Political thinking wherein I can't believe I might actually defend Palin

[theatokos]

So.... the GOP is basically in one giant clusterfuck to point fingers and assign blame for why they failed. I think pandering to the "base" of the party meant alienating too many other Americans, that Sarah Palin was a token nomination and an example of that pandering, and that in the effort to shore up the base McCain abandoned the aspects of his character and past that made him appeal to more than just Republicans. There's my off the cuff, politically clueless assessment of what went wrong. That, and Obama rules the school.

However, I find all the finger pointing at Palin distasteful. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan. I think she was way, way in over her head. She wasn't prepared, not yet quite educated enough, and more than a little naive and inexperienced. But the way her own party is treating her is horrid. Shouldn't they have her back? If she's one of their contenders for 2012, shouldn't there be more party support for her?

The Republican party is dead in the water and needs to shed a hefty load of its Old Privileged White Patriarchy persona. The patriarchy hates women, even women, like Palin, who are invested in that patriarchy. I continue to be convinced that women have to have each others' backs, even the women we don't agree with, even women who might be betraying the very spirit of feminism.

Are there no Republican feminists? I think Palin believes she's one of them, even though she refuses to label herself (although she's happy to label herself a maverick!). Taking advantage of feminism's advances does not make a woman feminist.

I hope Palin will come around and see that she's been used and spit out by the very party she worked hard to buoy. I hope she'll choose to label herself feminist. Not that I think she needs to defect and join the Democrats. Hell, they're sexist too. The whole two party system is deeply flawed and run by Good Old Boys. I'd love to see what a true feminist Republican would look like as a presidential candidate. That would truly be a maverick move. I'm not sure the country would be ready in four years or that Palin is up to the task. But hope can spring eternal.

For the time being, my more immediate hope is that Palin can get back to the needs of Alaska and that Republican party will pull its head/s out of its collective ass and stop blaming the woman, the woman they choose and created.

Comments

[baileywicked.livejournal.com]

I am not American but I agree with a lot of what you have written here.

[eelsalad.livejournal.com]

... isn't "feminist Republican" an oxymoron? ;)

I'm not surprised there's a lot of blame to go around in the Rep camp, nor that Palin is probably getting more of it than she deserves. I think McCain and any advisers who told him she was a good pick for VP should be getting the blame, not her. What was she supposed to do, get the call and say "no"? Sure, it was partly her selection as VP that sank the ticket, but I think that's more the fault of those who chose her than of Palin herself.

So basically, I agree with you. I'll be interested to see where she goes from here.

[automata.livejournal.com]

I think I totally agree with your views here.

I'm wary of Dems and Republicans.

And yeah, Sarah Palin is getting screwed over right now by the folks that fell in love with her.

[snowcalla.livejournal.com]

It's the same way that the DNC shit all over Kerry and Gore after the election - and the same way they appeared to be a clusterfuck after 2000 and 2004 and not have a direction, and pandered to thier base, or didn't pander enough, etc.

Hmmmm.....feminists in the GOP. Yes, there are quite a few and I would list Palin as a feminist. I guess it depends on what you (genral, plural) mean by feminist. If you have a checklist of "feminist" issues and what side a person needs to be on in order to be considered feminist and all of those are DNC issues - then I suppose there are no GOP Feminists simply because they are GOP and not DNC.

Take abortion. In order for most liberals to consider someone a feminist, they need to support abortion. Period. While I support legal abortion, I do NOT equate supporting abortion with being a feminist, nor do I see being anti-abortion as anti-feminist. And I see it that way for a few reasons...

1. I can see how any reasonable person could see abortion as murder. I do. The question then becomes, does the mother have the right to kill baby while it is still in the womb? To me this isn't a feminist issue, but an issue that weighs the value we place in the life and desires of an adult person vs those of a baby not yet born. This is also an issue of what rights and protections do we grant and when do we grant them? We, as a society, decide this. Any age we come up with is going to be arbitrary, so I'm not going to say a difference of a few months makes the differernce between a feminist and anti-feminist.

2. The argument can be made that abortion itself is something that is pushed onto women - that they even need to make the choice to begin with. They shouldn't be penalized for getting pregnant and they shouldn't be penalized for having the baby either and made to feel that thier life is over or will be crappy because they became pregnant. They should be able to have the child and give it up and not feel any shame what so ever. That it is a Patriarchy society that tells women that they need to cover up the shame of geting pregnant by getting an abortion. That getting pregnant is a natural thing and shouldn't be stigmatized.

_____________________________________________________

I define a feminist as a person who is gender-blind and works to make others gender blind.

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

I don't have a checklist of issues that one must agree to to be feminist. I do have a difficult time with women legally being anti-choice. While the circumstances would have to be awfully dire for me to ever choose an abortion, and I would weep if one of my friends chose to do so, I still support the legal right to do so. I am disturbed at how divisive this issue is. Instead of focusing on the similarities - like supporting families, increasing access to women's health care, supporting birth control, etc, it becomes a wedge to drive people apart. In my experience I have met few pro-life people who are as vehement as the media makes them out to be. And I know many pro-choice people who would never have an abortion.

However, I DO think claiming the word/label is necessary to be a feminist. It's like claiming to be a Christian but saying "I'm not really a Christian and I like what Jesus did, but don't really think I need to *believe* in him to be a Christian..." It's a contradiction.

I do think that one can be feminist and Republican and I hope those women will make their voices heard.

And yeah, the DNC was in just the same predicament before. Hence my indictment of party politics in general.

I also believe that being feminist means one supports the advancement of all people and all genders. I do not wish for men to be shut down the way women have and continue to be. I don't want men using their bodies to sell products like women are. But I do recognize that the patriarchy is still strong and shows few signs of abating.

[ladyartemisa.livejournal.com]

i think i love you...

All hail uppity women!

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Strangely, this reminds me of what's been going down in our DDC. The woman who posted was cut down and words like "abuse" were thrown around - not supportive or helpful. HOWEVER, instead of trying to educate from her side, she shut down all discussion, wouldn't explain her choices and got her back up.

Instead of coming together as mothers and supporting one another (cuz, damn this parenting is hard work!) we were divided. But that original poster does have a habit of only wanting her choices validated. I don't have to like her choices to support her mothering, but damn it's hard to do so when she won't accept support or discussion!

And you know, I think we'd be thick as thieves if we lived in the same place.

Re: All hail uppity women!

[ladyartemisa.livejournal.com]

yup i agree.

i actually am quite nice usually, but i have no qualms about being a BEOTCH when I feel like I need to.
and.. well.. i was. i am not making any excuses for it. but even until the end I was never really mean to her or her child.. I just was very adamant about how I saw the situation.

I think we would be too, so.. i have a solution. yo can move here. pls let me know so I can be prepared for your move. kthnx.

Re: All hail uppity women!

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Ha! Sadly, there will never be a move to Texas. I cannot move any further south. Any moving will be northward. Oh man do I miss the extremes of light and dark, and the cold, and the rain and snow....

But visiting... there has to be a conference of something I NEED to attend there at some point! :)

Re: All hail uppity women!

[ladyartemisa.livejournal.com]

there has to be.. or maybe i can attend a conference there.. hmm... you live in Cali right?
my grandfather lives there...

Re: All hail uppity women!

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Yup in Oakland, the Bay Area.

Re: All hail uppity women!

[ladyartemisa.livejournal.com]

i might need to plan a trip up there.. hmm

Re: All hail uppity women!

[bloodfever.livejournal.com]

I can see why once words like "abuse" were used, she became disinclined to actually discuss the issue further. If someone told me I was abusing Elliott I'd go hell for leather, too.

This is not really the place but it is related to women supporting women. If that woman was the sister of some of the more "aggressive" repliers, would they have been so harsh? Or would they have tried to educate more gently?

Re: All hail uppity women!

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Enh. That poster seems a little drama prone. It's not the first time shit has flared in one of her posts. I feel like there are other ladies who post about similar things and it doesn't get quite so ugly. Sometimes it's not what's said but HOW it's said. Not that I condone the baseball bat language and abuse accusations, but the original poster wasn't open to anything but validation from the get go.

I also think that the internet can be a tricky place for people to discuss - lazy typing, anonymity, poor writer, little acountability.... and you have a recipe for flame wars not discussion.

[erinya.livejournal.com]

From what I've read, she's been doing her share of the backbiting--even before Election Day. Barracuda in the shark tank.

But I don't see this battle as woman v. Republican party. I think it's a no-holds-barred fight between social conservatives/extreme Right (represented by Palin) and economic conservatives for control of the party. Get your popcorn and sit back--it's going to be an interesting four years.

Additionally, I don't see Palin as a feminist at all. A true feminist works towards equality for all women. Sarah Palin is only about the advancement of Sarah Palin.

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

No, I don't see Palin as a feminist either.

And yes, it is going to be an interesting four years. Seeing so many high profile Republicans publicly go out for Obama was brand new to me. The party needs some serious overhaul. I imagine that it'll come from some unexpected place, much like the Dems overhaul came from an underestimated junior senator...

[alizarin71.livejournal.com]

I read an interview--maybe the CNN Palin interview?--where Palin described herself as a feminist. But basically I totally agree with your off-the-cuff assessment of the election.

As Erinya says, Palin was starting to bite the hand that feeds her even before the election was over, by campaigning for herself instead of the ticket. But there are more reasons to disown her--

While it's always possible that people are turning on her because she's a woman, there are so many other, and I think overriding reasons to criticize her involvement. Given her lack of preparation and her unsatisfying resume, the party's selecting her was the most bald-faced appeal to the religious right since Dan Quayle, or maybe ever. That's more a criticism of the party's choice than of Palin herself.

But should Republicans have her back? Should women have her back (professionally, politically), even women who disagree with her on all points? Who in the party even likes the idea of "Palin 2012"? Only people for whom being a conservative Christian is the single most important qualification for being President.

The Republicans are dead in the water, okay. Maybe it's for being white patriarchs, but it's also for being nakedly beholden to the socially conservative part of the party for the last 28 years.

I agree that both parties ought to start fielding women, and feminist women, for high office, and supporting them faithfully. But when criticizing the patriarchy of Dems and Reps together, it's helpful to take a look at the women who ran for office this time around. Hillary Clinton was deeply qualified, prepared, determined, and disciplined enough for a major campaign. She also chose the path for herself. Palin did not pick her own moment, but was a part of someone else's calculated play. You know how the rest of the comparison goes.

Basically, I agree with the first part of your post. And if people are insulting Palin personally, or are saying that it was a mistake to put a woman on the ticket, then I do take offense. But if they're saying it was a mistake to put an otherwise unprepared social conservative on the ticket, then that sounds like Republicans doing some serious soul-searching.

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

I am not saying that I think Palin is free from blame or some kind of righteous but scorned woman. Oh hell no. She is a first rate opportunist. And she most certainly was a token for the Republican ticket.

But yes, I do think women need to have each others' backs. Yup, sure do. In every single case? No, not necessarily. But when media frenzies lose sight of the point... well, I do see the Republicans and the media able to get away with some stupid crap because Palin is a woman. Just like with H Clinton.

[alizarin71.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, so now I'm reading the news. The attacks are really petty and awful. They don't point to disaffection with the religious right, as I had imagined. Suddenly Palin is a "whack job," a shopaholic, and a store looter; both a conniving careerist and, somehow, a congenital idiot. Give me a fucking break.

[hrafntinna.livejournal.com]

Too bad we threw the phrase "to throw under the bus" under the bus. We could use it now.

[hrafntinna.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's an issue of defending Palin or not. She _was_ in over her head, and everyone involved showed themselves to be nasty, nasty pieces of work as well as demonstrating terrible judgment. I do think that the nomination of Palin was an outrageous misogynistic act of itself -- objectification as a woman as a political object rather than a sexual object.

[mz-seshet.livejournal.com]

I just have to mention I'm so happy to hear you say the two party system is flawed. I was beginning to feel soooo alone! Throughout this election campaign, where it seemed everyone was ecstatic for the changes, I've remained skeptical. It is no big surprise Demo's won - we've been flip flopping throughout history. And with all the problems of the incumbent party, we probably would've elected a little green man from Mars had he been the DemoCandidate.

Don't get me wrong - I see there has been change and its good to finally take this next step - but I'll be more moved when we open the debates to all running candidates, those with money to hire the fabulous writers and those who don't. I'll be more moved when I see how Obama handles the office. His speech writers and charisma alone do not make a believer out of me. I do like the way he embraces his wife and if its possible to sense through TV's, I do feel he's got more compassion and integrity than our other leaders.

But, I have decided to hold a positive possibility for him and for us and so I'll end on this note: My 10yr old son did not understand why it was such a big deal in history for Obama to win. And that is change!