Women Against Sarah Palin
In their own words:
On Wednesday, September 3, we sent out an email to 40 friends and colleagues asking them to respond to Sarah Palin’s candidacy as Vice President of the United States. They forwarded the letter to their friends across America. To date, we have received more than 100,000 responses from women of all ages and backgrounds.
An amazing groundswell of support for authentic feminism and a cry of protest against the candidacy of McCain/Palin and the false image of feminism it attempts to co-opt.
Below the fold, a few initial observations on the site and what this grassroots movement means to the November election.
Started by two women, Lyra and Quinn, a week ago, their biographical statement reads as follows:
We are not in the habit of criticizing women in the public sphere, as we usually feel we should support our female compatriots with as much encouragement as we can. However, Sarah Palin's record is anti-woman. Feminism is not simply about achieving the power and status typically held by men. It's about protecting and supporting the rights of women of all classes, races, cultures, and beliefs. Palin's record and beliefs do not align with this. She was chosen by John McCain specifically because he believes that American women will vote for any female candidate regardless of their qualifications. He is wrong.
It is about time. In listening to the right-wing spin about how much the Republican Party was "energized" by the pick of a completely unqualified, totally unsuitable, and dangerously extremist governor from Alaska who is trying to stave off an abuse-of-power investigation dragging the state into a sordid family feud, the smug assertions of the McCain campaign and its supporters assuring the rest of 'us women' that somehow they offer a panacea to disappointed women voters and holding up post-convention polls showing an increase in support for McCain among white women, where are the grassroots voices of dissent?
They are here, and they are eloquent, and passionate.
Here are a few quotes:
Dear Ms. Palin—
Even in this very red state of Alabama, we know the difference between a show horse, a hobby horse, and a work horse. You do not represent working class women, farm wives or single mothers—ALL of whom turned to Hillary Clinton with great hopes. You charged women for their own rape kits when you were mayor in Wasilla. You use housekeepers and nannies to care for your kids. You don't want sex education in schools, but you let your daughter get pregnant! You do not now, nor will you ever speak for us!
–Gita H., Montgomery, AL
The inclusion of Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket is an absolute insult to intelligent womanhood. The fact that McCain would choose her is an indication of his lack of intelligence or possible senility. Why isn't the media screaming about her lack of qualifications and her reactionary views on all of the important issues of this campaign? How can ANYONE take her seriously? There ought to be an uprising against her and the Republicans who are promoting her!
–Wendy C., 56, Gig Harbor, WA
Sarah Palin is by no means a maverick. Her political views and religious ideation appear to be taken directly from the mainstream teachings of the Christian Right. I would not vote for a man with those opinions and I consider it insulting that anyone would think we (women) would view a woman differently. While her outdoor hobbies, so-called prowess at hunting and sports, and contentious nature as a city and state official might make her an appealing character for some frontier fiction movie or mini-series, those characteristics by themselves do not constitute qualifications for being second-in-command of this country. After beating the experience drum for so long, John McCain has revealed himself for the hypocrite and cynical opportunist that he is through his choice of someone so abysmally unqualified.
–Ellen W., Oklahoma City, OK
Women Against Sarah Palin has provided a much-needed forum for the outcry from over 100,000 women. Rec this diary and let's hear from the rest of us women who are offended at the cheap political manipulation and the use of gender as the ultimate political trump card.