Q. What do you call a woman who is Governor of Alaska?

As usual, the Howler shows how it's done.

Policy not party!

or the last bastion for stupid. lazy people. I've come to believe that misogyny has been so prevalent because it's easy. They didn't know the difference between Clinton's and Obama's positions, so Hillary was a power grabbing, lying bitch (and notice how many of some of those same people seem shocked! shocked! by Obama's rightward "turn" since then).

There are plenty of reasons to hate Sarah Palin (here are a few), but why bother when simply calling her a slut is so much easier. Because to criticize her on other grounds means you have to work and then make a political argument.

This is where the last 20 years has led - most people on both sides are either too lazy or too stupid (or both) to make a political argument.

Tier One: Obama floats serenely above it all, issuing mild reproofs after the damage is done (RFK smear).

Tier Two: What we see see and on the "progressive" blogs.

Tier Two, of course, knows that Obama's reproof isn't serious. If it had been, there would be consequences. There have been none.

It's a proven campaign architecture that the Rs have used for years; High Load, Low Road is a proven winner. And if outcomes are indeed all that matter, why not use it? Have we started faking photographs yet? I mean, in the general; it was already done in the primaries, against a Democrat by Democrats. Sorry;

[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.

is that the Republicans, mere days after the introduction of Sarah Palin, are already doing a better job (weak, though it may be) of highlighting and calling out the most basic sexism than the Democrats ever did.

Questioned if Palin, who just gave birth in Apirl to a baby with Down syndrome, could handle being vice president and the mother of a young family, Schmidt shot back: “I can’t imagine that question being asked of a man.”

Of course, we have to remember that what we think is Democratic misogyny is just a ruse designed to gain power so that they can help women and protect them from the big, bad Supreme Court. Don't you worry your pretty little head, the Democratic Party is the new Daddy Party and Daddy knows best.

Because to criticize her on other grounds means you have to work and then make a political argument.

And, inconveniently, when you examine the by-now extremely familiar liberal complaint list about Palin's horrible ideas and policies (you know, 'substance'), a good half of them are things Obama has been saying for months we could/should set about compromising - oh, sorry - finding "common ground" on.

Oil drilling, mixing church and state, saving the babies, gettin' more spirichual...

I love low attacks against Republicans as much as the next guy, and wouldn't mind a few effective and unfair ones, but, "effective" kinda rules out picking on things that a huge chunk of the country is struggling with every day, like working families with a new infant, or finding your 17yo daughter pregnant.

I don't think these people get out much.

I hope there is karma, somewhere, sometime, for execrable people like Ms. Miller.

"There are plenty of reasons to hate Sarah Palin (here are a few), but why bother when simply calling her a slut is so much easier."

We have a winner!

that it proves she's a real threat.

After all, Obama didn't run on issues and has no experience and has run on personal attributes and biography--Obama supporters attacking Palin personally this hard just continues to reinforce his own weaknesses -- and he's at the top of the ticket.

Even the Quayle mockery was never like this--VP choices are supposed to get trashed, and then you move on and focus on the top of the ticket and on issues.

nice to see you're getting as full up with this garbage as the rest of us, despite your break!

I just wonder: what will Dems and so-called "progressives" like Miller say when Malia and Sascha Obama are subjected to the same innuendo, dirty jokes, and pawing through of panty-drawers that Sarah and Bristol Palin are getting now? What will they say when the right wing righteously reminds them of their egregious conduct?

Am I really a member of the Beating Up Girl Children party? I gotta go register as Independent, if that's the case.

i think i've managed to avoid purely sexist attacks on palin, and i've tried to stay away from saying much about the family. i have real sympathy for the pregnant daughter as well as the rest of them, although i did joke that perhaps when this is all done, there will be five new atheist pro-choice progressives in alaska.

but as i said elsewhere, sometimes i just can't help myself, and the bad puns and jokes come flying off the keyboard with a very unPC sort of glee. i think in my case, it's the effect of 16 years of pent up frustration and rage, that the SCLM and many in amurka were gleefully happy to dissect any dem family/sex scandal, real or imagined, while continually ignoring the very real, nasty, hypocritical, perverted and criminal ones on the rethug side. palin is just too good to be true, from the perspective of a sex-driven naughty blogger like me.

the simple fact is that palin is proof of all the things we've always said re: abstinance only education, religious hypocrisy, republican lying and fumbling around the truth, corruption, cronyism...she's a virtual icon for everything that's not to like about wingerism. and now she is in the middle of a firestorm that is at least in part of her own making. and for once, the media is going along with the correct program, and the more they talk about it, the more people are motivated to dig up additional scandal and dissect it publically.

i did a google search this morning,, and came up with well over a million "palin pregnancy" hits. several tens of thousands for "palin moose," lots more for the troopergate thingee. people *want* to talk about this, and the media recognizes that there is ratings/money to be made from keeping it alive, esp in the face of the carnival of errors/snoozefest that is the RNC convention. so i just can't help failing to feel badly about that.

are there more serious things to talk about? of course. will endlessly joking about palin make my life better? probably not. but as others are fond of pointing out, most americans have been unwilling to think, act, or even skim-read information about the disaster that is the Bush regime and what it guarantees for our shared future. basically, i'm at the point of "don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

if palinmania drives a stake thru republican chances this fall, i just can't be sorry about it. some of you who'd planned on voting for him may be, but to me, this is karmic payback and i don't want it to end any time soon. elsewhere, folks were discussing ancient elections in which dems had had to back off a veep choice late into the game, and of how that effectively killed their chances at victory. mccain is in one of the most beautiful lose-lose situations in the history of american politics. i just can't be sorry about that.

i agree that the "ease" of sexism is a part of why we're seeing so much of it, tho. again, although i'm sure i'm not going to totally succeed in avoiding it, i'm willing to do the Hard Work of Real Comedy, and stick to jokes about what an incompetent boob mccain seems now, and of the trainwreck of error and corruption and hypocrisy that is palin. bring it on.

which also aims at the right places-- Cheneyizing McCain-- Fafblog-- Gamechanger -- http://fafblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/game...

"... Last week ended with a bang with the announcement of his fresh-faced new running mate Sarah Palin, who should provide McCain many more years of extended existence through gradual consumption of her life force, and, if needed, a new host body should his current vessel fail him. ..."

: >

Yeah, I know it's the NY Daily news pushing my emotional buttons, but I gotta say, I'm on board with "Come on. ENOUGH Already!"

Look at how young that kid is (the father is pictured in the story). Read the first two 'graphs of the story, and it's just a simple, thousand-times told middle-class American tale which happens to parents of every walk of life.

Do you really want to lead your life based on what you think Lindsey Graham would do?. (Especially when a hunky 18 year old hockey player is involved - WHOA! - Thanks, I'll be here all week. Try the veal...)

republicans can spin anything at all to their advantage, thanks to their buddies in the media, except being mocked. effectively mocked. watercooler fodder mocked. sexism is likely driving why this is a big mess that won't go away, but america is filled with sexists, after all. frankly, i just don't see mccain being able to overcome his ticket being the butt of all the jokes and sneers palin is generating.

i'm going out to deal with some nonblogging people. let me ask around and i'll get back on it.

-- http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?pa...

"... Republicans say they welcome a discussion of experience in the presidential debate.

“Any effort to attack Palin on experience raises the comparision with Obama, and she’s had more experience in the real world doing real things than Obama,” ..."

NO! It would be irresponsible not to! Something calling itself a "Jay McDonough" doing something he calls "write about politics from a progressive perspective", at something called "Progressive Politics Examiner" writes this:

" In short, there are many speculating that it was not Sarah Palin that gave birth to Trig, but rather Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter Bristol..... These rumors can be cleared up easily with the disclosure of hospital and obstetrician records and eye witness accounts."

Ok, I surrender.

I promise I will vote for Obama if I never have to:

1. Hear another word about a 17-year old's pregnancy,
2. Hear any more "speculations" about whether a 17-year old girl is her brother's mother,
3. Hear any more about inexperienced women governors who are nothing more than "arm candy",
4. Hear any more demands for "obstetrician records".

Is it a deal?

I'm sorry I just can't get it on with Chi-dyke's karmic backlash theory. Not when the "vessel" (so to speak) of that backlash is an innocent 17-year old who is guilty of not much more than choosing the wrong parents and exercising her personal choice to work out her "youthful exuberance". Not to put too fine a point on it, would this convo even be happening if the 17-year old in question was a boy rather than girl? Even if true (oops, now I did it, this will come back to bite I predict), what is the damn take away here? Mom seeks to protect daughter and family? I don't give a rat's ass if every single blog and newspaper in the world was "speculating" on this. It still wouldn't make it clean or less ghoulish to have a million grubby fingers reaching out of the sewer like zombie ghouls for the details.

Don't get me wrong, I have rubbed my hands together with glee during other recent incidents (Senator "Wide Stance" ho ho!), but this one, I just can't do it. Sorry, insufficiently jaded I guess.

Anyway, I was able to withstand all of the horrendous garbage thrown at Clinton. Clinton, after all being a big girl, is able to take care of herself. Can't do it with this one and I throw in the towel. I'll do whatever you ask PB1.0, just please, please stop.

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Around these parts we call cucumber slices circle bites

if it didn't mean more misogyny, sexism and a desire to control women's reproductive choices. I know CD doesn't support any of that, but I cannot separate the sexism during the primary from the sexism now because it's coming from the same sources. Now, maybe it's all just politically convenient and they don't really mean to set up a system where women are constantly held to a standard that isn't applied to men, but I'm not sure that's a bug and not a feature. Sexism against any one woman hurts all of us. The sneering at Palin isn't just going to hurt Palin (and by extension McCain).

In this post-partisan world what we should be doing is looking to see how women can use this situation to better the situation for women, political parties be damned because it's quite clear that neither are particularly interested in getting rid of sexism, they're too busy using it as a political weapon. I have a post I want to do about how women can use the Palin nomination for their benefit (not by voting for her, btw) and how right now we're taking this incredibly narrow partisan view of the situation when what we should be doing is using it to make society better for women regardless of what the DNC and RNC want. There are dynamics here that can be of use to progressives and feminists if we'd lift our heads up a bit and see it. The big picture may be awful (the end of the world and all that), but it doesn't mean there aren't gains to be made even amidst the awfulness as I hope to be able to find the time to explain in the next few days, RL permitting.