McCain's camp is now claiming the Saturday Night Live skit in which Tina Fey played Sarah Palin, was sexist. Mind you, Palin herself has already publicly said she thought it was funny. Did anyone remind John McCain that SNL isn't news or political punditry? Was he crying sexism over Baba Wawa way back when, or was he laughing along with the rest of us? My guess is he was laughing.
What happens the first time a world leader from a less-than-friendly country starts attacking or criticizing Palin? Is the secret service going to rush to her side and call them sexist? Ya know, McCain's camp needs to let her grow a pair if they expect her to stand up there with the big boys. Hmmm, sound familiar? That's because it's essentially what the republicans said, in response to accusations of sexism towards Hillary during the primaries. How soon they forget.
Did you hear the one today about Biden? Out on the stump he recently said, "I assume she thinks and agrees with the same policies that George Bush and John McCain think," Biden added. "And that's obviously a backward step for women." The women on The View today were discussing it and agreeing it may have had a sexist tone.
What is WRONG with people? If I disagree with Palin's policies, policies that I truly believe are a step backwards for women, it isn't sexist for me to say so just because she's a woman! If she weren't on the ticket, if it were just McCain's policies I were criticizing I would say the same thing... and I HAVE, before she even entered the picture. Overturning Roe vs. Wade and subsequently invading the privacy of women, by scouring through their medical records to enforce a pro-life law that takes away their choice, is SURELY a step backwards for women... at least for those of us that are pro-choice. It doesn't make me a sexist for thinking or saying it, it just makes me disagreeable to the platform in which republicans stand.
What's ironic about the republicans cry of sexism at every turn (whether true or not) is that most of us realize how politically calculated the choice of Palin as VP was, and that in-and-of-itself contained at least a little bit of sexism. How's that you ask? Imagine a bunch of old white guys sitting around a table deciding who McCain's running mate should be. Names fly around, mostly ultra-conservatives to pander to the extreme right, "the base". Sarah Palin's name comes up and there's all kinds of discussion about how they can tap into some of the Hillary vote, for the sole reason that she is a woman. Assuming it's even just a tiny bit true, it's an insult to women everywhere, an underestimating of our intelligence, and certainly a bit sexist to think we'll go right down to the voting booth and pull the lever for Palin solely because she shares our anatomy.
And another thing to consider... all these cries of sexism by McCain's camp to the media and critics, isn't the mere defense of her, the assumption she can't stick up for herself, sexist itself?
The closest thing I've heard to what some considered truly sexist criticism may have been in response to her kids -- her troubled teen and special-needs infant -- and I honestly believe that to be more a criticism of her parenting. At least for me and probably several hundred family therapists, it equally applies to a male counterpart in the identical situation. Ask yourself what the republicans would be saying if Obama had a pregnant teenage daughter and a five-month old with downs syndrome. Lets not even get into the fact that she stands for abstinence-only education while her pregnant 17-year-old stood on stage with her as an example of how that may not be the best policy for the rest of us.
Let me spell it out... If I say she can't do the job because she's a woman, that's sexist. If I make statements that she slept her way to the top or that she'll get votes because she's hot (even though I've heard republicans say it), that's sexist. If I say she belongs at home pushing out more babies and ironing her husband's shirts, not in the whitehouse, that's sexist. I've yet to hear any political criticism in the main-stream media that includes ANY of these statements, or anything even in the same league.
If I say she's a religious fanatic, NOT SEXIST.
If I criticize her policies, NOT SEXIST.
If I share my belief that her policies have a negative impact on women, NOT SEXIST.
If I believe she lacks experience, NOT SEXIST.
If I question her intelligence on what comes out of her mouth, NOT SEXIST.
If I criticize her inability to tell the truth, NOT SEXIST.
I can even call her a bitch and it's NOT SEXIST. Why? Because if she had a penis I'd likely call her a dick, prick or bastard.
And, I'm entitled to just not like her without you calling me sexist! My dislike of her can (and does) come from a lot more places than what's hidden under her bra and panties.
With comedians, all bets are off. Just like David Letterman makes Bush look like the king of the idiots quite often, he's going to do it with Sarah Palin too. Get used to it.
By the way, should republicans choose to continue to believe that every bit of criticism about Palin is sexist they ought be careful. By their rules, every bit of criticism about Obama must, in fact, be racist.
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