words of introduction in praise of Bill Clinton, who had just returned that day from a trip to Africa for the Clinton Foundation to be at Hillary’s event. He expressed that all of his philanthropic acts came from the leadership of the Clinton / Gore Administration, and that the affordable housing issues he works with are all from Bill Clinton’s lead and inspiration.
Bon Jovi Introduces Pres. Clinton — Video: JCorso728
President Clinton took the stage and said that he’s been in a lot of campaigns, and BTW had been used to running for Governor every two years. But, praising Hillary, he declared,
I have never supported a finer candidate than the one I supported this year.
He thanked the Senators who voted for her nomination to Secretary of State, and who also spoke for her in the Senate chamber on the occasion of her farewell speech.
Sen. Chuck Schumer thanked Hillary as his Senate partner, praised her for her dedication and thoroughness, and complimented her: “as good she looks up close, she looks that much better in person.”
And she really did. Hillary was positively glowing that night as she walked on stage.
Sen. Clinton praised Chuck and said that she was proud to have represented the people of New York along with him, and that being a Senator of New York is the best, because she gets to represent the people of New York! She expressed how glad she was that the plane landed safely in the Hudson. My outgoing Senator characterized the upcoming weekend as exciting, where:
People from around the country and the world will come and watch. It’s an opportunity to start anew. It will give me great pleasure to represent my country as Secretary of State. I hope everyone will recognize how hard the times are. I ask for everyone’s patience, because it took us eight years to get into this.
Contrary to reports that we’re moving, I’m so happy that I’ll get to live in New York with Bill and Chelsea. After all, where else in the world would 10 people in the space of 30 seconds give me their opinion?
Praising the audience, her supporters, for being so gracious in helping her pay down her debt:
We’re here together! It’s so great to see people I’ve worked with and played with. On this night, my last political event, I’m looking forward to being a New Yorker and representing Lady Liberty in the world. So when I’m in the city walking down the street, come up and tell me what to do. I know I can count on you.
Hillary looked ebullient. On Saturday, January 17, 2009, she was to receive the King Center’s “Salute to Greatness” Award in Atlanta.
It was a wonderful, heart-warming evening. For me, it was one of those events that was all that, and more.
Coming up to the inauguation of the 44th President, as we’re still in the first month of 2009, thought I’d post the Top 10 Posts I’ve written, based on popularity. It’s my travelogue, so to speak, chronologically along the road of how we got HERE.
Apparently our efforts to rub salt in the wounds of the Democratic machine and MSM in 2008 are not as insignificant as our detractors have claimed (or wished) they were throughout 2008. On December 31, 2008, John Cloud of TIME Magazine named PUMA #8 of their Top Ten Buzzwords of 2008. Here’s his description, but hey, what can I say, it’s about TIME. The list is part of their Top Ten Everything of 2008.
PUMA:
An acronym for “party unity my ass,” this term was the rallying cry of Clinton supporters who backed her candidacy even after many party leaders called for consensus around Obama in order to ensure a unified Democratic front going into the general election. As Barrett of doubletongued.org points out, PUMAs hoped to bring the Clinton-Obama fight “to a head-to-head smackdown vote at the [Democratic] convention.” Instead, Clinton threw her support to Obama well before the convention. This word, which disproportionately described female voters, recalls TIME’s 2007 buzzword of the year: cougar, i.e., an older woman seeking younger men.
I especially like the last sentence, when PUMA is compared to hot ‘n horny older women who seek younger men. (they know me so well) Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the nomination. What kind of free publicity is that for us? Good, very good. However, isn’t the comparison the perfect illustration of what we’ve been saying all year about sexism, the supposedly liberal Dem Party, and the MSM?
Here’s the rest of the list, so you can see if you’d like to read the descriptions in their presentation. I’ll admit that I’m just getting caught up with some of the terms. For instance, Rickrolled. I didn’t get the meaning of an old Rick Astley music video in the middle of Uncle Jay’s year-end wrap up video (posted here at LBNYC.) That is, until New Year’s eve, when my 11-year-old friend, Dave, explained the whole phenomenon to me at his folks’ party, sending him into absolute hysterics. So PUMA is just under that on the list, and one of five politically-related terms.
Change
Bailout
Hockey mom
Fist bump
Nuke the fridge
Staycation
Rickrolled
PUMA
Tweet
Topless Meeting
Hey, I think it’s great! Not bad for a movement that’s only been in operation for 6 months, all the while being discounted by the subjects of its protests.
[h/t to dakinikat for her coverage of this news at The Confluence.]
I’m feeling a bit numb, but not comfortably. Just letting everything settle in. Although I had Patron on election night and not Southern Comfort like madamab, I’m moving a bit slowly, but no migraine!
I thought that November 5th would be the day that my life would return to normal, and mark my political devotional journey’s end. One way or the other, I could return to civilian life. Heh. Hasn’t happened yet. Tomorrow. Apparently, it’s hard to get moving, or declare a direction for myself after stopping short.
The morning after, Riverdaughter congratulated Obama and his supporters, whose dreams were fulfilled, saying she understood their joy. She made some waves! I get what she was feeling, because I saw it wash over her at our NYC election night gathering. Congratulations to Obama and The Democrats! And really, would we have wanted them to be sore losers? (Whoops, I forgot: they already were–to Hillary.) From what we’re seeing, Obama’s election to the Presidency is a huge participatory be-in where African Americans can finally be vindicated, feel and see that there’s a way up for them, and that we respect them.
Baby boomers who fought in the civil rights movement are celebrating that they don’t have to leave the country, that their sixties spiritual dreams are fulfilled, and that anything is possible. Even some of my mom’s generation, who were born eighty-something years ago and live in Florida, went for Obama. Hard-core feminists disliked and demonized both Clinton and Palin, and went to Obama. I’m writing, keeping to myself at home, so they don’t see the tread marks up my back.
By any measure of my life up to this year, I’d be as happy as a clam at the big win. Instead, I feel let down. I’m an emotional being. My beef all along has been about the means, the dirty means, the integrity-less, back-stabbing, issue-equivocating, race-baiting, misogynistic, homophobic, money-mongering, combo far right/left MEANS. Period.
Had either Hillary or Sarah gone to the White House, I don’t see that women and men would have universally and spontaneously rejoiced in the streets all over the country like they did for Obama. Do you? Reclusive Leftist wrote that women are just supposed to wish that everyone else does well, regardless if it’s to their own detriment. I’m thinking about that, thinking and wondering.
Some ardent feminists are such fishes in water that they can’t really tell they’re in the tank. Gloria Steinem was on post-election Oprah, and the gist was: Palin had no content, wasn’t fit to be VP or President, and it’s McCain’s fault for choosing her. Gloria said that the more people found out about Palin, the more they went away from her. (These days, I’m feeling that way about Gloria.) She pontificated that women’s issues are about substance not form: it’s what you’re for that matters, not just being a woman. It’s not that she’s wrong, I just don’t like the holier than thou attitude. Hmmm, more tread marks from another feminist who’s absolutely confident within herself, and elated that Obama’s in.
The MSM and FOX News are doing entire segments about Palin’s reported temper and refusal to be coached before the debates. Perhaps they’re right, who knows, but I feel that once again a woman is being scapegoated by Looooo-sers. Her governor rating WAS over 80% BEFORE the MSM, pundits, and Obama got a-hold of her. I guess I should be glad that Obama won, because Hillary’s treatment would have been far worse had he lost.
Although the spiritual and progressive Left are elated, and Obama’s background agendas and means to power have escaped their horizons, I don’t fault anyone’s celebrations. I understand their genuine joy, but am saddened by what they chose to see and what they chose to gloss over, ignore, or spin. Michelle’s Narciso Rodriguez dress got more perusal than Obie’s record. Yet, a majority of Democrats complained that Republicans ran a more negative campaign. They thought that questions about background, associations, decisions, and policies were extraneous, old-style politics, and off-the-mark. They were all for women in high office, just “not those women.”
I don’t see that Hillary Clinton will be supported by the Dems for Majority Leader. David Gergen was also on Oprah I-didn’t-use-my-TV-show-to-promote-Obama. Gergen said that Hillary Clinton came so close but did not make it through the door this year, but that she made 70 different appearances for him, and women will have their time. Obama’s alliances are made, and despite her generosity, it will never be enough. Just like he treated Alice Palmer. It’s rumored that Rahm Emanuel will be Chief of Staff, and that he and the Clintons are enemies. Right now, Hillary’s rise to Majority Leader or President seems as probable as Obama’s choosing her for VP. (But, I’d love to be proven wrong.)
I always “made the holidays” for my kids. When we lived in a collective household, I’d cook and prepare and engage others to help, and we’d celebrate the Jewish holidays (along with all the other holidays of whomever lived there) — Passover, Chanukah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. After the Farm, when my kids were growing up, and even after they were on their own, I kept up with our traditions, inviting friends and family. It was always lovely and warm.
When I moved to New York three years ago, I expected it would be the same. However, when I called to make plans, they said, “Mom, we have our own thing, with our group of friends. You’re welcome to come, though.” Well, as a parent, that was a whole re-orientation—a “mother, please! I’d rather do it myself” moment. I wasn’t in charge of the family holidays anymore, which was a surprise but good for two reasons: 1) my apartment and kitchen are teeny, making complicated meal prep tricky, and 2) I must have passed on the holiday tradition in such a way that they wanted to carry it on themselves, with no prodding or guilt from me.
In Obama’s acceptance speech, I didn’t hear an attempt to lower expectations, I heard a call to action, an exact echoing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We may not get there in one year or one term . . . It’s your moment, your time, and get ready to work. Everybody who voted for Obama, everybody who was dancing in the streets and cried for that moment: You’re on! Let’s see who steps up. YOU can make the holidays for us now.
I’m an optimist. Maybe it’s good. Obama got people to move on his behalf for whatever they thought he stood for, and Obama says that brothas should pull up their pants. (Maybe my son will do it, too. Sorry, dear.) Now that’s something that just might happen in an Obama administration!
I don’t mean to make light of the serious problems ahead, and I’m not saying people aren’t allowed to make mistakes, and I hope for every success, because we’re all in this together now. Some voters, though, might be a little surprised when and if they discover what they actually bought. To them: you wanted it, you got it. And I’m glad you’re going for it. Enjoy! God bless us all, and God bless America!
PUMAs, we still have work to do! Thank you for reading my stuff, helping me keep my sanity, being here to raise each other up, and remaining a strong, clear voice for truth and fairness.
Then, for no apparent good reason, in June Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi decided THEY, not the delegates chosen by the electorate and not the superdelegates appointed via proper party procedure, were going to decide who would represent the top of the ticket for the general election. Now that same leadership wants YOU to legitimize their undemocratic and unprincipled methods by putting their selected candidate into the White House on November 4.
But WE can say no to the subversion of democratic principles within the Democratic Party. We can say no with our votes and by urging our fellow Democrats to pay attention to the particulars of the candidate Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi selected to represent the Democratic Party.
Over the next 24 hours and across the internet, we as a community will urgently be raising money to run edgy and persuasive ads made by Democrats in key battleground states. Generous contributors have pledged $500 in matching funds. Your voice counts. Please contribute now.
CLICK ON ROSIE TO DONATE
Or go to Democrats For Principle Before Party – The Denver Group’s general election website, where you can view other ads the group is running:
Lady Boomer NYC 
You must be logged in to post a comment.