Living the Caricature
So, that brilliant SNL skit with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin is sexist according to the McCain campaign. Seriously, that's what their spokesperson Carly Fiorina is saying on all the cable talk shows currently:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26743182/
I want you to pay special attention to this particular quote: "“The portrait was very dismissive of the substance of Sarah Palin, and so in that sense, they were defining Hillary Clinton as very substantive, and Sarah Palin as totally superficial,” McCain adviser Carly Fiorina told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Monday. “I think that continues the line of argument that is disrespectful in the extreme, and yes I would say sexist.”"
Get that? An assessment of Sarah Palin's policy positions that finds them to be lacking in substance is sexism. At first I figured that they were just playing the victim card as aggressively as possible knowing that even if it backfires it keeps the news off real issues. Any day the Republicans can keep the conversation on ridiculous crap instead of substantive analysis of their record is a good day for them. Still, the more I think about it and the more I see the various Republican talking heads spinning these ridiculous claims of sexism I can't help but think that this is something deeper.
For years figures on the right have created this caricature of the feminist movement, a convenient straw man that they can beat up on. In that caricature feminists are all reactionary victims who spend their time combing the airwaves looking for things to get angry about. Now that they are attempting to embrace feminism in order to defend their very poor VP pick suddenly they end up personifying the very thing they have railed against for so many years. I can't help but think that there is a connection here. That after so many years spewing this bullshit they actually believe their own lies. It's like their strategists said, 'Ok, we have to be more like feminists now, we know JUST how to do that!'
I can't help but think that this is going to come back to bite them on the ass.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26743182/
I want you to pay special attention to this particular quote: "“The portrait was very dismissive of the substance of Sarah Palin, and so in that sense, they were defining Hillary Clinton as very substantive, and Sarah Palin as totally superficial,” McCain adviser Carly Fiorina told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Monday. “I think that continues the line of argument that is disrespectful in the extreme, and yes I would say sexist.”"
Get that? An assessment of Sarah Palin's policy positions that finds them to be lacking in substance is sexism. At first I figured that they were just playing the victim card as aggressively as possible knowing that even if it backfires it keeps the news off real issues. Any day the Republicans can keep the conversation on ridiculous crap instead of substantive analysis of their record is a good day for them. Still, the more I think about it and the more I see the various Republican talking heads spinning these ridiculous claims of sexism I can't help but think that this is something deeper.
For years figures on the right have created this caricature of the feminist movement, a convenient straw man that they can beat up on. In that caricature feminists are all reactionary victims who spend their time combing the airwaves looking for things to get angry about. Now that they are attempting to embrace feminism in order to defend their very poor VP pick suddenly they end up personifying the very thing they have railed against for so many years. I can't help but think that there is a connection here. That after so many years spewing this bullshit they actually believe their own lies. It's like their strategists said, 'Ok, we have to be more like feminists now, we know JUST how to do that!'
I can't help but think that this is going to come back to bite them on the ass.