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Briefing Book! Sarah Palin Victim of McCain Camp Sexism?

LibertySugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:30:04 -0700

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Sexism: Free Sarah Palin? CNN host Campbell Brown says hiding Sarah Palin from the media is sexist. — Donklephant
Animals: Hungry? PETA is urging Ben & Jerry's to use human breast milk in ice cream. — Townhall
GOP: Iraq, Katrina, the Next Depression — does the GOP owe America an apology? Craft it yourself with the GOP apology-o-tron! — 23/6
Bill Clinton: What is he doing to help get Barack elected? Bill Clinton praises Obama on the Daily Show. — Indecision 2008

Would Sarah Palin Be Treated Differently If She Were a Man?

LibertySugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:30:40 -0700

Many people think John McCain chose Sarah Palin simply because she is a woman, who also happens to appeal to the evangelical base. Citizen attended the Women and the Republican Party panel today in St. Paul and the question came up: would John McCain have chosen Palin if she was a man? One panel member responded, "I think the experience and issues takes a back seat because she (is) a woman." Palin's gender may have influenced her selection, and it may influence the reaction to her. Perhaps if Sarah were a man, critics would not consider her family obligations — including five children, a son with Down syndrome, a pregnant teenage daughter — when assessing her ability to lead. It's a hypothetical exercise to figure out how gender matters here, but we do know that sensationalized coverage of politicians' personal lives has been used to assess male leaders, too. Remember Bill Clinton? While you may agree with many of the poll choices below, which do you think most accurately describes how Palin's gender factors into the race? (And stay tuned: Citizen's trying to see Palin address the Republican Coalition for Life right now!)Source

Would Sarah Palin Be Treated Differently If She Were a Man?

Yes! McCain would never have put a Mr. Palin on the ticket.

Yes! People would never judge a man this way.

Yup! McCain made a cynical choice to get women voters, and then says she's off limits.

No. Anyone dealing with this level of distractions cannot lead during this crucial time.

No. This is simply about McCain's judgment and conservative hypocrisy.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

Girl Power? Couric Claims Sexism More Common Than Racism

CitizenSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:50:20 -0700

In the fight for girl power, three women have jumped into the ring in the past 24 hours with very different viewpoints. Katie Couric, in Israel covering Obama's world tour made this striking proclamation:

I find myself in the last bastion of male dominance, and realizing what Hillary Clinton might have realized not long ago: that sexism in the American society is more common than racism, and certainly more acceptable or forgivable.

Sexism trumps racism? So what's a girl to do? Oh! I know! We'll ask Brooke Hogan (of the dubiously-named Brooke Knows Best) what the role for women should be! Here's her take:

I think it's kind of crazy that a woman is running because I think that women deal with a lot of emotions and menopause and PMS and stuff. Like, I'm so moody all the time, I know I couldn't be able to run a country, because I would be crying one day and yelling at people the next day, you know?

Surely a gal has to be Wonder Woman to exist in both realms, fighting for a world where woman can and should be allowed to do it all, amid the utterings of a generation of Brooke Hogans who glimpsed the dream of equality and said, "nah." That superhero fighting could be the very element that's undoing feminism. To see how,

Has a Defeated Hillary Broken the Glass Ceiling?

LibertySugar — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:08:25 -0700

While some women lament the end of Hillary Clinton's candidacy, her spirited run has forever changed American politics. Today she said: "Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it has about 18 million cracks in it and the light is shining through like never before." Hillary has arguably taken the female gender off the list of disqualifying qualities for president of the United States.According to polls cited by the BBC, in December 2006 only 55 percent of registered voters said America was ready to elect a woman president. Now, the latest poll shows 70 percent say America is ready for a woman leader. The Boston Globe reports this morning that 69 percent think Hillary's run has made it easier for women to run in the future — though 39 percent also saw her judged more harshly for being a woman. The President of EMILY's list agreed Hillary's had influence, "she really proved that women can run for president, which boosted the credibility for all women who run for office."Of course some are not ready to count out sexism as a debilitating factor in Hillary's run. The president of the New York-based Center for the Advancement of Women said, "one of the aspects of the campaign that has been really shocking to me is how outrageous the sexism was toward her in the media." Ardent supporters disappointed by this are gearing up to wear "NObama" t-shirts this summer. But if Hillary Clinton lost this race because of policies or poor campaign management, and not because she was a woman, will her legacy still be that she cleared the way for other female presidents?Even though Hillary will not be president, has she nonetheless broken the ultimate glass ceiling?Source

Has a Defeated Hillary Broken the Glass Ceiling?

Yay! The country got used to seeing a smart and strong woman.

Nay! Until a woman is president, there is more work to do.

Maybe. But Hillary did a disservice by always bringing up her gender.

We'll see. It depends if we see a rise in female leadership as a result.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

Democratic Presidential Primary: Sexist or Racist?

LibertySugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:18 -0700

This week, Hillary Clinton told the Washington Post that she believes sexism has negatively impacted her campaign.She said: It's been deeply offensive to millions of women. I believe this campaign has been a groundbreaker in a lot of ways. But it certainly has been challenging given some of the attitudes in the press, and I regret that, because I think it's been really not worthy of the seriousness of the campaign.

When asked if the campaign had been racist, she said no, adding: The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable, or at least more accepted, and . . . there should be equal rejection of the sexism and the racism when it raises its ugly head. It does seem as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by the comments by people who are nothing but misogynists.

Hillary's surrogates have gone so far to say that Barack Obama has in fact benefited from the fact that he is black. Meanwhile, others argue that far from sexist, the Democratic primary has broken sexist barriers for a new generation of women leaders.Should Hillary have delivered a defining "gender" speech, as Barack Obama gave his race speech and Mitt Romney gave a religion speech? Do you agree with Hillary Clinton? Has she been a target for sexism, more than Barack Obama has suffered from racism?

Democratic Presidential Primary: Sexist or Racist?

Sexist! Hillary's been criticized for things (e.g. her fashion, laugh) a man never would be.

Racist. The Clinton camp straight up said that only she can win white votes.

Both. Campaigns always bring out an ugly side. Both suffered here.

Neither. Everyone else is over it, she keeps bringing up her gender.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.