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To harriet and kyle,
Author: Raine    Date: 06/09/2008 12:29:10

"...Racism vs. Sexism Death Match, the futile, angry attempts to decide which one is worse, more pervasive, more evil; which accounts for one candidate's success and the other's struggles. Both are terrible, both are still pervasive -- and both are far less pernicious than they were even a generation ago."
From Joan Walsh, Salon.


This is for the women out there that say they will vote McCain, now that Hillary Clinton has suspended her campaign. It is time to stop threatening to use your precious vote against your own best interest. An LA Times story gives us just a glimspe of what you will get with McCain.
John McCain, after his release as a POW, said only men belong in battle. He stands by his record.

Soon after the Gulf War in 1991, a group of military women pressed Congress to allow female pilots to fly combat missions. But a Vietnam War hero in the Senate, John McCain, pushed back hard.

"The purpose of the military is first to defend this nation's vital security interests throughout the globe and only second to ensure equality," the Arizona Republican argued on the Senate floor, framing the issue in a way that infuriated feminists.
[...]
McCain's aides said only that he stood by his past positions, suggesting that he would resist pressures for change.

In the 1991 debate over women pilots, McCain took a traditionalist stance. "This nation has existed for over 215 years," McCain said. "At no time in the history of our nation have women been in combat roles."
[...]
McCain's long-standing opposition to women in combat has raised questions among his critics about his commitment to women's rights.

Women's groups say he has a weak legislative record on such issues as equal pay and workplace discrimination, and his support has lagged among female voters.

As a lawmaker, critics say, McCain sometimes has had strained relations with women in power. Former Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.), who spearheaded the effort to grant women the right to fly in combat, called McCain a product of a "guy culture."

"He has always had trouble dealing with women as equals," Schroeder said.
[...]
In an interview with Navy public relations officials after his release, McCain said women should never be allowed to enter combat. "Some of the people that might capture them can be pretty mean," he said.
Then there is this regarding his dismissal of equal pay legislation. “They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else,” McCain said. “And it’s hard for them to leave their families when they don’t have somebody to take care of them. The issue in this legislation was not education, it was about women getting the same pay as their men counterparts for the same job.

The NYT reported the following exchange with a reporter in Iowa in March 2007:
Q: "What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush's policy, which is just abstinence?"
McCain: (Long pause) "Ahhh. I think I support the president's policy."

Q: "So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?"
McCain: (Long pause) "You've stumped me."
He has said he supports overturning Roe. V Wade. He has called his own wife a vulagarity that shocks the most unshockable of women, he wants to keep you in your place, you know, He has an 83% rating with the Christian Coalition, and still embraces the late Jerry Falwell who, after the attacks of 911, said "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say "you helped this happen." To which, Pat Robertson - who is still very much alive - replied, "Well, I totally concur." Is this what you will vote for? Is this what you worked so hard to achieve?

To all the 'Harriets' of the world... PLEASE don't say you are a feminist and then say you will vote McCain. He is a sexist of the worst kind. He wants to keep the little women in their place. Don't think for one minute that the sexism you feel is worse than anyone else's. Senator Clinton was right, there are 18 million more cracks in that glass ceiling. McCain, I promise, will just replace that glass with shatterproof materials.

Sexism is sexism, yours is no more immoral than anyone else's. We have work to do in this nation regarding BOTH racism and sexism. We need to come together for the party that does ultimately support tearing down walls and shattering glass ceilings.

:peace: and
Raine
 

214 comments (Latest Comment: 06/10/2008 04:16:33 by livingonli)
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