Mar 8, 2012 | Politics, Women |
Barefoot, pregnant and staying home. That’s where Republican men apparently want to see women of the 21st Century. They have begun their endgame by chipping away at women’s reproductive rights. Predominantly white male-dominated legislatures in 20 states have enacted onerous restrictions on women’s health, including Texas, which now forces women, who want an abortion, to submit to ultrasound probes of their vaginas. Cruel and unusual punishment for getting pregnant? I think so.
Didn’t we take care of all this in the 1960’s and ‘70’s? The birth control pill—approved for use in 1960—gave a woman, for the first time ever, the ability to control when she wanted to have a baby. It brought about major social change.
In the 1970’s, didn’t the Women’s Liberation Movement protest in streets across the nation calling for equal rights and reproductive freedom? In 1973, didn’t the Supreme Court rule in Roe v. Wade, that a woman’s right to privacy make the near nationwide ban on abortions unconstitutional? Didn’t Anita Hill put a human face on the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, which led to new laws protecting women from being called “sluts” or “prostitutes?”
“It’s déjà vu all over again.” Yogi Berra’s famous line comes to mind as I watch this absurd drama, over a woman’s right to control her body, unfold on the national stage. Are the Republicans crazy? Do they believe they can win a presidential election by alienating the majority of voters inAmerica? That’s right. Women go to the polls in larger numbers than men. And they vote differently, too. A study byGallupshowed that 41 percent of voting age women say they are Democrats while only 32 percent of men say they are.
President Obama can thank women voters for his 2008 victory. While 49 percent of men cast ballots for him, 56 percent of women voted for Obama.
I can imagine the President and his staff chortling in the Oval Office about the Republicans’ stumbling efforts to wage a “war on women.” They are already working on a strategy for the fall campaign targeting women. As the President said in his first press conference of the year, “The Democrats have a better story to tell.”
You can bet that women will remember Rush Limbaugh’s hateful radio speak about Sandra Fluke, and the tepid responses from the Republican candidates. Mitt Romney brushed off Rush’s remarks as “inappropriate” instead of denouncing them in the strongest language, such as “gross and unacceptable.”
Women aren’t going to forget the Senators who voted in favor of the Blunt amendment, which would allow employers to opt out of providing certain health care benefits for their employees if they have religious objections. Viagra, yes. Contraceptives, no.
The amendment failed, but barely, 51 to 48, pretty much along party lines. The only Republican voting against it was Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, who a short time later announced her decision not to seek reelection. She couldn’t stand it anymore.
The Republican Party and its puppet master Rush Limbaugh have picked the wrong fight.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
Mar 2, 2012 | Politics, Republicans |
Rush Limbaugh, a blowhard who has been going too far, for far too long, has now made it abundantly clear that he hates women. America’s highest rated and highest paid radio broadcaster is a dangerous misogynist.
The venom he spewed at Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, a private citizen, is unprecedented. An overweight, overpaid, hateful “little” man, who always plays the “big” man, has victimized her. This young woman simply had the temerity to testify in support of a woman’s right to health insurance coverage for contraception.
For this Limbaugh calls her a “slut,” a “prostitute” who, he says, wants to be paid for having sex. He even suggested that if she wants money for her sexual activity, he should at least be able to see it taking place. How humiliating, how embarrassing.
I became a victim of his nasty talk on the radio, after I moderated the 1992 presidential debate featuring President George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot. The day after the huge political event—watched by 91 million people here and abroad—Limbaugh called me a “femi-Nazi” who caused Bush to stumble so Clinton could outperform the President and win the debate. (That was a lie.) He said I was a liberal Democrat and never should have been chosen as moderator. (Another lie.) He ranted for 15 minutes about how awful I was. The innuendo, that I was an unqualified and biased black woman.
Within hours of that radio show I started getting death threats by telephone and over the next few days hundreds of letters flooded my office from people who warned me I would be killed, wished I was dead, or planning to shoot me themselves. For about a week armed bodyguards followed me everywhere to provide protection from any Limbaugh “ditto-heads” with guns and a violent streak.
Does he talk about women the way he does for ratings? He surely couldn’t believe all his nonsense talk. Or is he an evil man who wants to yank out from under our Easy Spirits, all the progress we have made. To men like Limbaugh, the advances of women are threatening. That’s why they are “little” men. They can’t stand the fact that females can–not only do what men do–but can have babies, too. And with contraception we hold the ultimate power over society’s growth or decline. Maybe that’s why Neanderthals like Rush, want to force women to bear babies no matter what the circumstances.
Women will not go back. We may be on the cusp of the third women’s rights struggle in US history—suffrage in the early 1900’s, equal rights in the 70’s and now, the new assault on reproductive rights, being given boisterous voice by Limbaugh. Bring it on.
Four wives? Rush can’t seem to get it right. Sounds like he has a woman problem. I met him and one of his wives at the ABC Washington Bureau in the early 90’s. She was a tiny, curvaceous aerobics instructor. Gee, I wonder who left whom?
Jul 25, 2011 | Democrats, Politics, Republicans |
The past couple of weeks in Washington have been insane. Congressional and White House meetings over debt relief and deficit reduction look like a wicked dance of death between Democrats and Republicans in the political theater called Divided Government.
The negotiations…well, there really weren’t negotiations on both sides. The Democrats just folded in the face of almost every GOP proposal. The behind closed door maneuverings are not about getting Americans back on their feet but about which party is the last standing on its feet.
After the mid term elections last fall, President Obama and Congress were all about jobs. Yet, have you heard anybody in this current political debacle making jobs the priority? Has there been serious discussion about reducing the 9.2 percent unemployment rate? Oh, the phrase “job creation” has been bandied about. And the Republicans frequently talk about helping the “job creators.” (Read that “the rich.”) But the people who have lost their jobs, their homes, and their dignity are on the sidelines. More than 14 million Americans.
The debt ceiling must be raised. Everybody agrees to that. But the Republicans have turned what–in the past–would have been an easy vote, into a major undertaking. They want to tackle the long-term deficit by cutting spending on social programs including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; calling for a constitutional amendment to balance the budget; and, for God’s sake, don’t impose any more taxes on the wealthy.
I teach at a college and I suspect that many of the students accepted for admission, as well as returning students, may not be in our classrooms this fall. We saw it last year. Their parents have lost jobs and can’t afford the tuition and other expenses. Because there have been cuts in federal and state financial aid. Their dreams of earning a college degree may be dashed forever.
I don’t want to hear about what happens to the deficit in 2015 or 2020. I want to hear about the unemployed who desperately need and want to go to work now, right now.
Shouldn’t there be some quid pro quo that will relieve the rich of more taxes only if they create a specific number of jobs. They’ve got to give up something.
In the face of the gridlock in Washington and the seeming lack of concern for the citizens of this country, I’m reminded of a part of the Declaration of Independence in which says government should secure the rights of the people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It then states:
“…whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
You see our country is based on the Right of the People, not just the rights of Tea Partiers or the rich and powerful. Don’t we need to remind them?
Jun 22, 2011 | Politics, Republicans, Women |
So, we have two women in the Republican Party who have designs on the highest office in the land. I must admit I favored Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election. I have been waiting for the day a woman would become President of the United States. But could I vote for a Michelle Bachmann or a Sarah Palin? Duh. No.
Are these the most qualified women the Republicans can put forward? I don’t think even the Party believes that. There are some women and then there are some other women. Where are the other women? You know, the smart ones?
Bachmann and Palin seem to have good credentials when you read their bios. Both held elective office. They broke barriers for women. They are wives and mothers. They had careers before entering politics.
And for those that care, they are physically attractive and telegenic, so important in today’s TV-dominated political campaigns.
But then Michelle and Sarah speak. Out of the mouths of these “babes” come some of the most uninformed statements and backward political policy positions you hear from the radical right wing.
They are “card-carrying” members of the Tea Party Movement. Tea Partiers were protesting on the Capitol steps and spat on Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and shouted “nigger” again and again at civil rights icon, Georgia Rep. John Lewis. I did not hear Bachmann or Palin denounce the vile behavior.
I am really talking about their comments that are just laughable. Could Michelle Bachmann be this dumb?
Bachmann: “The Founding Fathers worked tirelessly until slavery was no more.” She is wrong and nearly 150 years off for when slavery really ended in the U.S.
Bachmann: Speaking in New Hampshire, the first primary state. “You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord.” No, Michelle, that would be Massachusetts.
Bachmann: Told Minnesotans she wanted them “armed and dangerous” to fight an energy tax, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
She doesn’t know U.S. history and doesn’t believe scientific evidence and she thinks she can be President?
Sarah Palin has so many crazy quotations it was difficult to pick a few.
Palin: Talking about Paul Revere after taking a tour of his home. “He, who, warned, uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells…” Blah, blah. What is going on in her head? (I won’t answer that.)
Palin: At a motorcyle rally in Washington, DC, while riding a Harley. “I love the smell of emissions.”
Palin: About NATO bombing in Libya. “Do we use war? Do we use squirmish? What is it?” That statement should make many people squirm.
While both Representative Bachmann and former Governor Palin are wildly popular with some Americans, I don’t get it. They are embarrassing to the nation and especially to women.
I wish they’d quietly leave the political stage before doing damage to women who are really qualified to be President of the United States.
Dec 16, 2010 | Politics |
It was an unbelievable sight. The Democratic President of the United States wandering into the White House Press Room followed closely by the former Democratic President of the United States. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton looked awkward as they situated themselves on the riser behind the podium.
The White House Press Corps knew that the two hottest tickets in the Democratic Party had a meeting, but they never expected what unfolded next. Reporters were hastily rounded up by press officers and told to go to the Briefing Room.
President Obama wanted everybody to know that President Clinton supported the deal—some would call the “unholy” deal—he made with Republican congressional leaders to extend tax cuts for the rich in exchange for extending unemployment benefits for the jobless.
It seemed of utmost importance that President Obama spread the word that the popular Bill Clinton agreed that Obama had negotiated the best deal he could get. Mr. Clinton said it might even work to improve the economy over the long term. But tax cuts for the rich? It’s alien to everything the Democratic Party has stood for historically.
But then came the biggest shock of all. President Obama left President Clinton in charge of the briefing to field reporters’ questions, because he said he had to go to a Christmas party. What??? He left the Grand Master of Communication to explain his bewildering cave to the Republican leadership; something Mr. Obama couldn’t make the public understand.
After that spectacle I was reminded of the great Louis Armstrong. Throughout the years Satchmo frequently said, every black man had to have a white boss to put his hand on his shoulder and who would say, “This is my n—–.” The words can be found in a biography published in 1983 called Louis Armstrong: An American Genius, by James Lincoln Collier.
Of course, Armstrong was born in the segregated South, lived under Jim Crow laws, and fought to get his music off the “chittlin’ circuit” into the jazz mainstream. He thought the only way he could do that was to have a powerful white man on his side.
Armstrong said, “If a Negro had the proper white man to reach the law and say, ‘What the hell you mean, locking up my n—–?’ Then quite naturally the law would walk him free.”
That was Louis Armstrong’s reality. But his words from long ago pricked my consciousness when I saw the Obama-Clinton dog and pony show at the White House.
Now, I’m not calling President Obama the n-word, nor am I calling President Clinton his white boss. I do not demean the real accomplishments the President has made over the past two years. I’m just saying…I’m just saying that by trotting out Mr. Clinton, President Obama did nothing to help the growing view our leader is weak. Republicans who want nothing more than to see his presidency fail, are dragging him around like “Bo” with a ragdoll. The President doesn’t appear large and in charge and he doesn’t seem to be able to get down with the people.
Barack Obama has only 2 years left. His New Year’s resolution should be to find his spine.
Dec 2, 2010 | Bad Behavior, Men, Politics |
Please tell me how Tom Delay, Rod Blagojevich and Eliot Spitzer have been able to achieve “star” or “celebrity” status. They broke laws, disgraced their public offices — and two of them may serve jail time.
The former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, so feared in Congress that he was called “The Hammer,” was recently convicted of laundering money to influence Texas elections. The Republican politician faces a sentence, which could put him behind bars for decades. Yet, while under indictment, he was chosen to be a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.” What? Who thought that was a good idea? He couldn’t dance; he was not what most people would consider a “star;” and he was facing prison for a serious crime.
Well, poor old Tom didn’t last on the show. He developed stress fractures in both feet and couldn’t dance anymore. Now he’s a convicted felon, appealing the guilty verdict.
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was booted from office by the State Legislature after the federal government charged him with corruption, trying to sell President Obama’s open US Senate seat for personal financial gain, and lying to FBI agents — 23 counts in all — of official wrongdoing. They had tapes of him engaged in illegal activities. Mr. Blagojevich was arrested and got out on bail. While awaiting trial he popped up on talk shows across the TV spectrum. Even the ladies of “The View” couldn’t resist tousling his helmet of dark brown hair. Because of some conflict, he couldn’t be on the so-called reality show called, “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.” So his wife, Patti, took his place and finished fourth in the competition.
Next thing you know, Blagojevich is on Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” Who deemed him a celebrity? Trump fired him midway through the show’s season for not contributing much to his team, but “The Donald” said he still likes “Blago.”
Last August, the ex-governor was found guilty on one count of lying to the FBI and faces re-trial next April on the 23 remaining counts. But that didn’t stop Wonderful Pistachios from signing a deal with him. If you watched the World Series or “Law and Order SVU” you might have seen a commercial, which showed Blagojevich accepting a suspicious-looking briefcase. He opens it and pours out hundreds of pistachios, one of which he cracked and ate. The catch line? “He does it innocently.” Doesn’t make me want to buy Wonderful Pistachios.
Dallying with prostitutes, while a married man, can lead to your own prime-time talk show. Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is now a TV star, co-hosting “Parker Spitzer” on CNN with Kathleen Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist.
The then 49-year-old Democratic governor was caught patronizing prostitutes. Investigators had irrefutable evidence that he contacted the Emperor Club VIP prostitution ring and made a “date” to meet at a Washington, DC, hotel, a 22-year-old petite brunette, called “Kristen.” After three hours of her services, he paid her $4300 in cash.
Investigators said that while he was New York Attorney General—the state’s highest law enforcement officer—and while governor, Spitzer spent as much as $80,000 on prostitutes.
When the New York legislature started to talk impeachment, a disgraced Spitzer resigned his vaunted post as Governor. After embarrassing his wife, his family, and his state, it was not long before he started showing up as a commentator on cable news shows. CNN then gave him his own show. Why, CNN?
Bristol Palin’s only claim to fame is being an unwed mother and the daughter of Sarah Palin. Yet, “Dancing with the Stars” had no qualms about calling her a “star” and making her a contestant. At one time, having a baby out of wedlock was not even discussed in “polite company.” Some called it immoral. And isn’t her Baby’s Daddy, Levi Johnston, thinking about running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a post his baby’s grandmother once held? He didn’t finish high school, but because he’s a “celebrity” now, he believes he’s qualified to run for public office.
I don’t know who’s to blame for making questionable characters marketable. The American people who want to watch them or the companies, which pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars to work for them.
They say the American people are a forgiving people. It would seem so. But I am reminded of the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954, chaired by rabid anti-Communist Senator Joseph McCarthy. During the hearings an attorney, Joseph Welch, asked the Senator these now famous words: “Have you no shame, sir. At long last, have you no shame?”
Too many people in America would have to answer, they do not.
Nov 20, 2010 | Politics, Republicans |
No, they di-int! Yes, they did. Do Republican leaders have any ounce
of civility left? Obviously they don’t when it comes to dealing with
President Obama.
After the Democrats got what the President even called a “shellacking”
in the mid-term elections, Mr. Obama invited House and Senate leaders
from both parties to a meeting on November 18th and then dinner in his
home. Not just the White House, but dinner in the family living quarters
on the second floor of the mansion. Other than sleeping overnight in the
Lincoln Bedroom, that’s probably one of the most coveted invitations
you can receive from a president.
Mr. Obama said he was hosting the dinner to foster bipartisanship in
preparation for the January seating of the new 112th Congress, a session
in which the Republicans will have substantial control of the House,
and the Democrats, a slim majority in the Senate. The dinner was to be
a “can’t we all get along” affair.
But the Republicans snubbed the President of the United States! They
said they were too busy to attend, other pressing business and prior
engagements, you know. Republican leaders suggested November 30th
would be a date more suitable for them.
Get it? The Republicans will make the President wait. They will set the
agenda and its timetable. Can you imagine what the next two years are
going to be like?
I am sick of President Obama trying to reach out to the other party. He
has compromised, accommodated, negotiated and placated, and what
has he gotten in return? Nothing. Did he forget that Senate Republican
Leader Mitch McConnell said after the mid terms that his primary goal
is to make Obama a one-term president and repeal the hard-fought
health care reform law? President Obama should be too busy for him
on November 30th.
It was my understanding that people voted in the mid term elections for
change, but change, which would provide them jobs, keep them in their
homes, and make their lives a little easier. The majority didn’t say, “Give
us our country back,” as if Mr. Obama took it to some presidential
hideaway to perform unspeakable acts upon it.
President Obama–who admittedly hasn’t done the best job of
communicating with the American people about the value of his
programs–needs to take off his finely tailored leather gloves and hit
back at the recalcitrant Republicans with every presidential power
at his disposal. He needs to spend more time in the bully pulpit:
holding press conferences, going out on the hustings and making news
every day. He should no longer play “Mr. Nice Guy” to those who are
determined to bring him down and make the first black president in
history, a failure.
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