Guest post by Lurker:
From the Muqata U.S. election campaign bureau:
Here's something interesting that seems to be getting rather short shrift in the news media: Shelly Mandell, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), is supporting and campaigning for McCain and Palin. No kidding.
From the Muqata U.S. election campaign bureau:
Here's something interesting that seems to be getting rather short shrift in the news media: Shelly Mandell, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), is supporting and campaigning for McCain and Palin. No kidding.
Long Beach Press-Telegram:
Palin was introduced by Shelly Mandell, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women. Mandell supported Sen. Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary, but has now endorsed the McCain-Palin ticket.
In thanking Mandell, Palin cited a quotation from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that Palin had seen the day before on a Starbucks mocha cup: "There's a place in hell reserved for women who don't support other women."
(The quotation was slightly off. Albright used the word "help" instead of support.")
After the cheers died down, Palin made it a two-fer: "Let's see what a comment like I just made, how that is turned into whatever it'll be turned into tomorrow in the newspaper."
CBS:
Shelly Mandell, president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Organization for Women and a self-described lifelong Democrat, introduced Palin at the event.
In rarity for a Republican event, Mandell bragged about her efforts campaigning for the failed Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and her support for Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 1984.
"I know Sarah Palin cares about women's rights," Mandell said. "As vice president, she will fight for you. She cares about our children and she cares about women's lives."
In another rarity for a major party national candidate, Palin discussed a quotation she found on a cup of coffee from Starbucks Friday by former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, a Democrat who served in the Clinton Administration.
"'There's a place hell reserved for women who don't support other women,'" Palin quoted. "Let's see how that comment is turned into whatever it's turned into in tomorrow's papers."
Can you imagine? A feminist leader daring to support a woman, instead of the men whom her own organization endorses?
I can't imagine that this departure from NOW's orthodox groupthink bodes well for Mandell's future in that organization...
26 comments:
Fascinating.
Interesting timing...I just wrote to a cousin in the States who has regularly been sending out pro-Obama materials. This is what I wrote:
Let me explain that I live in Israel. Having said that, I have to explain that I sadly view this election as a great parting of the ways. Those who vote first and foremost for Israel, as I did when I lived in America and as I will from Israel now, will not vote for Obama. Barack Hussein Obama will not act for the good of Israel - as he made clear many times, not the least of which was his brilliant about face on Jerusalem.
Personally, I find it amazing that people compare Obama to Palin when the real comparison should be Obama to McCain and Palin to Biden. Clearly Biden, despite his clear love of Iran...believe it, folks...and all things Iranian, is the more experienced of the two; but by the same token, Obama is nothing in terms of experience when compared to McCain. Before you say anything, I have been a life-long democrat, probably like most of you, and without qualms, without hesitation, with a son in the Israeli army and another just about in the army, and living where I do, I will vote for McCain for many, many reasons. I think he's a good man...I really do. I don't trust Biden or Obama, not when the chips are down, to care enough about Israel's safety, to be brave enough to deal with the issue of Iran.
You should all, and will all, vote your conscience. The only thing I ask is that you do it realistically. Don't fool yourself into believing that Obama will be good for Israel - he won't. Maybe this isn't an issue for you - and that's acceptable. But if you vote for Obama - do it knowing that this is likely the wrong choice for Israel.
He may be good for America - that's for you to decide. If you have no problems with his massive amount of voting "present" on all key issues - that's up to you. If you have no problem with his background, hazy ties denied to Islam, and interesting advisors, etc - that's up to you - but please do not believe for a moment that we in Israel are fooled.
Paula
Personally, I find it amazing that people compare Obama to Palin when the real comparison should be Obama to McCain and Palin to Biden.
If McCain were younger it would be a different story. The problem is that he is not and it is not inconceivable that he could die in office.
And if he did we'd have an unqualified, ignorant, whack job fundamentalist running things.
Take away her handlers, take away her notes and she flounders terribly.
She has no significant experience and has been just as corrupt as any other politician.
She is a mess.
Have to agree with jack on that...
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Sorry, gotta agree with Jack. She's a nutjob nitwit. It's was embarrassing to watch those Couric interviews. That's why it's shocking that Mandell supports her. It's has nothing to do with groupthink. It's about supporting a candidate that can express a single coherent thought.
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Jack and Abbi, if you were truly honest with yourselves, you'd see that it's the Democratic ticket- both members- who are unable to express coherent thoughts and are the...no, I'm too much of an adult to use the words you used, but I imagine they're applicable.
cAbbi: She's a nutjob nitwit. It's was embarrassing to watch those Couric interviews. That's why it's shocking that Mandell supports her. It's has nothing to do with groupthink. It's about supporting a candidate that can express a single coherent thought.
I don't think that NOW's automatic support for the Democratic ticket has anything to do with picking "a candidate that can express a single coherent thought" -- even if you're right about Palin. NOW has always automatically taken the side of the Democrats, no matter what. In 1991, when Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harrassment during his Senate confirmation hearings, while many of Hill's former colleagues claimed that she was lying, NOW sided against Thomas absolutely and unconditionally, threatening explicitly to end the career of any Senator who didn't vote to reject him. But a few years later, when Bill Clinton was accused of sexual harrassment (by Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, and Gennifer Flowers), NOW blithely dismissed the women as opportunistic liars, and defended Clinton unconditionally (just as they did again after the Monica Lewinsky scandal was exposed).
NOW has always demanded unwavering, unstinting political orthodoxy and strict adherence to all of its political positions. For whatever her reasons, Shelly Mandell believes that the McCain/Palin ticket is better for women than Obama/Biden. Even if she is wrong, I cannot help but admire her courage and fortitude in standing up publicly for what she believes. She has almost certainly sacrificed her career in the feminist movement by doing so.
Jack and Abbi, if you were truly honest with yourselves, you'd see that it's the Democratic ticket- both members- who are unable to express coherent thoughts and are the...no, I'm too much of an adult to use the words you used, but I imagine they're applicable.
Nachum,
I'd be happy to engage with you in an intelligent discussion but first I am going to require that you read what I wrote.
I didn't provide a treatise on why the democratic platform was superior.
I pointed out that Palin is unqualified, inexperienced and lost without her handlers.
It is a complete obfuscation of reality to claim that she has any real business in a position of such authority.
Perhaps you'd like to provide some sort of proof as to why I am mistaken.
What sort of experience does she have in foreign policy or economics.
She managed a town that is barely larger than some high schools.
She is gov. of a state with a population that is smaller than most big cities in the U.S.
Let's see what else does she have going for her. Oh yes, she was a newscaster. So she knows how to read a teleprompter.
Bottom line, if Johnny Mac dies and she becomes POTUS it is bad news time.
Somethings require experience and this job is one of them.
Jack,
I seem to have missed the part where you explain how barack hussein obama is more qualified and experienced, maybe you could run it by us again...
California NOW has issued a statement reaffirming support for Obama/Biden and repudiating Shelly Mandell's support of Palin.
Lurker- I'll have to take your word on NOW's political machinations. It's just not something I've ever followed too closely. And I'll be honest, though I think they carry some influence among voting age women, I don't think NOW has quite the Soviet (or Agudah) style voting influence as you describe, aside from maybe within its own leadership hierarchy.
It's interesting, but I doubt very many card carrying NOW members will follow her lead.
Nahum, it's precisely because I'm truly honest with myself that I have no intention of voting. Both choices are pretty crappy, though if i was living in the us, i'd probably swallow hard and go for obama. There's no way i could choose the McCain/Bimbette ticket. She's an embarrassment to my sex. In addition to the fact that 8 years of republican rule has pretty much decimated the US, economically, diplomatically, militarily. And I'll be honest, I don't see what great gains we've made here in Israel thanks to Bush, aside fromt the fact that he's pretty much ignored us.
Obama might not have much more experience in actual governing than the "Hottest Governor" (actual slogan handed out on buttons at the RNC.) But at least he acts like he knows what he's doing. And he doesn't act like he's running in a beauty pageant. At this point in the race, that counts for a lot.
Jack, what you said.
And Nahum, I've heard some Obama soundbites here and there. You can say a lot of nasty things about Obama, but incoherent speaking is not one of them. I think Repubs and Dems agree that public speaking is one of Obama's strong points (i'm talking about the act of stringing together a simple declarative sentence in English, not the content.)
"I know Sarah Palin cares about women's rights," Mandell said. "As vice president, she will fight for you. She cares about our children and she cares about women's lives."
Riiiight. Would Mandell have gotten that impression from Palin's statements where she supports legislation to deny any woman, even an incest victim, abortions? Or maybe the fact that she charged rape victims for rape kits when she was governor, or perhaps her expressed desire to overturn Roe vs. Wade?
If Mandell thinks Palin is better for Israel, she should just come out and say it, as opposed to dress it up as a women's issue, and thus insult the intelligence of voters everywhere by talking cr*p. Women with brains in America are not fooled, and Jewish friends of mine are only voting Republican because of Israel, not because of this "Hockey Mom"'s stellar track record on women's rights.
I'm only thankful not to have a vote in this farce: What a waste of time and energy. And I'm also thankful that nobody spends millions pretending that one candidate is the Fix-All Messiah in either of the countries where my vote actually counts.
I seem to have missed the part where you explain how barack hussein obama is more qualified and experienced, maybe you could run it by us again...
Renegade,
You're missing the point. I wasn't commenting on Obama's fitness. All I did was state the obvious, Palin is a tool.
She is in over her head and a potential menace.
I don't like any of the candidates, but I find it offensive that people suggest that Palin is anything more than a lightweight.
Nachum: Its rather biased of you to say that Senator Joe Biden is less capable than Sarah Pallin in expressing coherent thoughts. That's not even a "pot-shot" -- its simply crass.
Jack: Who do you think is less qualified to be vice president? Dan Qualye or Sarah Pallin?
Its seems the the "CA NOW" commenter above (and link) proves Lurker's point that
I can't imagine that this departure from NOW's orthodox groupthink bodes well for Mandell's future in that organization...
tafka pp: If Mandell thinks Palin is better for Israel, she should just come out and say it, as opposed to dress it up as a women's issue, and thus insult the intelligence of voters everywhere by talking cr*p.
Excuse me? Did I miss something here? What does Israel have to do with this?! Did anyone mention Israel? The campaign speech was not to a Jewish audience, and Shelly Mandell has never been a pro-Israel activist. Why are you introducing an obvious red herring?
Even if you think that Mandell has ulterior motives, why claim that it's about Israel? Why not suggest that she is connected to big oil, or that she works for the NRA? Do you have even a shred of evidence suggesting that Mandell's position is related in any way to Israel? You certainly haven't presented any.
It appears that you have a very hard time accepting the idea that a prominent feminist activist like Mandell might have a different political opinion than your own, and you are unable to believe that she might actually mean what she says. If you think she's wrong, fine. But to chalk it up to something out of left field like you did here is completely unfounded, and just plain ridiculous.
I'm not introducing any red herrings, Lurker: Many of the comments on your piece have been about who is better for Israel and I was primarily responding to those in guessing whatever Mandell's motives might be for coming out with such blatant untruths. Being a candidate with ovaries doesn't automatically denote a feminist darling or a natural champion of women's issues. Incidentally, we're having similar issues in this country now with Livni.
Finally- the facts I attributed via a vis Palin as a non-feminist are not just "my opinion". Read all the feminist comment (right and left of the spectrum) about Palin before you point the finger, please. Mandell is clearly just an irrelevant flash in the pan with unspecified motives (Israel, guns, who cares?) The CA Now statement alone is testament to that.
Jack: Who do you think is less qualified to be vice president? Dan Qualye or Sarah Pallin?
Much as it pains me, I'd probably pick Quayle.
A few Obama facts my brother sent me:
- He has studiously avoided committing to policies.
- He has voted "present" nearly 200 times in order to avoid tipping his hand, lest
people actually have a handle on what he stands for.
- He has stated that he wants to eliminate defense spending on new technology
platforms, yet he wants to reduce manpower too--I guess that means he has clearly stated
that the U.S. should be less powerful---that's at least a position, though I don't
support it.
- He has been in association with the weather underground.
- He attended church for 17 years with someone who wants the US destroyed.
- His wife's thesis at Princeton looks forward to a state in which blacks and whites don't bother pretending to be able to get along.
People said the same about Chenney - that he wouldn't survive...he's been VP for 8 years. McCain might die in office; he very well might not. Bottom line - I'd take McCain over Obama any day and THAT is the race in question. I find it amazing that people are focusing on Palin while ignoring Obama's CLEAR lack of experience, his inability to clarify real positions and a very questionable lack of principles (like sitting for 17 years in the same church as a preacher so filled with hatred he doesn't belong in a bar, nevermind a church podium.
Again - choose your agenda and vote it. But don't try to rewrite the facts and make any of these people something that they are not. Palin lacks experience - that's not the worst thing in a Vice President...it is among the worst things in a presidential candidate.
ALL of the suffering that our suffragettes had to go through
Um, like being called "suffragettes" instead of "suffragists"?
Stupid spam.
Soldier's Mom,
It is a mistake not to pay attention to the VP candidates, especially when the Pres is 72.
Beyond that I have to question the judgment of a man who picks a tool as a running mate.
It is a serious error. Things happen. Truman, LBJ and Ford all started out as veeps and all of them replaced the POTUS.
I am not enamored with Obama, but there is something very wrong with a man who picks an ignorant fool as a running mate.
"She's an embarrassment to my sex." -- You, madam, are a true sexist.
And Jack: the only tool here is you.
And Jack: the only tool here is you.
Aww, I feel so badly being slammed this way. So insightful, so profound, so much substance.
Oh wait, there isn't any because what could you possibly say to dispute the facts. You can't so you went with the ad hominem attack.
Your mother must be so very proud. ;)
Jack:
You hurl names at Palin but provide no real proof to back your accusations.
She has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined. She is a Washington outsider which is what we need.
You think it's a better choice to elect the very people who are reponsible for the economic mess this country is in? Obama and his Dem. mates allowed Fannie and Freddie (run by Dems) to run those companies into the ground at the expense of all Americans. Yet, Obama blames it all on Bush. Either he is lieing or he doesn't understand what really caused the mess. Either way, this proves he isn't worthy of being President.
A country run by Palin would be 10 times better than a country run by Obama.
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