CALLER: You know, [Mitt Romney is] not my favorite candidate... but... I will say this: Yes, he's establishment; yes, he was governor of Massachusetts. But Rush when I compare him to the establishment candidate four years ago, meaning McCain, I feel better about Romney. I think he genuinely has enough conservative values, I think he definitely has an economic background, and I would feel comfortable if he did win; whereas I never would have felt comfortable if McCain won, except that Sarah was there.This struck me — I was listening to the podcast this morning, after knowing the results of the Iowa straw poll — because of the strength of the confidence in Sarah Palin and the comfort embodied in the simple reference "Sarah." I'm touched by this, because I'd always thought that it would be difficult for Americans to get their minds around the idea of a woman as Commander in Chief. Even those who celebrate the advancement of women would, I thought, worry about trusting a woman with the ultimate responsibility for the security of the world. But here is a very conservative man, this caller, who is wary of John McCain, but able to tolerate him because of her. At the same time, Republicans are embracing Michele Bachmann. I'm not hearing any balkiness about accepting a woman President. It has become almost instantly normal.
RUSH: ... Now, you said Romney's not your favorite. Who is?
CALLER: I'd love to see Sarah Palin run, but I really want to look at Perry.
How did that happen, and why did it happen on the Republican side? When Hillary Clinton ran for President in 2008, there was a lot of talk and enthusiasm about the idea of the first female President. It wasn't normal. The non-normalness was a big plus for some and a negative for others. Barack Obama's path forward came in reaction to Hillary in what — I think — history will see as a very strange psychic shift in the minds of Democratic voters. No! Not the woman! Somehow, within the minds of Democrats, the African-American man could stop the woman, and so, he vaulted into the foreground and, despite a shocking lack of experience, won the presidency.
But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
Posts
254 comments:
1 – 200 of 254 Newer› Newest»The politics of female candidates have flipped.
Isn't it crazy? You take the focus off the identity of candidates, and people stop seeing them as identity candidates.
Ever heard of Maggi Thatcher, Althouse? Or, for that matter, Clare Booth Luce? Conservatives have NEVER had a problem with strong women..
Jesus Christ, Althouse!
I keep telling you this. Not all of us were born to suburban comfort like you.
I was born in a shotgun shack in the middle of the cornfields in Illinois. Nobody in my family had an education or a decent job. Men and women in my family worked at menial jobs and lived in poverty.
I'm the first member of my extended family to earn a four year college diploma.
This is a lot more common family background than yours.
Feminist history is a crock, at least when it is measured against my family history.
Betty Friedan, the idiot author of The Feminine Mystique, was married to a rich man who provided her with a maid. She never dirtied her hands, not even with housekeeping.
"How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?"
Easy, the GOP is a party of ideas. We have no problem with Herman Cain or Allen West, Marco Rubio, or Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann. They are not black, or Hispanic, or women.
They are conservatives.
Democrats see race and gender.
You've invited speculation and generalization, so here goes: Sarah is Joan of Arc. Hillary is Lady Macbeth.
Shorter form of my previous comment:
Feminism is the ideology of rich and upper middle class women.
The rest of us never experienced this sexual divide that you imagine we experienced.
"Ever heard of Maggi Thatcher, Althouse?"
As I was saying to Meade before I wrote this post, I had always thought that the barrier would have to be broken by someone like Margaret Thatcher, who had a distinctive toughness. That's why I'm surprised by the acceptance of Palin (and Bachmann).
That Thatcher happened in Britain, in a parliamentary system, doesn't establish what would work in America.
You don't think Palin has "a distinctive toughness?" Really?
Clare Booth Luce never got very far towards the presidency.
I remember Margaret Chase Smith and hearing, when I was a child, that the first woman President might be Margaret Chase Smith. She was the first woman to have her name put in nomination for President at a major party convention, the Republican Convention in 1964. I was 13 then.
"You don't think Palin has "a distinctive toughness?" Really?"
Let me put it clearer: Thatcher seems more manly.
It was the Republican party that:
1. Freed the slaves.
2. Enacted the civil rights act of 1964.
3. Pushed women's suffrage.
Yet you wonder that they are more accepting of civil rights and thinking of women as equals.
Objections to Hillary from republicans was because of her ideology, not her sex. She lost in the democrat party nomination process, not by the hands of republicans
I think the democrats have done a good job of distorting both history and issues.
But Thatcher established beyond doubt that a woman could be a forceful leader.
I think it's only one part of the answer, though.
The principal factor is that we have seen women become successful in all areas of society. The women who have done so are not male bashing feminists, but balanced individuals who have strong relationships with people of all genders and types.
It's not one role model. It's millions of role models.
whereas I never would have felt comfortable if McCain won, except that Sarah was there.
I also voted for Sarah, not McCain.
I considered McCain to be effectively brain dead. And I believe I said on these very pages that I prayed McCain would suffer a debilitating (fatal) heart attack immediately following his inauguration. So he would not have even the slightest opportunity to damage the nation with his brain-deadness.
I voted for Sarah Palin, and I'd vote for her again.
PS: Speaking of strong women, I could probably throw in Swarthmore -educated (iirc) Madame Chaing Kai Sheck, but the Dragon Lady might just be a little strong for some tastes...although she was a FABULOUS public speaker, people should listen to some of her speeches she gave while touring the US just prior to WW II.
Was Bachmann the first woman to win a straw poll in Iowa? If so, will the MSM report it as an historic event?
"Feminism is the ideology of rich and upper middle class women."
Rich and upper middle class white women.
That's not a snarky comment. Even in the trenches of academia, this is pretty much accepted.
Which is why there's a segmenting of women oriented perspectives. Feminism is rich white women. Womanist is African-American women (which has to be differentiated from black women of other cultures). Mujurista is latina women. And there's Asian women.
I also think there's a bit of a Western conservatism influence in all of this. Eastern Republicans have women as matriarchs. Westerners are used to those hard-working, very involved pioneer women.
That's probably why Palin is so familiar to so many of us, while she's so foreign to the Eastern establishment. We on the outskirts are very used to seeing women as leaders and contributors because the women in our histories were those sorts of women.
WV: Ducks. Go Oregon! Mark O. Hatfield died this past week, to very little acknowledgment. Though, given that in 1995 his vote defeated the balanced budget amendment, it seems given the present crises, the acknowledgment might not be entirely favorable. One wonders what life would be like now had that passed.
It's all about the jersey on their back.
Liberals loved Clinton in 2008 because she wore the "D" jersey. They hated Palin in the "R" jersey. in 2012, it's the "R" fans who have the luxury of playing the gender card, even if it's not one they normally wave around day-to-day.
Compared to Palin, lots of women seem manly. I think what may perplex many is that she manages to be both strong and sexy and maternal all at once. People don't know what box to put her in.
Thatcher's speaking style was a product of the House of Commons, I'd speculate. Much more in-your-face than a mayor or a governor can be.
But Lady T. has had her male admirers, sometimes in surprising places on the political spectrum.
But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
Ever notice how liberals project their own worst traits onto their opponents? Sexism, racism, failure to examine the validity of their fundamental beliefs?
Rep. Bachmann says some very good things, and I like some of her positions.
But Presidents without executive experience are trouble. I said that in 2008, and the past three years haven't proven me wrong. Lack of executive experience isn't President Obama's worst problem, by any means, but it's a big problem.
With Gov. Pawlenty dropping out, the number of experienced executives in the race dropped; but Gov. Perry balanced that out.
Curious George@9:21 nails it, dead on target. As does Skyler..
And Ann, conservatism and love of its adherents knows no national boundaries..
I wonder, if the Cold War had lasted another 30 years, would women still seem as promising as candidates?
"Ann Althouse said...
"You don't think Palin has "a distinctive toughness?" Really?"
Let me put it clearer: Thatcher seems more manly."
Not sure what that's supposed to mean (suggests physical features, shame on you) but is idiocy.
Palin became Governor of Alaska for crissakes. Took on the good ole boys club there. She hunts. Fishes. Played basketball in college.
Thatcher wouldn't give up her pearls if you believe the movie.
Some people can't see because they are blind. Others just don't open their eyes.
Let me put it clearer: Thatcher seems more manly.
Please save that cattiness for Meryl Streep.
MAN they're a lot of people hitting the bulls-eye here this am. DEAD ON, Paddy O!!
"Thatcher seems more manly."
Less emotion. More stoic. Sounds highly educated. Forceful stances. That's not her being manly. That's her being English.
I am getting very tired of this moaning about "ecperience."
It is not "experience" that counts, but how you handled yourself in the past when encountering problems beyond your "experience."
Ms. Sarah handled her problems very nicely.
It is essentially simple, the GOP is open tent. The Democrats actually want to be gate-keepers. They realize that Obama would make their guilt disappear. And, as the Emory professor had in NYT last week, Obama had done nothing. They realized that they could shape Obama. Thus, they support him. Now, they will support him for 2012, because if they do not, then it will show that they were wrong in 2008. But, the left never wants to admit. Ergo, Obama-Biden will win again. There is nothing the GOP can do. Nothing. It is given that you cannot defeat the press champions: NPR, PBS, CNN, NYT, HuffPost, Daily Beast, etc. From my one-on-one observations of K-street consultants, I can tell you that there is no love, no affection, no nothing for the GOP. The verdict is already in: The GOP lose in a landslide in 2012. Yes, you heard it now. Believe me later.
It's not an equality. You make allowances for women.
Thatcher defended the Falklands, which settled the commander in chief thing.
The question is do the things you make allowances for affect the job.
I don't know about comfort with Palin. She doesn't seem very bright, or anyway doesn't think we're very bright; and has an apparent history as governor of holding up corporations for example.
Keep in mind, Americans have always liked and been proud of the frontierswoman - capable, strong, self-sufficient, but a loving wife and mother. Going back to the 19th Century, she was the heroine of many an adventure story.
That's what Miss Sarah is and Mrs Bachmann has some of those qualities. What Americans don't seem to like the the Lefty femiinst - shrill(ary), mean, destructive, and hypocritical.
I also voted for Sarah, not McCain...
I resented being told that I should vote for Hillary because she's a woman and I'm a woman. I didn't care for Hillary because she's Hillary - not because she's female.
Actually I resent being told I should vote a certain way because a person or policy "matches" some group I could possibly be included in.
Does your brain explode when you are faced with conflicting choices? When one choice matches some and the other choice matches others?
PS: Although I much prefer to shoot the bull myself. :)
In 1892 the Montana constitution stated that women had the right to run for any office in the state and of course to vote. Almost all the states west of the Mississippi entered the union with full rights and privileges for women. Based on that history that a feminist is stunned by the comfort level with which many if not most men contemplate a female chief executive is stunning. In other words our history demonstrably refutes the feminist line. As to the notion that men are more comfortable with a tough woman as chief executive...well, duh.
rhhardin said...
It's not an equality. You make allowances for women.
No, you don't. Either she can do the job or she can't.
I don't know about comfort with Palin. She doesn't seem very bright
As opposed to Little Zero?
Or the Hildabeast?
Women will be the ruin of us.
Looking at the Republican side of "safe constituencies",I find it interesting that most evangelicals, while not supporting his politics, were encouraged by Clinton's supposed religiosity.
On the other hand, it looks like Julianne Moore finally got her teeth whitened in order to play Sarah Palin: Link.
"As opposed to Little Zero?"
"She's smarter than Obama!" isn't much of a recommendation.
I had a nice long comment prepared but Curious George and Skyler stole my thunder, dammit. So, I agree with them.
Try to get your mind around this, Althouse, because it is not an uncommon experience for whites like me who are fellow Baby Boomers.
My mother and father both worked in factories, and both made just about nothing... barely enough to support four kids. Both worked at dirty, menial jobs.
The breakthrough for my family occurred when my mother landed a job at a union factory that actually paid a decent wage. Still doing hard physical labor.
Of course, that story has a sad ending. The factory union, over the course of 15 years constantly demand more benefits, less work and more money. Finally, the owners bailed and moved to Asia.
My mother moved on to earning her living as an LPN.
Until I attended college at the University of Illinois, I didn't know that the suburban paradigm of the white collar father and the stay at home mom existed, except on TV.
Palladian said...
"As opposed to Little Zero?"
"She's smarter than Obama!" isn't much of a recommendation.
But "She's smarter than all the Lefties combined" - which she certainly seems to be - sure as Hell is.
Further irony, the problem with Hillary is Bill. She fits the old stereotype of "the only way a woman succeeds in politics is on the coattails of her husband".
All these conservative women seem more manly that BO.
It always was, and is, morelikely to happen in the Republican Party.
And the current situation is not about "the simple equality of women." It is about Ms. Sarah and Michele Bachmann.
As for the Great Maggie, there is, or rather was, no more exclusive "good ol' boys club" in the world than the Conservative Party of the U.K. establishment, but that is where Mrs. Thatcher rose to become the party leader and a Prime Minister ranking with Lloyd George amd Mr. Chuchill in the 20th century.
And there is nothing "mannish" about Mrs. Thatcher; she was definitely of the female persuasion, and very much tended to have that effect on her associates.
For me the comments by Shouting Thomas above hit the mark. Palin does appear to be one of the strong mother-female figures that exist all over the place in a lower economic strata and or flyover country.
This is the woman who raised the kids, ran the tractor and took on the male establishment when needed to provide for the family. And made sure everyone got to church on Sunday.
The liberal women don't understand this type of character because they don't interact with the Wal Mart and or flyover State culture.
My only problem with Palin is that it appears a lot of her support is based on identity politics similar to the base Obama had. I wish that both had gotten much more governing experience before setting sights on top offices.
Margaret Thatcher was good, very good but Golda Meir showed the way forward for women and for me remains the benchmark.
Curious George and Skyler are right, and then some. The Democrats claims to be champions of the "oppressed" or minorities are illusory.
They claim to be the party of acceptance, yet at every opportunity cast stones at the Christianity of the GOP.
They claim to champion the minorities, but their policies have created a bankrupt welfare state, and worse created a culture of dependence rather than opportunity. Just look at the history of most major cities in the Northeast to see how well decades of liberal policies are working out.
Far worse than anything else, and maybe more telling, they firmly believe Government is the answer to societies problems. Strikes me as elitism at its worse; they know better than everyone else. Remember BHO's statements about the "problem" with the branches of government?
I could care less if the GOP nominated a green martian that practiced with the Hare Krishna movement - just so long as it was conservative. Keep DC as inconsequential as practical.
HildaBEAST was an ugly woman, married to Bill Clinton; whom people adored. The magic of Bill Clinton never wore off on her!
And, you can tell this. Because when the Monica story broke, people in droves felt sorry for Bill. Whose wife was considered poisonous.
Newt Gingrich got all "Ken-Starr-ee" eyed over the republican "opportunities" to get Bill Clinton for his dropped pants.
Newt Gingrich is not able to mount a new run towards the presidency for a very good reason.
Hillary didn't become Obama's veep; for a very good reason!
And, McCain should have learned the lesson that there really aren't "Hillary's Voters" out there. But McCain doesn't learn. PERIOD.
That Iowa isn't a thrilling ride so far on the GOP trail. Could'a told you that.
Sad to see people also believing that they own star control. Like running for the presidency is on par with "Dancing For The Stars."
And, if you dial in enough, you're selecting the winning team.
Might as well just buy lottery tickets.
While Sarah Palin has already staged a few future steps. So has Donald Trump.
Trump, himself, said, that if he sees the GOP running weak. He's gonna jump in. Sarah could be on top. Sarah could run as a veep, again. But the DUMP-O movement takes on the high quality stakes ... because it appeals ... or ... can appeal. To a much broader section of voters.
Who want to be surprised.
They don't want to see "same ole, same ole, tactics ... used before by others. Including Bob Dole, who fell into the mosh pit.
"She's smarter than Obama!" isn't much of a recommendation.
It is when the Democrats freely choose Barack Obama as their absolute friggin' best candidate.
Paddy O:
You posed a very interesting question when you asked how different things wold be now if the balanced budget amendment had passed in 1995.
I think, had it passed, we might have avoided the housing bubble and the soc sec amd medicare bubbles.
Clare Booth Luce (TIME), got into a knock out, drag out fight with Lillian Hellman (not mayonnaise).
The winning line went down in the history books: "She lies even when she says "And," ... and "The."
"A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality."
There are many comments ahead of me that I find disturbing and refreshing.
Refreshing because people are awakening to the fact that the "Left" are basically exploiters. They will say and do anything for money and power. Thus the emphasis of victim hood. I believe the "Right" are quicker to realize and celebrate the humanness and value of each individual in their own right. Not the characterization the "Left" projects on us, i.e. "white privilege"
Disturbing because people have lost sight of the power of western civilization enlightenment embodied in the march to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Do you see a William Wilberforce ( who fought for the outlawing of slavery) in the secularist arena? I don't.
I have to go walk the dog now to cool off.
Enjoy your day.
Remember Margaret Chase Smith? Republicans have been open to women much longer than Democrats. If your question is serious, you've become more indoctrinated by left wing blather than you imagine.
Liberals convince women they're free and equal when they can have abortions, sex with anyone and everyone (as long as they don't receive remuneration) and vote Democrat. But, we've seen with Hillary, Sarah, Bachmann, etc what liberals really think of women.
the strength of the confidence in Sarah Palin and the comfort embodied in the simple reference "Sarah"
She definitely has a certain old-timey charm--like one of those crib gals in "McCabe and Mrs Miller"--Squirrel Tooth Sarah
Several thoughts rushing to my head. First, I agree with you that there is less fanfare about women politicians winning big offices on the Republican side. A Nikki Haley on the Dem side would rarely happen for all their (DNC + DEM talking heads and bloggers) talk about feminism and being the party of women's welfare and all that nonsense.
Hillary's situation was different. She had people support and there was enthusiasm because she would be the first female president. Why shouldn't there be? The meme 'not that woman' was implanted in the youth by Obama campaign who knew nothing of what she had done on her own. It was also the DNC who didn't want her and did everything to stop her. The fact that people did accept her freely as a possibility gets clouded by these other interferences.
I also voted for Palin, not McCain, and said I was doing so before the election.
Palin being a woman is much less inportant than what kind of woman she is.
A woman who uses firearms for recreation is a wholly different and more reliable person than one rooted in urban lefty liberalism.
@AJLynch--The two governmental culprits in the financial disaster are reckless Congressional regulation of mortgage lending and the Federal Reserve's low-interest-rate policies. A balanced-budget amendment wouldn't have restrained either one.
The feds can regulate our behavior through taxes and spending and through regulation. A BBA would clearly shift the balance toward more regulation, which is far less transparent than taxing and spending.
Phil 3:14 said...
Further irony, the problem with Hillary is Bill. She fits the old stereotype of "the only way a woman succeeds in politics is on the coattails of her husband".
Same could be said for Hillary's professional career. The Rose Law firm is firmly ties to Arkansas political power...she became associate and first female partner when Bill became governor.
Nepal's Politico is making even less sense than usual. Could it be that his fractured English is the problem, or did he party too hard last night with his imaginary friends? We shall never know - he is less honest and sober than Titus, whom he might be.
Yes women candidates have become acceptable so the issue may be less about gender and more about ideology. Bachmann, for example, is able to ride one pony at a time, but has not been effective in government as opposed to Hillary who was and is. I think Hillary was held back by her ties to Bill, I know that affected my vote, and her tears, which many exaggerated the importance of. If only we had more Boehner tear events, she, in contrast, might have made it. I think the likely ticket is Perry for Pres and Palin sneaks in over Bachmann for v.p.
As usual, Herman Carol wins the thread.
I would note that the Republican Party was also the first party to accept a black man as a serious candidate--though Colin Powell chose not to run for some of the same reasons Republicans liked him so much.
It's easy to forget, but always true. The Democrats are the party of nifty sloganeering, the Republicans are the party of principles. If you truly believe in the values Democrats claim to support, that's just one more reason to vote Republican. Because Republicans are the ones who actually work to realize those values.
DADvocate said...
--------
You're right. The far left hijacked the Dem party in 2008 and Obama played the ultimate liberal candidate. The DNC did not want another Clinton and it suited them just fine to prop up Obama dragging him through the finish line in the primary. The far left in their zeal to prop their candidate also stupidly committed suicide by disparaging Hillary's candidacy that looked more like they were rejecting her because she was a woman.
Well, this thread is over now that J, the resident SIC (Sullivanist-in-chief) has appeared.
Good day, all.
But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
You don't understand because you have (until recently) been immersed in the false academic liberal idea of feminism as compared to the conservative (note I do not say republican) every day version of feminism.
(I know I am generalizing and there will always be exceptions....so in GENERAL)
Conservative women have always been strong and equal in their relationships and especially in their communities.
Equal does not mean exactly the same in this context as it does in the liberal version. Conservative women do not aspire to be clones of men.
They are capable, decisive, determined. They work WITH the men in their communities, churches and as equal partners at home.
Community minded, family oriented and strong of will is nothing new to conservatives. Even if the woman hasn't pushed herself to the forefront in the past, there was always no doubt that "behind every good man stands a strong woman".
The simple equality of women has always been accepted in the conservative/republican arena.
The Republicans are a populist party these days and ordinary folks work with women and a rainbow of ethnicities all the time: whites, blacks, asians, hispanics, etc. It is the upper classes that are most segregated.
"But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?"
Easy. They aren't Liberals, or Democrats.
Next.
Chip S:
I disagree. A BBA would have forced the fed govt to comply with more rigorous [GAAP?] accounting standards which would have required it to include the expenses of the ginormous losses at Fannie and Freddie which would have led to the housing spigot being turned off. And keep in mind, the housing bubble helped create the college tuition bubble.
Ann said: "I'm not hearing any balkiness about accepting a woman President. It has become almost instantly normal.
How did that happen, and why did it happen on the Republican side?"
Really??? Gee. Perhaps you need to get out of Madison a bit more. It hasn't been that way in the rest of the country for decades now.
Oh....and as I have stated before...
I was not going to vote for anyone in the last election UNTIL Palin got on the ticket.
I voted for her. All the whining about what would happen if McCain were to kick the bucket and Palin would be President was immaterial.
That was a feature, not a bug.
The Republicans are a populist party these days and ordinary folks work with women and a rainbow of ethnicities all the time: whites, blacks, asians, hispanics, etc. It is the upper classes that are most segregated.
Yes, particularly in Manhattan and San Francisco, the great intellectual liberal enclaves.
Proverbs 31
10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Christian conservatism has always had this strain running through it -- that of a strong, capable woman running her house.
But what would be the "liberal" version?
"She protests at the city gates, she demands greater entitlements.
She pleasures men and women without discrimination; she laments that her womb is stretched and diseased.
Her children exist at her own pleasure: some aborted, some adopted from foreign lands; some neglected for her career, some smothered by helicopter parenting.
She subjects her husband to mockery and abuse, yet will seek to acquire all his worldly goods should he look for love elsewhere.
She seeks status for herself as an independent woman, unless she can ride the coattails of her father or husband.
She rejects maturity and glorifies youth, injecting bacteria into her face in a futile attempt to retain youthfulness."
Yeah, it's no wonder that female conservative candidates are a bit more accepted than the liberal ones.
Well it helps if that Sarah is, as Tammy Bruce called her, a steel fist in a velvet glove.
I will vote for the candidate based on their known history and the principles they claim to follow. With Bachmann and Palin, I am unaware that either claims superior or exceptional female dignity or other artifacts which have arisen from gender conflicts. So, Bachmann is a viable candidate, and so is Palin if she decides to volunteer for service.
Who ever the next President may be, I hope they will have the dignity of not reveling in yet another "historical moment". Unfortunately, they probably will, as it seems that everyone has their cause to celebrate.
Betty Friedan, the idiot author of The Feminine Mystique, was married to a rich man who provided her with a maid. She never dirtied her hands, not even with housekeeping.
That's because housekeeping is like the Holocaust.
Bachmann just said "marriage between man and a woman". Hee.
Same could be said for Hillary's professional career. The Rose Law firm is firmly ties to Arkansas political power...she became associate and first female partner when Bill became governor.
------
Knowing what we know about her now and even back then (she was a Yale graduate and an intellectual powerhouse in her own right) and during the primary, all those debates and her recent history of winning elective offices and such, you still have questions about her intellect and ambition?
When two intellectual heavy weights hook up in life, they have to take turns to manage each other's career. May be if women presidents were the norm in the day, Bill Clinton would have taken a back seat and she would have run and won. Then if BC wanted to run in the future would you have said he ran on her coattails?
So in this day and age, if the woman is equally capable intellectually and otherwise, she should just not attempt it because it would all be this coattail thing? At what point would people start to look at their individual potential and start to separate the individual?
Marriage between equals should not be a curse and should not hinder the woman's progress.
That's easy. Republicans are the party of individuals and judge people as such; Democrats are the party of groups.
This is why there are majority white congressional districts that have had black Republican congresscritters, most recently Allen West, but most, if not all, all black Democratic congrsscritters come from majority black districts.
The Democrat party IS the party of racism. Pure and simple.
Nice of Ann to notice.
For this conservative, gender, race, and other attributes outside of one's control, are neither qualifying nor disqualifying characteristics. Rather I am concerned about candidate's experience and values.
It is the lib/progs that play identity politics, and then project their prejudices onto others.
Republicans have always been the party of liberation. Since the beginning.
I was raised by New Deal Democrats in the sixties, who told me that generalizing about people based on external characteristics (meaning, at that time, race) was discrimination, and it was wrong. I embraced the counter culture, whose message in part was, though my hair and clothes look different from yours I'm still a person. Something was happening though. The left betrayed a willingness to lump people into groups, and to use the power of government to force upon people their ideas of morality. The hippie mantra of "free to be me" was jettisoned whenever leftists got the reins. And so I feel, like Reagan, that the left left me, not the other way around. In the final analysis it is conservatives that judge people, not on the color of their skin (or the arrangement of their chromosomes), but on the content of their character. In this election season, Democrats will suffer greatly from their gender politics hypocrisy.
Because, unlike the herd-mentality Democrats, Republicans mostly are not sexist bigots.
Dust Bunny Queen:
That's a good summary of the situation. As individuals we are equal (i.e., the enlightened order), but as humans we are not the same (i.e., the natural order). The man and woman each have their unique responsibility in our world. It is not at all difficult to reconcile the distinction or its scope.
Conservatives harbor a few prejudices about women that can work in favor of female POTUS candidates in 2012:
1) Women tend to be better than men at multi-tasking, which is an important talent/quality in the job.
2) Conservative women tend to be more self-effacing than conservative men.
3) Conservative women tend to stay more focused (sp?) on their ultimate goals than conservative men.
Right now, these are the qualities we need. I'll take them in a woman, a man, or indeed any entity eligible for election.
Marriage between equals should not be a curse and should not hinder the woman's progress.
@pm317
I agree. However, you will find that most republican/conservatives did not object so much to Hillary the marriage as objected to Hillary the ideologue.
It was her ideology, her political positions that were unpalatable.
I also lost respect for her as a person because of her defense of her snake of a husband and her accepting the humiliation of her sickening marriage situation as a trade off for being able to continue to grasp for power.
It was on a personal level that I objected to Hillary and in disagreement with her socialistic policy agenda.
In a marriage, both parties contribute to the success....or failure...of the whole. I guess it depends on what you consider a success. Enabling your husband to rape and humiliate other women so you can keep your own power....not so successful in my eyes.
@Ann That Thatcher happened in Britain, in a parliamentary system, doesn't establish what would work in America.
------------
I have had arguments with people in India about why Indira Gandhi happened in India (in a parliamentary system) and not in America for the same reason.
I think Palin is saying things that need to be said about Obama that no other person or media has the courage or willingness to do. Bachmann is following in her footsteps. That is one reason for their instant popularity and acceptance.
Kudos to NYTNewYorker who cited Golda Meir as the first major leader figure--Golda was IIRC from Milwaukee by which (Mick nothwithstanding) might have made her eligible for the presidency--A classy and tough as nails lady.
The obvious reason - Republicans are not fixated on identity politics, and most really are color- and gender-blind when it comes to voting.
Hey Chicken little==dissent bothers you, eh Kissinger queer? Has nothing to do with Sullivan--that's like you remembering your bum daddy or something. AS is not a progressive anyway, except to human excrement to you.
You're the stalinist-joto here. yr the problem, like the idiot controlled TP-GOP itself. Even Doc Paul, however quackish understands that.
Palin is not qualified to be PotUS, anymore than Bachmann is . She belongs in rehab. Or a mental hospital. along with her supporters
J arrives and immediately shits his pants.
J, you are too stupid to even know that your are an idiot.
For that last time... quit yanking your pud and put away the crack pipe.
Fuck you satanist--got that Shouting Assclown ??? (step in ring masonic tough guy--)
piss test time, perps
Yr bitch Palin is a whore , like yr mamas
:]
lets get this partay start
But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
Maybe you need to get out of the faculty lounge a bit more often, Madam Professor. Out in the real world people don't have time to worry about gender or ethnicity -- is the person good at the job, or not? My CEO is female, and she is outstanding at her job. If she weren't, no one would be cutting her any slack because of her gender -- our competitors least of all.
Yr teeth kicked the fuck in Shouting Buttboy.
All you need to know tough harley-wicca meth-queer
Capichay, trash?
I think it's a Protestant thing. In northern Europe there are some female presidents like Tarja Halonen in Finland (the woman that Conan O'Brien resembled). Nobody blinked.
In Finland, when the car breaks down, women jump out and fix the tire. Nobody blinks.
I think in Italy that would never happen.
Also, I never heard of such a thing as a Finnish prostitute. I don't think that that exists.
That option is not available, as the dialtone says.
A lot of Republicans are practicing Protestants. Bachman and Palin are Protestants.
I often think that on the other hand liberals are often lapsed Catholics or lapsed Jews. They have a different sense of things.
Catholics don't even like women to work outside of the house. The division of labor is different inside of Protestantism. Everybody works. It's the Protestant Work Ethic?
(J is a lapsed Catholic.)
Put yr stars of David on, chandala, ratfink....swine
My favorite picture of J, the fat ass.
You've got to lay off the pizza and Oreos, fat ass.
...(she was a Yale graduate and an intellectual powerhouse in her own right) and during the primary, all those debates and her recent history of winning elective offices and such, you still have questions about her intellect and ambition?
Ambition, sure. Intellect - well, maybe cunning manipulation is a better description.
She only won those elective offices through her connection with Bill - she never had to start from zero and honestly compete through the ranks. And like Michelle O. at U. of Chicago, she was promoted at Rose Law simply because her husband had won an election - not because of any administrative brilliance of her own.
Maybe she was a good student at Yale, but her graduate thesis in praise of Saul Alinsky should raise plenty of doubts about her dedication to a democratic society, as opposed to street-level power grabs.
Let me put it clearer: Thatcher seems more manly.
Every woman has a leadership prototype. It's called mom.
Duh.
The feminist idea that a woman has to have a deep voice and hair on her legs and muscles before any man will listen to her...
Ugh.
You kill me.
Sarah Palin has mastered the trick of being feminine (a.k.a. girly, a.k.a. maternal, a.k.a pretty) while also convincing people that if you fuck with her, she will shoot you.
You can make fun of her for the "Mama Grizzly" metaphor all you want, but as usual she nails it.
And I do not buy that Palin's appeal is purely ideological. Or that Republicans only care about your ideas, we don't notice your boobs or your hair.
Yeah we do.
I don't know how much of the reaction to Palin is sexual, but I think that's some of it.
You think women didn't notice the sex appeal of the Kennedys?
Palin has mastered another trick, of being attractive to men while still getting women to like her.
Although the women who hate her, really hate her.
And Sullivan falls off the gay misogynist mountain when she's around.
It seems to me that J must be a pentecostal who speaks in tongues
J is althouse's herpes: the gift the keeps on giving.
Conservatives aren't racists and sexists like the Lefties are. We care about ideas, not skin color or what kind of crotch you have. That basically is affirmative action and voting that way doesn't pick the best candidate based on qualifications.
Any way, in 2008 a lot of so-called moderate Republicans refused to vote for McCain (very RINO) because he picked Palin as VP. Many conservatives voted for him ONLY because he picked her as VP. In fact, we voted FOR HER, not him! It wasn't because she was a woman. It was largely because she was conservative (as well as other personal attributes). That part never gets talked about.
(The Crypto Jew)
The Small, Pathetic Voice is here…to scream at the Blackness, “I’m here I’m alive!” Otherwise who would know of its existence? Obviously the comments on its “Blog” suggest it has no voice beyond leeching off of Althouse.
Put yr stars of David on, chandala, ratfink....swine
I didn't know that Tourette Syndrome extended to typing on the internet.
My favorite picture of J, the fat ass.
No way. THIS is the real J
(Kirby is a lapsed buddhist maricone)
American fundamentalists are in no way traditional protestants either, KO, dumbass. John Wesley pisses on you and your mentally ill tweeker-politicians and harley-trash from on high. Luther hisself was not for wall-street capitalism was he.
Heh heh
Kirby Olson said...
I think it's a Protestant thing. In northern Europe there are some female presidents like Tarja Halonen in Finland (the woman that Conan O'Brien resembled). Nobody blinked.
----------------
Interesting. How do you explain the easy acceptance of female leadership in Latin American countries?
Googling, I found a 2007 npr article answering my own question, may be..
Pope Benedict is on a five-day trip to Brazil. Latin America is home to to a large percentage of the world's Catholics, but the church is losing members to a booming evangelical Protestant movement. The pope is expected to address the Vatican's concerns over the exodus in a meeting Sunday with Latin American bishops.
J is althouse's herpes: the gift the keeps on giving.
There you go. Fat Ass is a venereal disease.
Occasional breakouts to be expected. Apparently caused by binging on pizza and Oreos.
As "little" as the zero is ... it's quite a place holder. Others jump in and discover the void.
As to Obama, when you put the stampeding wishful thinking aside ... a good majority of Americans are glad his calls (abroad) didn't pan out.
It's almost as if by being a schlepp, he's less threatening.
Which could give him 4 more years.
This race so far? Like Jello that hasn't jelled. Lots of things can be thrown into this ... that will float ... once the aspic sets.
I'd still love to see what Sarah Palin and Donald Trump could do. And whether they decide to do it together.
It seems like the best way to handle the money needed to make a successful run.
If people think candidates, ahead, have to run in from behind, I don't think so.
I think they can jump in from the top.
I think Trump gives O and his team ... heart attacks. (While I also think it gives heart attacts to the two gigolos. Lurch. And, McCain.) Because there's only so much thunder to go around.
But we have to wait and see.
J: the word you are looking for is "marecon" not maricon. In some spanish speaking countries the word for homosexual.
And its not capichay--its capice The Ce in Italian is soft--ch is the hard pronounciation--
No one tougher than Grandma Golda.
I think this may be J, uncaricaturized.
Carol_Herman said...
HildaBEAST was an ugly woman, married to Bill Clinton; whom people adored.
Adored?
He ran for POTUS twice and never got 50% of the popular vote.
He had the illusion of peace and prosperity and the triangulation of Dick Morris. And, I'm willing to bet, if we looked under the hood of a lot of those "amazing" poll numbers, we'd find the same manipulation we're seeing today for Little Zero.
J said...
the strength of the confidence in Sarah Palin and the comfort embodied in the simple reference "Sarah"
She definitely has a certain old-timey charm--like one of those crib gals in "McCabe and Mrs Miller"--Squirrel Tooth Sarah
J know nothing about women, except one. The most mentioned female in the flick - Five Fingered Mary.
That's why he gets progressively incoherent.
A woman CiC only seems "not normal" is the mostly liberal media. Like racism, gender unfairness is greatly exaggerated. The 80% of people who see themselves as to the right of liberal have accepted equality long ago.
harley-wicca meth-queer
J hands out some horrifyingly good zingers on ST once in a while you have to admit.
I thought J might be the corpulent dude sleeping in the Wisconsin capitol rotunda with the egregiously dirty feet.
Without Hillary, Bill Clinton most likely would have wound up like his half-brother Roger, or, given his propensity for violence to women, quite a bit worse.
Without Bill, Hillary Rodham quite possibly would have wound up as 2nd banana to Phyllis Schlafly.
It is the Billary combination that was deadly.
garage--those are not zingers--just bile trash. J operates on the principle of calling people names, insulting their mothers, and offering calling people out for fisticuffs--of course, all of these things are possible when you are on the internet and living in your mothers basement.
But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
You can't overstate the importance of "projection" in understanding this question. Maybe "these Republicans" aren't who you thought they were.
It's the liberal critique that Republicans and conservatives would have trouble accepting a female commander-in-chief.
It depends entirely on the woman, just as it depends entirely on the man. Left-leaning political culture, being soaked in identity politics, cannot comprehend this distinction. Same thing applies of course to race. Recall the number of liberal heads in danger of exploding when it appeared Colin Powell might run for the GOP presidential nomination.
This post just highlights Althouse's political origins. Hard to shake off.
Even I'd agree it hasn't always been that way. I won't hazard a guess as to the earliest year in which a female presidential candidate became viable.
But if we'd had a Thatcher in the GOP the last time around, she would have taken the party by storm. We got a taste of that with Palin, but Palin is no Thatcher, as much as I'm grateful for what Palin has acomplished.
I think that what I feel about Palin can be summed up by how I feel about Obama: The thing I like Obama the most is that he's black. The thing I like about Palin the most is that she's a woman.
Outside of that I have little admiration for either of them.
He has a way with ST, who deserves it with all the crap he flings. That's all I'm saying really. Don't care for the violent rhetoric myself, but I'm hardly a judge of who gets to say what here. I tend to think it's just performance dark art.
I wonder if they'll outlaw hate voting?
No voting based on hatred!
Sully, you're under arrest.
He has a way with ST, who deserves it with all the crap he flings.
The crap I fling is calling you a thug, garbage. You are a thug.
Thanks for giving me a chance to remind you.
I can take care of myself. I've dealt with plenty of thugs. Also, plenty of brain damaged, VD infected fat asses.
Garage--we agree on that (the performance art thing.). I do long for the days of usenet when flame wars were really good.
BTW Garage--if you find a taker for the lubbers quarter fishing cottages, let me know when you are going--I usually head over in May. Paul and Robbie to not skimp on the spiritous liquors side and could be great fun.
No voting based on hatred!
Brilliant. And since any vote against Obama is based on race, it's disqualified.
No need for anymore costly elections.
Margaret Thatcher was good, very good but Golda Meir showed the way forward for women and for me remains the benchmark.
And if you cast your net wider you'd come across other strong women like Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Ceylon/Sri Lanka) and Indira Gandhi; both of whom ascended to power before Meir.
Fedka--agree that I have looked to western democracy leaders--Indira was indeed a tough cookie--on the other hand you had Corazon Aquino who demonstrated the not all women qua women made effective leaders. my take? women are like men (except for the physiological differences): some rise to the occasion (no pun intended) and some do not. Gender has nothing to do with it.
But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
The first thing you have to come to grips with is, when it comes to Republicans, you have been fed lies. The party that was started as a way to fight slavery is racist? And the party of the KKK isn't? O-kay. Bush (completely isolated politically) was the big spender - and the Democratic Congress wasn't? O-kay. It's all part of the whole, baby.
Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann represent non-feminist womanhood, and (as far as I know) no man is bothered by that. As a matter of fact, we're glad to see it return.
Just as there is a "Real America," there's also a "Real Woman," and we have every confidence in her. We are not in competition and will not be betrayed. When asked how she felt about Bachmann's claim to "submit" to her husband, Sarah said she does as well - these are women a man can trust - because they're women who know how important trust is.
The rest have been brainwashed to be evil - and it shows - and has done so for a long, long time.
Long story short:
The Republicans aren't acting out of character, those judging them never had any.
garage mahal said...
harley-wicca meth-queer
J hands out some horrifyingly good zingers on ST once in a while you have to admit.
They'd actually be funny if they had something to do with the object of his affectation.
Roger J. said...
Fedka--agree that I have looked to western democracy leaders--Indira was indeed a tough cookie--on the other hand you had Corazon Aquino who demonstrated the not all women qua women made effective leaders.
Indira Ghandi was a hard core Socialist raised in a family under tough scrutiny by the Raj.
St Corazon the Bereaved sat out WWII in the lap of luxury as a VIP guest of General Yamashita.
Granted, Palin does have protection from witches (and "python spirits" as well). As does Bachmann apparently--tho' Bachmann would seem to hold that witches may be useful at times: they allow planes to fly, according to Bachmann (or her bumpkin preacher, more likely).
Not only does Welsey piss on ya from on high-- so do Jefferson and Madison: the fundamentalist candidates are exactly what the Founders wanted to prevent and the reason for the 1st Amendment.
Now, keep your fallacies, defamation and misrep. flowing:the masonic WASP MO.
(be prepared Shouting Assclown--your lying pie hole about to be closed. Got that wicca filth?)
Having not read the comments, this one is too simple.
Democrats only care about what "class" a person belongs to.
The classes they established to pit one group against another, creating conflict, then telling them only they can resolve the conflict.
she would make a great President because she's a woman
No. That person would make a great President because of their principles and values.
Althouse wonders when that started for conservatives...
I know it's hard for liberals to see people in a light other that race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., but that has always been there.
Tough to spot when you've always been immersed in "Only we democrats care about women".
So, Althouse is puzzled why it was the democrats who are and were discriminatory against women.
Following one simple rule clears up the confusion:
-If you want to know what a leftist is up to, look no further than what they are accusing others of.
Works every time.
Religion in politics:
I remember when Jimmy Carter announced he was "born again." And, being born again and again became fads.
Then went out of style.
Of course, I know why religion is being used! It's like high school Before a great test. The results of which can dictate whether you graduate or not. Or whether you get to go to harvahd. Or not.
All this stuff passes.
Mode of the day.
Do people who got born again have to return their old re-birth certificates? Did they have to pay for them?
"But Thatcher established beyond doubt that a woman could be a forceful leader."
Don't forget Golda Meir. She was a schoolteacher in Milwaukee before they were unionized.
(be prepared Shouting Assclown--your lying pie hole about to be closed. Got that wicca filth?)
Nothing conveys toughness like some fat ass issuing threats of violence on the internet.
Mommy's cooking dinner for you, fat ass. Can't you hear her calling?
Come out. Come out from the basement. Mommy will take good care of you, fat ass!
virgil xenophon said... Ever heard of Maggi Thatcher, Althouse? Or, for that matter, Clare Booth Luce? Conservatives have NEVER had a problem with strong women..
--
Exactly. What we DO have a problem with is flibbertigibbets. Certain blonde blogsters come to mind ...
That's because housekeeping is like the Holocaust.
Sorry, that was overbroad. What she said was that housekeeping was like a concentration camp.
But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
Perhaps you need more insight into what is happening in YOUR mind. Interpret your own surprise.
One caller and you are ready to say the entire GOP is ready to accept a woman as President? Well we know they won't accept a black man so maybe the logical step is to accept a white woman. Small steps forward. But forward I suppose.
The political dynamic looks very much like a family after the marriage breaks up. Dad shows up with money and goodies, while mom has to teach the kids the hard things that will keep them off the street.
A tough mom who manages to live on what comes in and stands up to abuse and waste. And would do anything for her kids.
Explains the visceral reaction for and against.
Indira Ghandi was a hard core Socialist raised in a family under tough scrutiny by the Raj.
That doesn't invalidate the fact that she was elected to power in the world's largest democracy. She also showed her toughness in going to war against, and defeating, Pakistan in 1971.
Matt,
We know they won't accept a black man so maybe the logical step is to accept a white woman. Small steps forward. But forward I suppose.
That is the stupidest comment to date. Look up the history of the Republican Party and tell me they "won't accept a black man."
What you can't accept is you voted for an idiot - because he was black.
Well we know they won't accept a black man so maybe the logical step is to accept a white woman.
More projection by a leftard.
The Republicans were ready and eager to nominate Collin Powell. I guess he isn't black enough for you?
Derek: good points, sir. cant add anything to them, except by anecdotal evidence--My lady friend is highly educated, has played in republican politics in oregon (indeed an oxymoron), is conservative for the most part, and cant stand either Bachmann or Palin--there seems to me to be something on the xx chromosome involved here, and not wanting to jeopardize my relationship, i have chosen to remain silent--but I confess to not having a single insight into the thought processes of the holders of the xx chromosone.
My first reaction was to respond in a way similar to how many others have done: that conservatives are looking to the person and not the "identity," as the left uses that term.
That's true, but Ann's broader point is valid. Society has come a long way. I was in college in the late 60s, and I recall a professor saying women got a raw deal. I did not understand what he was talking about. It took a while for me to understand it and come to terms with it. If my understanding of it needed cementing, being the father of two daughters did that just fine. I never wanted their opportunities limited because they are female. I suspect I am not the only person out there with such a story.
Yes, the idea of you are not really voting for President...but how much you agree with the VP candidate, what they believe in, the policies the VP will enact.
THe 80s thus were about the suitability of HW Bush over Mondale and Ferraro. Quayle was a suitable replacement candidate, even if Benson beat him in debate. But by 1992, Voters had soured on Quayle, not trusting him to tell HW what to do.
Then the Gore Era started. He got a mandate from the people by trouncing Qualyle and Stockdale, then Kemp.
But Cheney soon brought the VP-hood and fate of the nation back into Republican hands over less capable foes in running the Executive.
The Biden era looks to be in trouble. While voters saw him as a better warm bucket of spit than Palin...enthusiasm for Bachmann (or hereto be known as 'Michelle' once she gets the cult status of 'Jesse' or 'Sarah!' ) may put a new VP in charge of us.
Sarah is the best example of history being the story of great men, and men means man and woman.
She has reaached into the hearts of men and women with her guts and speaking skills.
She believes that she is a man's equal. And that has been accepted in the Scots Irish culture that always accepts outsiders who will join in its values and fight their enemies with courage.
Sarah has made women in top leadership acceptable.
Perry has to play catch up now. It is no longer the Man playing the Leader role who will win by default.
C4--agree with the broad brush of your comments--but given the absolute lack of power the VP has, and John Nance Gardner observed, I would not personally base my vote on the Veep candidate--It worked for Harry Truman, but the country got lucky: Harry was the real thing. YMMV of course.
Actually, Cedar is talking through his hat again. The last few weeks before the election, you saw Palin - McCain signs people had cut then re-arranged.
You didn't see anything like that with Halo Joe.
As for Harry, his big Renaissance only came after he called Nixon, "A shifty-eyed God-damned liar", and the Lefties suddenly loved him.
Aside from that, I have to disagree, he really wasn't the real deal, he just looked better than Henry Wallace or Alben Barkley.
You can't disentangle the fact that Hillary Clinton was a woman from the fact that she was the wife of a former president, and all the baggage that came along with that.
I think with Palin and Bachman, they almost have a nuturing mother vibe mixed in that can be comforting.
Obamas like the step dad that you know ahead of time is totally going to molest you when mom works the night shift.
And Democrats didn't huddle and decide that they liked the black man over the white woman. There was a campaign, and despite Obama's relative inexperience in politics, his campaign was better than Clinton's.
If it's true that Mark Penn really ran the campaign as though the "caucus states" didn't matter, then Clinton signed off on a strategic blunder.
Almost Ali - " I believe I said on these very pages that I prayed McCain would suffer a debilitating (fatal) heart attack immediately following his inauguration. So he would not have even the slightest opportunity to damage the nation with his brain-deadness.
I voted for Sarah Palin, and I'd vote for her again."
=====================
Alas, had McCain lived 2 1/2 months after, as he has not being elected?? And if the old fool and backstabber died anyday soon....what are the odds Goddess Sarah would still be VP and not have already quit? (She looked to be on track for about the same amount of respect and involvement post election from Team McCain - Nixon's Team gave Spiro Agnew. Agnews role was to look good, and toss red meat to the yobbies.)
One year on the oil commission "taking on the big boys" then quitting when 'people got mean'. She lasted two years as Governor of a small population.
"I'd always thought that it would be difficult for Americans to get their minds around the idea of a woman as Commander in Chief."
Been there/done that...you voted him /her in...rational you know
Golda Meir was born in Russia and might have been a leftist in her Milwaukee days. Israelis may be guilty of being economic leftists because of their dependence on US aid and remittances from Jewish charities, but no successful Israeli politician could be the sort of starry-eyed leftist that we have in the current Democratic party.
My father, an Irish nationalist, but no fool, used to say that Maggie Thatcher had more balls than all the rest of them put together. Although I do not agree with their politics, I think one could say the same about Sarah and Michelle. They are not saying things that have been tested with focus groups. They are not the pawns of interest groups.
The ferocity of media treatment of these two women is appalling and it backfires. Hilary got some of the same. In her heart, she must admire them.
An interesting speculation: if Palin or Bachman comes close to being put on the ticket by Republicans, will 0 put Hilary on his ticket? He might because it could stem some defections by female voters. He might not because liberals and the media seem to genuinely hate members of demographic groups who are not slaves to the Democratic party, and they foolishly believe that the electorate agrees with them.
The question isn't whether Americans can accept a female leader, but rather, what American women of the 20th century did to forfeit that trust. Palin is notably from outside the system, or from before it.
edutcher said...
Actually, Cedar is talking through his hat again. The last few weeks before the election, you saw Palin - McCain signs people had cut then re-arranged.
=====================
I am old enough to remember the feminists and progressive Jews (largely in NYC) fervor for "Our Geraldine" and cutting Mondale's name off signs.
How did the ticket with Ferraro pan out? Was it a pack of confused feminists and NYC Progressives yet again out claiming
"No one they know didn't vote for Our Geraldine!"
Now grant you, a pack of hushpuppy chewing evangelical NASCAR fans who have some or no college - is NOT Pauline Kael expressing shock that not a single Jew on Manhattan or NY Times critic voted for "those Republican people".
But the country is a little bigger than the Sarah Cult. So the Pauline Kael principle is in effect. Edutcher takes to thinking "our sort of people" worshipping Palin was a sign of broad national strength.
Not true. Polls say Palin being placed on the ticket gained some energized Fundie voters - but lost 3 times as many from the woman's and independent vote McCain was counting on.
"But these Republicans... what is happening in their minds? How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women? "
Spoken like a Democrat! Have you forgotten America's and Republicans' support for Golda Meir? Indira Gandhi? Maggie Thatcher? Did you forget your own joy at the success of GOP female Alberta Darling? And Sarah herself? And now Michelle Bachman?
Of course you've forgotten. Your roots are liberal Democrat regardless of your current mindset. It's a difficult habit to get out of. Keep trying.
I think attitudes are changing very rapidly.
I think it's a mistake that many Repubs make believing Democrats' objections to Bachmann have anything to do with her being a woman (or is that just rhetoric from Repubs?).
In any case, the Democrats who are going to beat you aren't the straw men that you would prefer.
One year on the oil commission "taking on the big boys" then quitting when 'people got mean'. She lasted two years as Governor of a small population.
Oh for Christ's sake. Not this tiresome old shit again.
Maggie Thatcher taught conservatives what we need to know about strong women, and we liked the lesson very much at the time, and even more with hingsight.
Ann Coulter has shown us some things too.
But mainly, of course, it's because Sarah is Sarah and nobody can fake that.
Phx...Your comments interest me.
What do you mean that the fast changing times today will surprise the dull GOP?
I suspect that you see Gay haters in all Christians. I hope that I am wrong.
Christians that I know do not hate Gays. Really they don't. Ask Dick Cheney.
The Bachmanns have a very narrow view point. And resisting them is understandable. But most Christians have not fallen into that hating gays trap.
Peter Hoh said...
--------------
Yeah, Obama supporters and Hillary opponents want to play up her alleged missteps with her campaign. Obama's campaign had the facade of a seemingly better run campaign because of the media protection and Dem establishment support. The ordinary Dem voters did not huddle and decide (but they made their preference abundantly clear in picking Hillary for the top of the ticket and she would have picked him as her VP) but the Dem establishment, the media and many other elected Dems did huddle and carry him over the threshold -- May 31st meeting in the Marriott was the clincher.
Actually
Oscar Goodman's wife did a whole campaign on-
I'm Oscar Goodman's wife!
She won-mayor of Las Vegas-handly.
In fact there are other examples of that-a political junkie friend of mine rattled off in no time.
In all of the cases it was Democrat women that won the seats by saying-
I'm so-and-so's wife!
I don't think Republican women could get away with that.
The Democrat women use it as their "calling card".
Now why are the Democrat women allowed to get away with that?
Well because the Referees-the media-are Liberals,
silly.
Cedarford said...
edutcher said...
Actually, Cedar is talking through his hat again. The last few weeks before the election, you saw Palin - McCain signs people had cut then re-arranged.
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I am old enough to remember the feminists and progressive Jews (largely in NYC) fervor for "Our Geraldine" and cutting Mondale's name off signs.
How did the ticket with Ferraro pan out? Was it a pack of confused feminists and NYC Progressives yet again out claiming
"No one they know didn't vote for Our Geraldine!"
Now grant you, a pack of hushpuppy chewing evangelical NASCAR fans who have some or no college - is NOT Pauline Kael expressing shock that not a single Jew on Manhattan or NY Times critic voted for "those Republican people".
But the country is a little bigger than the Sarah Cult. So the Pauline Kael principle is in effect. Edutcher takes to thinking "our sort of people" worshipping Palin was a sign of broad national strength.
Not true. Polls say Palin being placed on the ticket gained some energized Fundie voters - but lost 3 times as many from the woman's and independent vote McCain was counting on.
Cedar must be making this stuff up as he goes along.
Don't know which polls Cedar's reading (or even who he means by "our sort of people", but I do remember 30,000 people turning out to see her one day in FL, which probably galvanized the Lefties into trying to destroy her), but even the Establishment Media conceded Miss Sarah brought in all the undecideds.
And it was McCain who was supposed to bring in the women and independents - that was his big selling point in the primaries. Something which everyone agrees he didn't do.
Actually, if you drill down through the "career" or "job" level into the rural, protestant culture, you will find it is at least half-way a functional matriarchy.
No TG. I don't believe that all Christians hate gays.
I see a lot of very good decent moral people with moderate points of view in many Christians. So when I understand someone to be a Christian I withhold my judgements about their character. Generally I give people the benefit of the doubt whatever they are.
It's true I believe quickly evolving attitudes are going to catch a lot of people flat-footed - GOP, Dems, lots of folks.
My particular comment was intended to refer to people who think that Dems don't like Bachmann because they have a special disdain for women evangelicals. It seems that attitude is around a lot (maybe I'm misinformed though). I think those people would be making a mistake and they shouldn't be in charge of GOP strategy.
(The Crypto Jew)
DBQ, C4 doesn’t need facts….don’t confuse him with them.
There ARE arguments against Palin:
1) She may well be an “open Borders” Republican;
2) Governor of AK is better than Governor of Nowhere (Bachman OR Obama) but it is still a fairly small state,
There are FAUX arguments against Palin:
1) She raised taxes on oil companies…not so much true.
2) She distributes welfare to the citizens of AK (like or not the oil revenue is the citizen’s by the AK Constitution)
3) AK is a “welfare” state, as 2/3 of AK is Federal land what do you expect? The answer is privatize Federal holdings, nation-wide.
And then there are just foolish arguments:
1) She’s “unelectable” McCain was “electable” and how’d that work out, and this is an “argument” only in hindsight, correct if she loses, but incorrect if she wins, so it’s hardly even an argument
2) She’s a “Quitter”
3) She’s only in it for the money, unlike Mr. “Audacity of Hope” and his two autobiographies
4) She’s “stoopit”, unlike Mr. Fifty-Seven states or Mr. Cinquo de Quatro?
5) She’s “divisive” unlike Mr. Hopey-Changey?
The first set is debatable but are really just a tiny minority of the comments I see, probably less than 10%. The second set is about 25% of what I read, and the VAST majority, 6 or 7 out of 10 are the last. People don’t OPPOSE Palin, they HATE her….And I have theories about it, but it’s amazing. C$ is just one more h8ter.
BTW, I too voted for Palin in ’08…I wasn’t going to vote until he chose her. And yes, I realize the powerlessness of the Veep, but it was enough of a good choice it persuaded me to vote, for Palin.
You know I don't know how married to that hypothesis I am-because the only examples that I can come up with on my own are Hillary and Oscar Goodman's wife.
I do still think that the media accepts that tactic more readily from a Democrat female.
Phx...Thanks for the reply. I agree with you.
phx said: "My particular comment was intended to refer to people who think that Dems don't like Bachmann because they have a special disdain for women evangelicals."
Maybe I misunderstand your comment. Do you think there is not a special disdain on the left for female evangelicals? It seems quite obvious from the treatment of Bachmann, Palin, and in fact most religious+conservative women over the last few decades. It's comforting to believe those nice folks don't hate those women, but they do hate those women, even though they don't care to defend such hate, for obvious reasons (it's unenlightened to hate, and it's unChristian as well).
Rich Lowry at NRO just linked to recent Gallup and Obama's approval is at 39%.
The 39% number is what Rich Lowry is focused on but that's not much of a change from the previous numbers.
What looks like it warrants more attention is that-
Obama's disapproval crossed the 50% threshold and also jumped up by some
4%.
(wow.)
The accepted narrative that Conservative = Bigot is yet another case of chattering class projection.
The Republicans best shot at the Presidency in 2008 would have been Condi Rice. If the powers in the party had had any sense they would have seen that.
(The Crypto Jew)
This idea of disliking “Evangelical womyn” is spot-on…it’s the reverse of “Liberal gongs”. Liberal Gongs (plusses):
1) Person of Colour;
2) Gay/lesbian
3) Womon.
Works the same way in reverse:
1) Religious;
2) Conservative; and
3) Female.
We hates her, precious….
You are assuming that a shift is actually occurring in Republican minds. I would assert that many of us never were uncomfortable with women in power, as a concept, ever. Only the WRONG women. What thrills me about the current Republican women is that we are seeing not only women in politics, but feminine women (as opposed to mannish women in pantsuits) with strong conservative principles who are not afraid to confront the establishment. That, in my opinion, is what has been missing heretofore. These are women we can be proud of and get behind.
Of course, I'm only 35, and perhaps my mind has a different mindset than my elders. For example, I've never been of the generation that would vote for a woman JUST BECAUSE she's woman. And that is where the shift is, perhaps, because my mom's generation certainly would, as I heard discussed often when Hillary was running. For them, including my Republican female friends, the womanness was just as, if not more, important than the actual polical beliefs. For me, policies trump gender (or race, or religion), which frankly is more equal towards women than feminism for feminism's sake. Women can now stand on their merits, just like men do, and is that not a true victory for women, to have finally gotten to that point?
AJ Lynch - GMA made a point this morning to mention that yes, she was the first woman EVER to win the Iowa Straw Poll. Ever.
I distinctly remember cringing a little as my 8yro son said "wow, the first girl ever."
You've come a long way baby.
(The Crypto Jew)
The Republicans best shot at the Presidency in 2008 would have been Condi Rice. If the powers in the party had had any sense they would have seen that
That’s a joke, right?
Condi:
1) No Executive experience, State is the worst MANAGED Cabinet…
2) No campaign experience, unlike Obama whose forte IS campaigning
3) A “squish” on Affirmative Action;
4) And, IIRC, Gun Control.
We’d have been “Moidelized”…it would have been embarrassing AND Painful…Politics ain’t the NBA…you don’t go from Jr. High or High School to the NBA, in politics, there ain’t NO substitute for experience, in this game. The missteps would have come left and right and the ads write themselves.
It's comforting to believe those nice folks don't hate those women, but they do hate those women, even though they don't care to defend such hate, for obvious reasons (it's unenlightened to hate, and it's unChristian as well).
It is unenlightened to hate. It doesn't usually help your cause either.
Yes, some people on the left probably hate women evangelicals especially. There are crackpots across the spectrum.
IMO the Democrats who are going to beat you aren't those Democrats though, and if you focus on them because they are low-hanging fruit, you are making a mistake.
The "you" in this post doesn't refer to any specific individual, so don't take it personally.
It seems quite obvious from the treatment of Bachmann, Palin, and in fact most religious+conservative women over the last few decades.
What is even more strange (or perhaps it isn't really that strange) is that whenever, I as a woman, argue conservative viewpoints...the leftist immediately assume that I am a bible thumping evangelist type of person.
They want to attack my viewpoints, but instead lower themselves to attacking what they 'suppose' I believe. Thinking that if they attack the Bible, Jesus or other religious items such as abortion etc, that they are somehow attacking me.
They just cannot seem to comprehend that a person can be a female, conservative fiscally, libertarian on social issues and agnostic on religion of all stripes.
Does...Not...Compute.
So they fall back on their own prejudices and talking points instead of thinking about the debate points being discussed.
Losers.
(The Crypto Jew)
Well, DBQ you’re female, of THAT age, and a professional or retired professional, so OBVIOUSLY you’re one of “us.” The ONLY reason you wouldn’t be is that you’re one of THOSE People, you know Bible Thumpers….This follows as night follows day.
The Argentinians couldn't get their head around the idea of a female CiC either. They were misinformed...
As for Margaret Thatcher seemingly manly, not at all. The epitome of the bourgeois English matron, rather, something she embraced as the daughter of shopkeepers.
Terry Pratchett describes the type beautifully.
As Palin and her toughness, well, Maggie Thatcher never dressed out an elk carcass. And you can ask Exxon/Mobil about her toughness.
Did you see the movie, by the way?
Not at all strange to me.
I would not have voted for McCain. Were Palin the candidate, I would have voted for her.
As a Libertarian, I went with the party's candidate.
How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
For most of us conservatives of a certain age, women were accepted as equals in the middle 1970s. It wasn't a big deal then, and isn't a big deal now.
A better question might have been "When will the liberal men in the media and politics give more than lip service to women being their equals?"
And another question could have been "When will liberal women accept conservative women as their equals?"
Conservatives are, as usual, ahead of the curve, but the MSM simply can't see it through the thick gauze of their biases.
'The two governmental culprits in the financial disaster are reckless Congressional regulation of mortgage lending and the Federal Reserve's low-interest-rate policies. A balanced-budget amendment wouldn't have restrained either one.'
Yes, but it would have prevented the government pouring money down the rabbit hole and strangling the recovery in federal waste and overregulation
"One caller and you are ready to say the entire GOP is ready to accept a woman as President? Well we know they won't accept a black man so maybe the logical step is to accept a white woman. Small steps forward. But forward I suppose."
No one said "entire". You made that up.
How do you think Obama got elected? Oh, I know, you're not talking about that. You're taking out that old lie that the ONLY reason anyone would EVER oppose Obama is because of his skin color.
Tool.
"And another question could have been "When will liberal women accept conservative women as their equals?""
This.
Oh, do you know what else conservative women don't do? They don't sequester themselves in a ghetto of feminist ideology and "women's issues" and then fuss over not being part of the "man's world."
They even tried to push Clinton into a role of advocating for women across the world instead of occupying the role of overseeing matters of State for the most powerful country in the world.
Did anyone do that to Ms. Rice?
No?
Whyever not?
Michael Haz said...
How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
For most of us conservatives of a certain age, women were accepted as equals in the middle 1970s. It wasn't a big deal then, and isn't a big deal now.
In marriage, I think Conservatives have accepted women as partners further back than the 70s, and, because of that, they didn't require Affirmative Action to find one (or more) that they would trust.
PS Condi would have been another Colin Powell, from what I know of her. Very bright, but the assumption she was Conservative beyond being neo-con is perhaps a leap of faith.
Yes, but it [a Balanced Budget Amendment] would have prevented the government pouring money down the rabbit hole and strangling the recovery in federal waste and overregulation
A lot of generally conservative people thought that TARP I was a good idea, b/c they were worried about the possibility of complete financial collapse and ensuing economic disaster. When output (and therefore income) collapses, the budget goes into deficit all on its own because of declining tax revenue, so a BBA would have required us to jack up tax rates quite a bit in the midst of a hideous economic situation.
No thanks.
phx, thanks for your response. Your points are interesting. I gather you're saying that the average left-of-center person really doesn't foam at the mouth.
Like Dust Bunny Queen, I've seen and heard so much hatred on the left that it's hard to believe it's all isolated on the fringe. I'm talking back to Reagan, the most hateful, hated, Nazi, Satanic figure of his time. Leftists were insane about him, just as they were recently about George W. Bush. My leftist friends think I'm crazy to think that Bush was other than an idiot or that Republicans could actually have the nation's future success at heart.
The new hatred directed at Bachmann and Palin reminds me of how people reacted to Phyllis Schlafly back in the day, and to Clarence Thomas. Hate hate hate! Maybe there's a great mass of lefties that think deeply, but in general, the American left strikes me as much more diseased than the right with simplistic, Manichean thinking.
Well, slightly off topic but I miss Jeane Kirkpatrick at the U.N. and think we sure could use another of her caliber there or in any number of cabinet leads in the next White House (GOP) administration.
As much as Sarah Palin is vaunted as a possible contender for the Oval Office, I have no problem with her heading the Dept. of Energy under the next administration and righting this floundering ship to domestic fuel sources, telling OPEC (under Iran's leadership, no less) to shove it. She knows the industry and has business experience in oil and fishing.
On topic, what the left, and the Obama-driven MSM in particular, did to Hillary and to Geraldine Ferraro during the 2008 DNC primary run should have been a major wake-up call to "feminists", but it apparently wasn't. News agencies, such as AP, insisted on taking photos of Palin from the high heels up to her knees, or from 'behind' in order to sexualize her ... while insisting on presenting photos of Obama with anything that resembled a halo or Messiah-like connotation.(As a matter of fact, the same news agencies are beginning it again with Obama.) Most all attacks on Palin were gender oriented in some manner or another, with some of the loudest and nastiness coming from female talkingheads. Yet, Palin credited both Hillary and Geraldine for paving the way for women in politics. While some fluffed off the Newsweek cover of Bachmann last week, the fact Tina Brown was responsible for it and came out to defend it says volumes to me about the fly paper tiger that is liberal feminism.
Itbegs the same question Ann posed in another thread regarding the "hate crime" aspect of the WI State Fair mob beatings.
"Beating" female conservatives ... "Sexist" or "easy targets" for hypocrite liberals?
How was it that they so easily accepted what looks quite a bit like the simple equality of women?
Because they / we / conservatives are not who the yammering lemmings have been trying to make them / us out to be all these years.
Hey C4--is it possible for you to get thru a fucking post without talking about "progressive jews?" You cant to it can you--Give it a rest son--you saidlogi I believe that you were an engineer officer in the Kuwait war--I can believe you were/are an engineer because you have that manichanean view of reality. Thats what engineers do and are. Served with enough of your engineer colleagues to know.
PLEASE try to do three consecutive posts without using "progressive jews."
you have good points to make but dilute them with what seems to me to be a pathological obcession about "progressive jews."
and less assume I spelled obscession correctly
I would vote for a Palin/DBQ ticket (or DBQ/Palin).
Republicans are actually very open minded. It is the Media who has portrayed us as lunatics.
Meade, you've got a lot of work remaining to remove the last vestiges of Democrat Party propaganda remaining in your wife; absolutely no apologies for that at all.
Lastly, recall good folks, that the Republicans of Lincoln's day were referred to as "Radicals." Plus what was said above about the 1964-65 Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts.
This is basically a center right country until things by a Republican government goes haywire; hubris anyone. Hoover way back then, "W" and his compassionate conservatism baloney just recently.
Still, many (Most?) civil advances in this country result from Republican-Conservative governments. The Dems gave US WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam even while saying they'd keep US out of war; yeah, wrong!
DBQ - If Obama announced he was dropping Biden, which new VP would make you enthusiastic enough to vote for him?
Or would you say that whomever the replacement VP Obama picked was, would be absolutely, totally irrelevant? As the VP would be as effective to changing Obama and his policies as a 2nd in line bucket of warm spit would be?
Or would have the Goddess Palin been able to get past the vindictive, carry grudges for life,"my way or the highway" McCain and ordered the fighter jock around?
Or would she aside from fundraisers out in "rubes & oxycontin" country..been assigned to more 2nd rate "leader" funerals and meet and greets of Iowa Kiwanis Clubs than Agnew and Quayle combined if she dissed McCain and went rogue on him?
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