Hillary Clinton Endorsment by Robin Morgan - Good Bye to all that.

[Raffi Ella]

BIO:An award-winning writer, feminist leader, political analyst, journalist, editor, and co-founder of the Women's Media Center, Robin Morgan has published 21 books, including six of poetry, four of fiction, and the now-classic anthologies Sisterhood Is Powerful, Sisterhood Is Global, and Sisterhood Is Forever.

Her work has been translated into 13 languages. A founder of contemporary U.S. feminism, she has also been a leader in the international women's movement for 25 years. Recent books include A Hot January: Poems 1996-1999; Saturday's Child: A Memoir; her best-selling The Demon Lover: The Roots of Terrorism, updated and reissued in 2001; and her novel, The Burning Time. Her nonfiction work, Fighting Words: A Took Kit for Combating the Religious Right, came out in September 2006.





February 2, 2008

“Goodbye To All That” was my (in)famous 1970 essay breaking free from a politics of accommodation especially affecting women (for an online version, see http://blog.fair-use.org/category/chicago/).



During my decades in civil-rights, anti-war, and contemporary women’s movements, I’ve avoided writing another specific “Goodbye . . .” But not since the suffrage struggle have two communities—joint conscience-keepers of this country—been so set in competition, as the contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) and Barack Obama (BO) unfurls. So.



Goodbye to the double standard . . .

—Hillary is too ballsy but too womanly, a Snow Maiden who’s emotional, and so much a politician as to be unfit for politics.

—She’s “ambitious” but he shows “fire in the belly.” (Ever had labor pains?)

—When a sexist idiot screamed “Iron my shirt!” at HRC, it was considered amusing; if a racist idiot shouted “Shine my shoes!” at BO, it would’ve inspired hours of airtime and pages of newsprint analyzing our national dishonor.

—Young political Kennedys—Kathleen, Kerry, and Bobby Jr.—all endorsed Hillary. Senator Ted, age 76, endorsed Obama. If the situation were reversed, pundits would snort “See? Ted and establishment types back her, but the forward-looking generation backs him.” (Personally, I’m unimpressed with Caroline’s longing for the Return of the Fathers. Unlike the rest of the world, Americans have short memories. Me, I still recall Marilyn Monroe’s suicide, and a dead girl named Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.)



Goodbye to the toxic viciousness . . .

Carl Bernstein's disgust at Hillary’s “thick ankles.” Nixon-trickster Roger Stone’s new Hillary-hating 527 group, “Citizens United Not Timid” (check the capital letters). John McCain answering “How do we beat the bitch?" with “Excellent question!” Would he have dared reply similarly to “How do we beat the black bastard?” For shame.



Goodbye to the HRC nutcracker with metal spikes between splayed thighs. If it was a tap-dancing blackface doll, we would be righteously outraged—and they would not be selling it in airports. Shame.



Goodbye to the most intimately violent T-shirts in election history, including one with the murderous slogan “If Only Hillary had married O.J. Instead!” Shame.



Goodbye to Comedy Central’s “Southpark” featuring a storyline in which terrorists secrete a bomb in HRC’s vagina. I refuse to wrench my brain down into the gutter far enough to find a race-based comparison. For shame.



Goodbye to the sick, malicious idea that this is funny. This is not “Clinton hating,” not “Hillary hating.” This is sociopathic woman-hating. If it were about Jews, we would recognize it instantly as anti-Semitic propaganda; if about race, as KKK poison. Hell, PETA would go ballistic if such vomitous spew were directed at animals. Where is our sense of outrage—as citizens, voters, Americans?





MUCH MORE @ http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/020108.html


Please keep this kicked and rec it up so this incredible womans voice may be heard,thank you :bluebox:

[Malikshah]

1. I've been sending this to folks for the last week--

It needs air time.

We need Chris Matthews to read this on the air.

[Raffi Ella]

4. Thank you for that

I just found it last night through Live journal.I plan on spreading this as far and wide as I possibly can.

And Yes,Mathews et al,if they had an ounce of integrity, would give this the air time it deserves.

[desi]

2. What better way to describe this endorsement than

POWERFUL!!

K&R

[Raffi Ella]

5. Indeed!

It really brings this campaign home for me.It is an incredible time in American history.

[desi]

16. Thank you for sharing these touching words and also your video.

Yes this is an incredible time in our lives and hopefully we are all headed towards a much better future. Kudos :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Raffi Ella]

17. oh you're very welcome.Thank you for reading /responding.

Yes,this is an amazing time,not just for women but for all of us,women and men alike.The time has come for us to stand up and make our voices heard.

:hug:

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Sorry, I give no credence to a sexist rant. nt

[Evergreen Emerald]

6. always those who stick their head in the sand.

Always those who call "sexist" one who dares to condem sexism.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. I Have Noticed A Disturbing Trend On This Board Among Certain Posters

They choose to ignore some forms of bigotry while condemning others as if it was a smorgasbord where you you get to pick and choose...

Either all forms of bigotry are abhorent or none of them are...

[Raffi Ella]

11. "Either all forms of bigotry are abhorent or none of them are..."

:kick:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. I Agree... "Women Are Like Children...They Should Be Seen And Not Heard."

:sarcasm:

[Straight Shooter]

8. It's okay. We give no credence to the opinion of those who fail to see what she's saying. n/t

[Raffi Ella]

9. *smile*

:applause:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. The Rhetoric Was A Bit Hot

But that's the point... Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto, one of the greatest polemics of all time, to stir...He wrote Das Kapital, one of the most researched treatises of all time ,to inform...

Her point about the Hillary Nutcracker is spot on... (It's still being advertised here)...I knew as a twelve year old kid in 1970 that a black lawn jockey was uncool...

I had a conversation at lunch yesterday with a very succesful female trial lawyer ... She has had several eight figure verdicts...We were discussing how sexism is still accepted in polite circles but racism will get you shunned in those same circles as it should be...

I have seen bigotry directed toward Asians, Latinos, women, and glbt folks on this board, and sadly the lion's share of it has come out of one camp...

We must condemn, eschew, and deplore all forms of bigotry wherever it raises its ugly head...

[Alamom]

12. Thank you. Excellent post. nm

[Cameron27]

14. Thank you!

"Me? I support Hillary Rodham because she’s the best qualified of all candidates running in both parties. I support her because her progressive politics are as strong as her proven ability to withstand what will be a massive right-wing assault in the general election. I support her because she knows how to get us out of Iraq. I support her because she’s refreshingly thoughtful, and I’m bloodied from eight years of a jolly “uniter” with ejaculatory politics. I needn’t agree with her on every point. I agree with the 97 percent of her positions that are identical with Obama’s—and the few where hers are both more practical and to the left of his (like health care). I support her because she’s already smashed the first-lady stereotype and made history as a fine senator, because I believe she will continue to make history not only as the first US woman president, but as a great US president."



"As for the “woman thing”?"



"Me, I’m voting for Hillary not because she’s a woman—but because I am."

K&R

[calmblueocean]

15. A few thoughts on this

I wrote about this on another thread, but I was pretty much too late to the game for anyone to see it, so I'm gonna post it again here.

I agree that a lot of what passes for right wing "humor" about Hillary is really vile, violent misogyny and is being ignored or handwaved away. It should be recognized for what it is, and treated as unacceptable.

I don't agree that the Hillary nutcracker is as volatile or offensive as a tapdancing blackface doll of Obama would be. The African-American community has a unique history of personal and psychological destruction in America, and constantly trying to compare sexism to racism in a victimization contest diminishes both.

And most importantly, I don't think sexism has played a significant role at all against Hillary so far in her campaign. Not even the right wing hate screeds attack Hillary with the traditional epithets that "women are too emotional", "too touchy-feely", "not tough enough", etc. There's no sense of public doubt that Hillary lacks the intelligence, guts, determination, or bearing to be president. This victory really ought to be celebrated and publicized by her advocates, and indeed, even people who *aren't* her advocates. It's a powerful example of how far we've come as a nation.

That's one reason why I feel like playing the "victim card" here is unseemly. Hillary is a victor, not a victim. The shadow she casts is bigger and bolder than some silly nutcracker or a stupid sign held up at a rally as a radio prank. Do her supporters not see that? Do *you* not see that? The only way Hillary gets torn down by nonsense like this is when her supporters elevate it to a status it does not merit. The real story here is the defeat of sexism by Hillary, not her victimization by it.

[Evergreen Emerald]

18. Victim card? No one is playing the victim card. Rather she is shining light on the sexism

In America and the double standard that protects Obama from attack, while vilifying Clinton.

I think that it is sexist to suggest that when the truth is spoken, we play the "victim" card. I think that it is ok for someone to stand up and tell the world the truth about sexism without that truth being characterized as "victim card."

The reality in the op's post is frightening. And the deniers and minimizers are just as frightening.

The reason that the Democratic race is so close has to do with the constant barrage of attacks on Clinton--most of which are rooted in sexism. So, when you see that nutcracker, she is minimzied. UnPresidential, put in her place--just like when Edwards talks about her looks or clothes, and others comment about her voice. She is minimized, reduced to what women traditional are: valued for their physical and nothing else.

If sexism defeats--do not blame Clinton. Do not blame those who see the sexism for what it is.

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. Bullshit.

Hillary supporters talk about Edward's haircut. That's not sexist.

But "...just like when Edwards talks about her looks or clothes, and others comment about her voice. She is minimized, reduced to what women traditional are: valued for their physical and nothing else."

THAT is a double standard. THAT is playing victim. THAT is sexist.

Use the same standards for ALL candidates.

A poster above talked about Hillary's "determination, guts, bearing..." I don't deny her any of those qualities. What I deny is her judgement - supporting the IWR and the war it brought about for THREE YEARS, and only THEN claiming she was misled and that Bush exceeded his authority. If she really believed that, she should have spoken up immediately to condemn Bush's actions, or at least taken responsibilty for it as Edwards did. But no, she waited until the polls told her that the majority of the polity had turned against the war before she turned against it herself.

I say again, this is a sexist rant, and it demeans Hillary to reduce her candidacy to a battle of the sexes. I've heard enough about her fighting the "boy's club".

[Evergreen Emerald]

24. Little girls in our society die to be thin--because they see that the physical

is the value of women. To deny that reality helps to perpetuate it. You read the article, you choose to ignore reality and instead attack the messanger (as a "victim"). Whatever.

I do not understand how commenting on the reality of our society is sexist.

IWR: you have chosen the intellectual lazy way out on that one. Can't help you there if you want to buy the right-wing talking points blaming Clinton for Bush's war. It is interesting, that you do not blame Obama for HIS part in the war--is there another double standard?

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. And guys kill themselves with steroids to fit the masculine myth.

It is still a myth. The football field is just as potent a sexual stereotype as the model's runway.

She is not saying that 'society' is sexist. She is saying 'men' are sexist. And uses that as a reason to make political decisions.

I say it cuts both ways, and is no reason to make political decisions.

IWR: Did Obama vote for it? Did he subsequently defend the ensuing war for three years? Or did he merely vote to maintain the soldiers who were there while saying we need to get them the hell out of there?

[NorthernSpy]

30. In the scheme of things, Hillary is more a victimizer than a victim.

That is what some of us refuse to forget, to the dismay of the Robin Morgans of the world.

Hillary voted for the war. She voted against banning cluster bombs.

In other words, people died because of her. People lost their feet and hands and legs, because of her.


Maybe a little vilification is in order.

[Evergreen Emerald]

34. you are distorting her policies. The cluster-bomb issue has been debunked again and again

and yet you continue to use it to attack her. You are intellectually lazy in your IWR stance, and would rather just blame her for BUSH'S WAR than actually think it through.

[bigtree]

20. great post

:kick:

[oasis]

21. Great piece. k&r

[K Gardner]

22. Turned it off at "suffrage struggle". Over the top and inflammatory.

[Beacool]

23. I loved it!!!!

I had read it before and had saved it to reread and to pass to other people (not just women, men need to read it too).

[avrdream]

25. WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

I am copying this and sending it EVERYWHERE! No truer words.

[Iceburg]

26. Most powerful piece todate -- K&R /nt

[judaspriestess]

27. Beautiful

K&R

[NorthernSpy]

29. Goodbye to feminists who are okay with race-baiting if it helps their candidate...

Jesus Gawd, I hate Robin Morgan and all her ilk. They're just privileged professional whiners who have nothing in common with me, or with the other 99.999999% of women on Earth.

:puke:

[HeraldSquare212]

32. Or who don't mind candidates who approved bombing and maiming women and children. nt

[Evergreen Emerald]

33. you have it backwards. Obama used race to win SC.

He shouted racism from the rooftops for statements that Clinton said that had nothing to do with race. He used it to solidify the SC voting block in a move that I think rivals the Willy Horton ads.

And you dare to suggest that Clinton used race. You are backwards. And wrong.

I agree with everything this woman said.

I wonder, if you would have been one to bind your own feet?

[NorthernSpy]

37. Ishmael Reed lays it out nicely: "Going Old South On Obama"

http://www.blackstarnews.com/?c=123&a=4117


You don't have to read the writing on the wall, if you don't want to. But if I were you, I would -- the whole thing.

[Evergreen Emerald]

38. Look, I have read it. I saw it. Obama used race to win SC.

The only one to be helped using race is Obama. It is BS that the media gave him a free pass.

[NorthernSpy]

39. do you understand what you're doing?

Because I'm not sure you do.

[Alamom]

31. k

[candice]

35. Women of the world unite! We have nothing to lose but our chains.

[mtnsnake]

36. All I gotta say is AWESOME!

:thumbsup:

[LulaMay]

40. Robin Morgan says it like it is. Thank you! nt