I do not write these diaries often, but I was inspired to write when Robert Gibbs disparaged Howard Dean. When we decided to call ourselves Progressives, I did not realize the ‘powers that be’ would feminize us as the White House just did over the past couple of days. Members of the White House and Democratic Senators are now saying that Howard Dean is "irrational." As we all know, this is a term used to describe women when they become upset. Perhaps this gendered label of irrationality did not capture much attention, but I see some parallels to former Progressive Movements—mainly the work of Progressive women and how they were treated a hundred years ago! So, if we are going to suffer the same feminization of the former Progressives, then maybe we should look at what these reformers did to earn their feminized stripes and how these women fought back. Maybe we can use their resistance as an example today.
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