Saturday, August 30, 2008

the vagina monologue

Does Mr. McCain really think that because his vice presidential pick is a woman that all women who are "disenfranchised" Hillary supporters are going to flock to his ticket and vote for him? Does he REALLY think that women are that stupid? Does he really believe that we will look at her and think, "gee, I really relate to HER, she's a mom and a WOMAN!" and we'll happily make that big check mark on the Republican ticket come November?

Personally, I am insulted on SO many levels by his choice. First, it is SO obvious that she is not a qualified candidate by any measure to be one heartbeat away from the most important elected office in the world. Second, because she isn't qualified, there must be some reason he picked her...hmmmm...what could it be? What is it that the 18 million voters who cracked that "glass ceiling" were voting for? Was it JUST because Hillary was a woman? Or rather, was it because there were 18 million voters out there who believed that the policies of the current administration AND their party are taking our country down a disastrous path. Does his party really, REALLY believe that just because he parades a woman out as his VP choice ("look...we can think women are smart too!") that we (those of us with vaginas) are going to fall in line and think THAT is a brilliant idea?

At least, at the very least, he could have picked a woman with a better resume, someone who actually hasn't only been in state-level elected office for under two years, and just a month ago was asking (on a broadcast interview, no less) that someone should please explain to her exactly what it IS the vice president does on a daily basis? Are you frickin' KIDDING me? Are there really, truly NO other qualified women in the Republican party? Is it her adorable little glasses and puffy hairdo? Is it the fact that she is the mother of five? Well, so is Nancy Pelosi...get over yourself about that. If breeding children is an qualification for being the president of the US (remember, she could be just a breath away) then I would rather vote for "Kate" of Jon and Kate Make Eight.

And yet, the GOP seems to think that I WON'T be insulted by this choice?

Yes, yes, there are women out there who are as solidly in line with the GOP as I am with the Democratic Party, and they are probably giggling amongst themselves about how John sure did pull a fast one on those Democrats...NOW look who has a woman on the ticket!! But sadly, they miss the point. They TOTALLY miss the point. The fact is that all women...all of us who are mothers, or grandmothers, or sisters, or wives, or daughters...should be thinking just how critical this election is to our very existence...and the future of our own children. The next president MUST tackle the issue of global warming. We are on the cusp of it being too late as it is...we cannot waste another four years on this issue. The next president MUST restore our standing in the world community, and not get us involved in any more hostilities. Our next president MUST make affordable healthcare for ALL citizens a priority. I promise...it will be absolutely the thing that finally caps off the middle class of this country if we don't change how it runs now.

The GOP talking heads are all raving about how she's "pro-life." Great. I won't argue her right to think that women shouldn't have abortions. But here's an idea, Sarah. It's all fine and well to protect the rights of the unborn, but what about the born....what about the babies of parents who can't afford to take them to the doc to get checked for bronchitis or pneumonia? What about the toddlers who are diagnosed with Autism who can't get the help they need because their school districts or communities offer no help for this disorder, and their parents can't afford help. What about the fact that our own children face a world of food shortages, and new diseases that will be brought on by climate change? What about all those babies (born and unborn) in Iraq who have been killed or injured for NO reason other than greed for oil and revenge for Daddy's failures by Shrub?

I'm a Democrat, I'm a woman, and I AM Pro Life--PROtective of the lives suffering in our midst now. I believe that the abortion issue (which I honestly have very personal mixed feelings about) should NOT be the deciding factor on every other important issue before our country and world right now. I believe that if you are "pro-life" you ought to be aggressively seeking ways to feed, house, educate and care for the millions of children in our own country who are living in poverty right now.

Don't pander to me, Mr. McCain. Don't think that your "trophy" VP pick will appeal to average women any more than your beer-heiress, multiple-house owning wife does. Most women are NOT life-long members of the NRA, most women haven't been (or wanted to be) beauty queens. Most women ARE smart enough to see though your veiled attempt at placating the Hillary supporters. And most women think it's poor indication of your own judgment.

2 comments:

shley said...

hell ya!

... I'm at a loss of what to contribute to this message because it seems that you've covered my feelings thoroughly. Even still, there are those hopelessly ill-informed voters that just might make their decision based on appearances. McCain is offending those afforded the ability to think critically by using the strength of consumerism in this country to fuel his campaign. He knows that undecided voters are such because they're easily swayed: they will buy anything, even if it's a neo-con rookie dressed in a pant suit.

At a bar the night after the convention ended I had an encounter at a bar that makes my cynicism a bit more poignant: I was wearing my Obama shirt, which has only his campaign logo on the front, no name. A young woman, probably in her early 20's, came up to me and tentatively asked what the logo was for. This is a person who has presumably lives in Denver where, for the past week, the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION has been making headlines not 15 blocks from the bar. I was nice to the poor girl and told her it was an Obama campaign logo, she smiled, and maybe, just maybe, that will be all she needs to make her decision to vote for the man.

MJ said...

You wrote it so well... I was going to write about it but you summarized it so well, I couldn't have said it better...I am going to share a little of it on our blog....GREAT JOB!