Palin, Clinton, and sexism 101
All right, boys and girls, gather round and listen up. It is time for me once again to take up my mantle as iconoclastic feminist annoyer in chief and rain on everybody's Palin-is-the-AntiChrist parade. It is truly a sad day when I am forced to defend the Republican vice presidential candidate.
So let's look at the facts, shall we?
1) We have three branches of government in this country - judicial, legislative, and executive. These exist on the local, state, and national levels. Senator Obama has been in the legislative branch on the state and national level. Senator Biden has also been in the legislative branch of government on the national level. So has Senator McCain. Governor Palin has served in the legislative branch on the local level, and in the executive branch on the local and state level.
a) Obama and his running mate Biden and McCain and his running mate Palin are running for office in the executive branch of government on the national level.
b) Therefore, I find the claims that Governor Palin, who has served in the executive branch of government for 16 years, is inexperienced to be specious (at best.) None of the other candidates has executive experience.
2) Obama appointed Biden, a man, as his vice president. McCain appointed Palin, a woman, as his vice president. Obama has not been called sexist for appointing a man. McCain has been called sexist for appointing a woman. Do I really need to explain what is wrong with this picture? Oh, wait, I guess I do. Shit.
a) Men make up half the population of this country. Women make up half the population of this country. Historically, men have made up 100% of the major party presidential candidates. To me, this either indicates discrimination or an indication that men are just inherently better at being President. As a feminist, I reject the latter.
b) However, I believe that there are those in this country who believe women should not be President. First, because I've seen and heard that view expressly stated; second, the attacks on Senator Clinton (the first woman to win a presidential primary), a candidate to the left of Democrat Obama, and Governor Palin (the second woman in the history of this country to run for vice president on a major party ticket), a cadidate to the right of Republican McCain, are remarkably similar. "She will destroy this country! I don't have a problem with women candidates, I just think this woman candidate is truly evil."
c) The reasoning behind calling McCain sexist for appointing a woman goes something like this: McCain only appointed Palin because she is a woman. He wants the special interest group "women" to vote for him because he thinks a woman is qualified to be vice president. Any woman who votes for McCain must have fallen victim to his manipulation. Therefore, McCain thinks women are stupid, and any woman who votes for McCain is therefore stupid. If McCain wins the election, it will be the fault of women.
The problems I have with this argument: 1) Women, as half the population, should not be reduced to a "special interest group" whose needs are diametrically opposed to those of "Americans." 2) Palin brings a lot to the Republican ticket - her experience in the executive branch of government, the right wing of her party, her pro-drilling stance, etc. 3) Palin seems to bring more to McCain than Biden does to Obama. Did Obama appoint Biden simply because he's a man? Biden does appeal to the white man vote, a demographic Obama needs to win the election. Why isn't that question asked more often? In other words, why is it all right to use Palin's gender against her, and not Biden's gender against him?
3) Doesn't defending Palin mean that I agree with everything she says? Hardly. I can denounce sexism against Palin and still disagree with her on the issues. That's what it means to be in a democracy. There is a difference between legitmate attacks on a candidate, regardless of gender, and sexist attacks on a woman with the audacity to run for office. Allow me to elucidate.
a) Sexist comments -
Any negative mention of Palin's gender whatsoever. This can range from "Women should not be in politics" to "the only reason McCain picked her is that she's a woman."
Any mention of her children, positive or negative. I've heard many people say, "She should be home taking care of her kids rather than running for office." No one says that about Obama. She's not running for mother of the year. She's running for vice president.
Any mention of her appearance, positive or negative. Whether claiming that her hairstyle shows that she knows nothing of current events or calling her the most fuckable VP candidate in history, it diminishes her as a political candidate on the same level as male candidates.
b) Legitimate criticisms - the best way to do this is to pretend that Palin is a man. Attack "him" the way you would any other male candidate. And there is a lot to criticize about Palin:
She is a creationist.
She is under an ethics investigation.
She has an abysmal record on the environment.
She is pro-life.
She is from the religious right wing of the Republican Party.
She is a hawk.
She is pro-gun.
See? That wasn't so hard. There are plenty of reasons not to vote for a McCain/Palin ticket. I just don't believe gender is one of them.
So let's look at the facts, shall we?
1) We have three branches of government in this country - judicial, legislative, and executive. These exist on the local, state, and national levels. Senator Obama has been in the legislative branch on the state and national level. Senator Biden has also been in the legislative branch of government on the national level. So has Senator McCain. Governor Palin has served in the legislative branch on the local level, and in the executive branch on the local and state level.
a) Obama and his running mate Biden and McCain and his running mate Palin are running for office in the executive branch of government on the national level.
b) Therefore, I find the claims that Governor Palin, who has served in the executive branch of government for 16 years, is inexperienced to be specious (at best.) None of the other candidates has executive experience.
2) Obama appointed Biden, a man, as his vice president. McCain appointed Palin, a woman, as his vice president. Obama has not been called sexist for appointing a man. McCain has been called sexist for appointing a woman. Do I really need to explain what is wrong with this picture? Oh, wait, I guess I do. Shit.
a) Men make up half the population of this country. Women make up half the population of this country. Historically, men have made up 100% of the major party presidential candidates. To me, this either indicates discrimination or an indication that men are just inherently better at being President. As a feminist, I reject the latter.
b) However, I believe that there are those in this country who believe women should not be President. First, because I've seen and heard that view expressly stated; second, the attacks on Senator Clinton (the first woman to win a presidential primary), a candidate to the left of Democrat Obama, and Governor Palin (the second woman in the history of this country to run for vice president on a major party ticket), a cadidate to the right of Republican McCain, are remarkably similar. "She will destroy this country! I don't have a problem with women candidates, I just think this woman candidate is truly evil."
c) The reasoning behind calling McCain sexist for appointing a woman goes something like this: McCain only appointed Palin because she is a woman. He wants the special interest group "women" to vote for him because he thinks a woman is qualified to be vice president. Any woman who votes for McCain must have fallen victim to his manipulation. Therefore, McCain thinks women are stupid, and any woman who votes for McCain is therefore stupid. If McCain wins the election, it will be the fault of women.
The problems I have with this argument: 1) Women, as half the population, should not be reduced to a "special interest group" whose needs are diametrically opposed to those of "Americans." 2) Palin brings a lot to the Republican ticket - her experience in the executive branch of government, the right wing of her party, her pro-drilling stance, etc. 3) Palin seems to bring more to McCain than Biden does to Obama. Did Obama appoint Biden simply because he's a man? Biden does appeal to the white man vote, a demographic Obama needs to win the election. Why isn't that question asked more often? In other words, why is it all right to use Palin's gender against her, and not Biden's gender against him?
3) Doesn't defending Palin mean that I agree with everything she says? Hardly. I can denounce sexism against Palin and still disagree with her on the issues. That's what it means to be in a democracy. There is a difference between legitmate attacks on a candidate, regardless of gender, and sexist attacks on a woman with the audacity to run for office. Allow me to elucidate.
a) Sexist comments -
Any negative mention of Palin's gender whatsoever. This can range from "Women should not be in politics" to "the only reason McCain picked her is that she's a woman."
Any mention of her children, positive or negative. I've heard many people say, "She should be home taking care of her kids rather than running for office." No one says that about Obama. She's not running for mother of the year. She's running for vice president.
Any mention of her appearance, positive or negative. Whether claiming that her hairstyle shows that she knows nothing of current events or calling her the most fuckable VP candidate in history, it diminishes her as a political candidate on the same level as male candidates.
b) Legitimate criticisms - the best way to do this is to pretend that Palin is a man. Attack "him" the way you would any other male candidate. And there is a lot to criticize about Palin:
She is a creationist.
She is under an ethics investigation.
She has an abysmal record on the environment.
She is pro-life.
She is from the religious right wing of the Republican Party.
She is a hawk.
She is pro-gun.
See? That wasn't so hard. There are plenty of reasons not to vote for a McCain/Palin ticket. I just don't believe gender is one of them.