I have been a Democrat all my life. I have never voted for any candidate other than a Democrat. I want to explain why I will not be able to vote for Senator Obama if he is the nominee, my pain and anger about it. I know many, many women, and men, are feeling the same way. I hope reasonable Obama supporters will try to understand and work to quell the increasingly hostile language of a certain throng of Obama supporters who threaten violence or subversive actions if Senator Clinton wins the nomination.


I have a lot of pain over what has happened in this nomination contest, personal pain as a woman, because of the sexism that has come out like so much poison, and infected it from the beginning, while racism is confronted and not tolerated.

The sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton are attacks on all women. So much of it has been waged by supposedly liberal, Democrats. It has been so vile that it has affected this contest most unfairly, skewed it. For these reasons, which affect my own personal self respect as well, I can now not vote for the Democratic candidate if it is not Hillary Clinton. This makes my very angry and upset.

If Barack Obama is the nominee, I will be forced to abstain, or write in Hillary's name, when I would've wanted to vote for him, the first black nominee. Because of the unfairness of this contest, the unabated sexism, that opportunity has been taken away from me.


In the beginning, I gave money to both Obama and Hillary campaigns. I was ecstatic to see our party have both a woman and black person running for president. Then, the sexist attacks started, as well as the campaign to paint Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton as racists. As a liberal and loyal Democrat I was shocked and appalled. The machinations of the mostly male leadership of this party to favor Senator Obama and attempt to skew the contest in his favor made me ill. It is not true liberal or Democratic politics. I have been forced to see that is not what Senator Obama or his campaign represents.

The Obma campaign has been retrograde. It has hurt women and the Democratic party support of equality for ALL. It has led the way for an all out battle against women, in OUR Democrat party. I cannot accept or support it. I cannot have my head shoved to the table and forced to sign away my own dignity as a woman just to elect a Democrat.


This reality is that the Obama campaign has not been about equality for all, but about equality between men. The message and style of his campaign is retrograde, with a contemporary polish. His beliefs and experiences are not grounded in the causes of the 60's and 70's, or "invested in them", as he himself has admitted (Reno Gazette interview). His message is positive but vague, positively vague, repeating the words and ideals of 60's leaders while being oddly dismissive of them. He speaks in modern religious tones, his personal politics built largely upon his experiences with Rev. Wright and Trinity Church, rather than with longtime black civil rights leaders who actually knew and worked with Martin Luther King.

Most AA churches aren't like Wright's, and most blacks aren't paranoid like Wright. Those longtime leaders who knew MLK are not like Rev. Wright. They see the real systemic oppression of black people without believing the government invented AIDS. Most largely black churches are more like LA AME, Christian, gospel, and yes political, but not paranoid. The black men supporting Obama like Sharpton, Jackson, those who were close TO MLK, etc..., aren't Trinity goers whose politics are based in African Nationalism or Afro Centrism. They aren't really Farrakhan fans, just like they weren't early Malcom X fans. They aren't anti-American.

They don't really believe Bill Clinton is racist, he is a friend and ally of theirs. Jesse Jackson told the media that Bill's remark about him winning SC wasn't racist, but the Obama campaign ignored that, and so too the media....and Jackson wasn't going to be all that loud about it.

These elder black men who were with MLK and really ARE, have been, the leaders of the black American political movement, support Obama because he's a young black man they see as their first real hope of attaining the White House and parity with white MEN. I don't think it matters to them as much who Obama is or that he is not really of their generation or understands their struggle in the civil rights movement, the 60's & 70's, MLK.

I think what they have in common is that they are black MEN first, and have a need for parity with white MEN. Those aspects that the Million Man March is built on is what they relate to, not a Muslim identification, but an identification with the idea of black men asserting their masculinity and role as head of the family as a pathway to equality.

A LOT of black men have immense anger at feeling EMASCULATED by racism, that they are put on the same level as WOMEN by being oppressed by white men. That is why they have no problem with the sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton and women in the Dem party, and have even joined in, as with Jeese Jackson accusing Hillary of fake crying. They pressure black women to identify as black people, family, first and put their womanhood second, if at all. That is what the Million Man March and Obama attitude is about.

I dislike the words and personality, image of Michelle Obama because again, it is RETROGRADE. She represents a step backwards as a role model for black women and all women. She shows up on magazine covers with a 1950's Jackie Kennedy styling, hair like Anita Bryant, pearls and pumps. She's only missing the pillbox hat. Her first slam at Hillary that "if you can't take care of your own house, you can't be in the White House" were blatant clue words to women, especially black women, that a woman's first duty is to her man, her family, her place in the home and raising the kids, and that THIS is the foundation of good American society. She is like a modern day Phyllis Shlafely in that regard. Her attack on Hillary was cruel, self important, woman to woman sexist hostility. There's nothing I hate worse than women blaming and shaming other women for having a husband who's fooled around. When women feel important from some notion of moral superiority as 'good women", who keep their man and family together by being 'proper' women, or insinuating that their husband would never have an affair because they know their place as a wife, it doesn't help the womens movement.

A large group of supporters of Obamas campaign appear to like this aspect of the 'American Dream", keeping the male dominated model, but feeling they are liberal because they fight racism. They want to keep the house and home model with women in their roles, but still FEEL they are progressive.

This is not liberalism, it is only liberal to a point, that point being the stop you get off right before the one that says "Equality for Women". People who subscribe to or accept this are not the progressives of the left, they are the CONSERVATIVE wing of the left.

They love the idea of Michelle Obama being a LADY, the First Lady...they don't want to lose the First LADY. They want a man as president, not "that b*tch, that "unlikable" woman.

There are plenty of black people who see this stuff and don't like it....and they are being attacked as disloyal black Americans, everyone from Tavis Smiley to Maya Angelou to Maxine Waters...HEROES of the black community before this mess.

The tragic part of this campaign is how it has caused great division in not only the liberal community, but also the black community, and among some liberal women.


Yet, it has been inevitable. The sexism that has lay hidden in the underbelly of 'progressive' politics and the Democratic party was bound to come out when this contest came about.

I am most angry at Obama and his supporters who've encouraged the blatant sexism, the embracing of the desire for MALE equality, while throwing women ,the Democratic party block, into the trash. That's why Obama has courted other male votes outside the party. That's why FOX and the RW have taken it up as if THEY are the ones who see the sexism and are 'against' it (all of a sudden!). It's all political manipulation. It the RW can help along Dem or IN women and supportive men to see what is happening by oddly covering the sexism in our party and 'liberal' media bias, well, they can always revert to their own BS after Obama loses.

This election was an opportunity for Obama, for Democrats, to TRULY support the elimination of both racism and sexism, but he and the party leadership who's supported him chose only men. Hillary talks about everyone's rights, makes a point of it because it's what she believes in...but Obama almost never speaks about women. Women's rights aren't even on his website as an 'issue'. The Democratic party leadership hasn't said one stinking word about it, or confronted the media about it. No, they've VIOLATED our party platform of working for equal rights for women and hosted the whole affair! Come on in boys, the water is FINE.

I am so gladdened to see all the men who support Hillary and women' equality, the men who have been changing things. I appreciate it so much. I don't think I've had quite so many emotional moments than seeing the fathers with their daughters at Hillary rallies, husbands supporting their wives, mothers, brothers supporting their sisters.......each other. It gives me hope that it will be reality, eventually, good will prevail.

The most enlightened liberal men and women will prevail.

I gave Obama money at the start, and was stabbed in the back, just like the mostly male leadership of the Democratic party have stabbed women in the back. They have betrayed women and men who support women's equality, and encouraged a new generation of young men to ignore what we've achieved and be as hostile and sexist as ever before.

Shame on them, and shame on those token opportunistic women behind them.

They want to be the 'new' Democratic party, by stepping all over our "old" achievements, stepping all over women, and doing things like trying to denigrate and toss out one of our own beloved past presidents and most peaceful, prosperous times in history. What fools.

If this is to be the new Democratic party, they are going to find their numbers greatly decreased.


Early on, these words from Senator Obama greatly disappointed me, and showed to me that he is out of touch, and not of our future.


Barack Obama: "I didn't come of age in the battles of the 60's. I'm not as invested in them." Reno Gazette, January 20th, 2008

Question: When can you insult a presidential candidate beyond belief, call them a b*tch, a C.*.N.T., a witch, a monster, a F*cking wh*ore? Answer: When she's a woman.

...when the hatred of women is still so bad, so embedded in our world that there are plenty of BIGOTS to go around and shove it in women's faces.

The big surprise is how it's been exposed in 'liberal' politics. Yes, It's a regular HATE fest out there, and on boards like this.

The anti-woman hatred on this site is so bad, so vile, so vicious, it's threatening. The administrators let it go, show their bias. There are more than few of the most hateful, misogynistic men lurking around here that it's scary...yet they are allowed to stay, post sexist vile attacks, harass people, especially women they like to go after as sport.

This hatred is coming from some Obama supporters who plainly hate women, can't stand women speaking up about sexism and how women are abused....while pretending to be wonderful 'liberal' people who fight racism.

Maybe they are, and maybe they STILL hate women.

they object to racism but not sexism, because one includes MEN, and the other obviously doesn't.



This 'election" has shown in broad daylight the bigoted, sickening hatred of women that exists within this 'liberal' world and party.

Women have been shown in no uncertain terms how much we are reviled by many so called 'liberals'.

Women, who are the backbone of the Democratic party.

Women who will leave this party, or not be able to vote for any candidate but Hillary after being treated like dirt....because to do so would feel like accepting that abuse, being humiliated.

This has not been a fair race. That is why women are talking about writing in Hillary if she's not the nominee.

It is ludicrous to claim that Senator Obama and black people have been attacked and disparaged by their own party or 'liberals' like women have. It is documented and obvious that he has been favored while the most vile sexism is slung at Hillary, the latest incident
being called a f*cking wh*re by Randi Rhodes.

And people here, enough people here, think that's just great, just funny.

They say "Get out Hillary!" Shut up, sit down, get out of the way, you @#$#%^%## wh*re, C.U.N.T., b*tch monster.

What if I were to write the equivalent of this virulent scum about a person of color, I'd be in the graveyard.

IMAGINE IT, SHALL WE?


The people who do this, have done this, have cost us all. This could've been an opportunity to lift everyone up, including women, but no, that was too much to ask of these closet bigots, or blind fools who've followed.

They are the HATERS. They are the BIGOTED. They are the PROBLEM.

They are the cancer on the world.

They are the reason women and girls are beaten and raped while men laugh, whether it's in America in a brothel or home, or in Darfur or Japan or ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE.

You know who you are.

HILLARY CLINTON, IN CHINA, DETAILS ABUSE OF WOMEN

By PATRICK E. TYLER
Published: September 6, 1995

Speaking more forcefully on human rights than any American dignitary has on Chinese soil, Hillary Rodham Clinton catalogued a devastating litany of abuse that has afflicted women around the world today and criticized China for seeking to limit free and open discussion of women's issues here.

"It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights," Mrs. Clinton told the Fourth World Conference on Women assembled here.

"It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls," Mrs. Clinton said, or "when women and girls are sold into slavery or prostitution for human greed.

"It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small" she continued, or "when thousands of women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war."

-snip-

Addressing the full conference in the afternoon, Mrs. Clinton expanded on a theme that Pakistan's Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, raised on Monday when she told the delegates that violence against women thrives when there is a "crisis of silence and acquiescence."

As Mrs. Clinton recited her litany from the podium, many delegates applauded, some cheered and others pounded the tables.

Continuing with references to domestic violence, genital mutilation, coercive abortions and sterilizations, Mrs. Clinton told the delegates from more than 180 countries, "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all."

-snip-

"I think she spoke from the heart and she spoke with great power," Ms. Maloney said.

-snip-



http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...

Morning News Dispatch

March 22, 2008

New Mexico:

Governor Bill Richardson refused early yesterday to abide the call by the Obama campaign for super delegates to pledge their votes in accordance with the wishes of the voters they represent.

Richardson, who represents the people of New Mexico, rejected that idea in a surprising move and pledged his support to Senator Obama rather than Senator Clinton, who was chosen by voters in his state.

The Obama camp accepted Richardson's support after issuing a statement that it was a special circumstance which would be honored just this one time. When asked about Senator Kennedy's support, the phone line went dead and the campaign has not returned reporters calls.

Asked to comment on his surprising decision, Richardson had no explanation other than expressing a desire to leave New Mexico and move to Washington DC, where he said the grass was greener and the Rose Garden had no cactus or sagebrush, which he'd "grown tired of" scratching his legs and cluttering up the backyard of his Albuquerque ranch style home. He said he would also like to live in a big place where he could order anything he wanted to eat at any hour.

Link to :

from Lancasteronline.com/ Intelligencer Journal

March 19th, 2008


Fourteen-year-old Carolyn Westphal arrived bundled up, her furry hood drawn tight against the cold wind that whipped around outside Millersville University's Pucillo Gymnasium.

Carolyn was just one of many young women who attended the event hoping to see the candidate who could become the nation's first female president.

"I like her because she's very outspoken," Carolyn said as she and her mother waited for the doors to open. "I like what she has to say about health care, but I would also like to learn about some of the other things she supports."

-snip-

Like many other young women at Tuesday's event, Carolyn noted the historical significance of Clinton's candidacy and her role as the first viable female contender for the Oval Office.

"It's exciting," she said. "From that perspective, this is a really important election. I just wish I could vote."

-snip-

Millersville University students Shannon Bartman and Samantha Goldfarb said they believe this election is a huge step for women. They said they feel privileged to be a part of history.

"It's empowering," Bartman, 21, said. "Many of the world powers have had women in charge, and it's about time the United States has one too."

Bartman said she has been a fan of Hillary Clinton since she was the first lady and supported her during her first campaign for a seat in the U.S. Senate. She said she strongly supports Clinton's stand on health care, specifically her plans to make health care available for young people just out of college.

While Goldfarb, 19, identified herself as a supporter of Barack Obama, she said she has a lot of respect for Clinton.

"The whole thing has been amazing," Goldfarb said. "It's refreshing to see a strong, intelligent woman stand up and speak her mind and be taken seriously."


-snip-

Rachel Freeman, 11, who also attended the town meeting, said she didn't know a lot about Hillary Clinton, but thought she would make a good president.

"I think it's really neat that she's a woman and she has a good chance of winning," Rachel said as she stood in line with her father, Mark, and brother, Bennett, 9.


http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/...

Why has the media highlighted Rev. Wright saying "God Damn America", but NOT his remarks that Hillary Clinton doesn't know what it is like to be called a name, a slur, or be treated as a "non-person"?

Because his remarks are boldly, offensively, off-the-charts sexist; filled with so much AUDACIOUS DENIAL that sexism even exists, that the media, in relation to it's own sexist abuse of Hillary, rather enjoys it, and the pardoning from the good Reverend at his pulpit, if you will.

Rev. Wright said, in his 'sermon' (LA Times, link below);

-snip-


"Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single-parent home -- Barack was," Wright said in the Christmas sermon, delivered from the pulpit at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.

"Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people. Hillary! Hillary can never know that. Hillary ain't never been called a nigger! Hillary has never had her people defined as non-person."

-snip-


I wonder how many black women cringed inside a bit at his remarks?

Women don't know what it's like to be called names?

HILLARY has never been called a name, a sexist slur?

How many women are there who have not known the pain of being called the B word (and not in 'fun'), the C word, the W word, asked 'how much", or told where our place is?

How many women HAVE NOT felt defined as 'less than', inferior, subservient, "non-people" in this man's world, even if they 'graciously' accept the idea as natural or ordained?

How many religions are there are on this planet that DO NOT claim woman must submit to man, claim she is subservient to him as commanded by GOD himself?

That is a question few people address with frankness or clarity, certainly not the media.

But Rev. Wright's 'sermon' goes well beyond that. He denies that WHITE women don't know suffering.

His attack on Hillary Clinton is oppressive to all women, but it is meant to be especially oppressive to black women. He lies to black women that white women don't know pain, that we live in some Camelot where 'our' men never mistreat us or call us names. He encourages black women to believe their suffering stems from racism alone. He encourages them to believe that racist/sexist abuse they experience from white men is only due to racism, that white men only abuse women of color. He encourages them to believe that the abuse they experience from black men stems from their being 'emasculated' by white men, and shamed by being placed supposedly below white women. He lies to black women that all their suffering would end with the destruction of racism alone, and the advancement of black men into sharing a plane of equality with white men. His intent is to DIVIDE BLACK & WHITE WOMEN, for the benefit of black men, and all men, by stereotyping white women and shaming black women who dare to feel anything in common with them.

We watch again as the media lets it slide by, without questioning Senator Obama why he has associated with Rev. Wright, chosen him to be his spiritual mentor/advisor, for so long, some twenty years, (his current 'denoucement' not withstanding). We watch as the media does this and continues their campaign against Hillary Clinton.




ttp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la...

No, it's not a new word coined by Colbert..., apparently, it's GEORGE BUSH!


A cockalorum is a 'self important little man'.....(a Lil' Bush?

My hubby found it in the dictionary last night and started laughing his a*s off. He insists full credit, and I happily oblige.


If you agree, K & R to start a new trend, a new title for the little big man, as in

"That guy is a real cockalorum!"



I love Scrabble, but hadn't heard of this one.

I like it.

Sounds dirty, but it's not! (It refers to a rooster.)


FUN!


Addendum: A newer dictionary says "A little man with an UNDULY HIGH OPINION OF HIMSELF." "Boastful talk, braggadocio". EVEN BETTER!

Most Memorable Moments:

* Talking with Paul Krugman and wondering if I was boring him until I realized he was sea-sick and about to hurl.

* Watching a group of AirA folks enjoy listening to themselves so much while telling the piano player he should be a liberal that they didn't hear him say "Actually, I'm more of a SADIST!"

* My 50 years old hubby and I feeling like the youngest people aboard and roaming the eerily vacant bowls of the disco at 10:30 pm.

* Laughing at said hubby's joke that 'this young people's contingent for Obama was really annoying.'

* Mark Green, station mgr, driving us Hillary people to stay in the bar after cranking up the Obama machine in the very 1st meeting. Thank you Mark! Whooo-HoooooooOOO!

* In the nick of time, realizing I was lucky, like a kid let out of school, because I got to CRUISE and have fun instead of paying thousands of dollars that I really didn't have anyway to sit in stupid seminars while the world floated by on rolling sunlit waves.

* Laughing my ass off after Mark Green asked the group in CIA fashion for the NAME of THE WOMAN who asked for a Hillary Supporters meeting, instead of just announcing the meeting like we asked (THE WOMAN being my husband, a man, myself and another couple from CA)

* My very same ass flying off the seat of a Zodiac as we were raced to catch up with an excursion because the hosts gave us the wrong time and all the AirA people missed the boat.

* Meeting Randi Rhodes who was gorgeous and told me I was gorgeous.

* Meeting Thom Hartman's wife Louise, who was so incredibly nice.

* Watching my hubby sing 'Werewolves of London' and hearing crickets when he got to the "little old lady got mutilated late last night' part (not an older couples crowd pleaser).

* Getting my picture with Paul Krugman before he left to get sick.

* Room Service.

I have found this disingenuous from the beginning. His message over and over is 'change', clearly aimed at Hillary being Hillary CLINTON, ie: just say no to dynasty ....as people like to say....

I also think it disrespectful, unbecoming and arrogant that he continually compares himself to JFK, MLK, FDR.

FDR believed in mandates; government to serve the people, such as Social Security, or universal health care!

JFK was a thoughtful and experienced leader, who was quite clear about what he stood for and wanted to do, where Obama is vague.


Neither does it make him sound like a strong leader when he does this. He doesn't come across as someone who stands on their own when making such comparisons, or uttering phrases like "Ted Kennedy says I'll have universal health care" (or something extremely close to this, I don't have a transcript. It's just burned into my memory).


Ted Kennedy says so? Well, it must be true! The claim that his plan will somehow be universal has never been answered, and is false, as noted by EVERY analysis I've read. He admittedly doesn't cover everyone, so how exactly is it universal?

This is an example where his words are just WORDS.

but for a candidate I like, agree with and she is a woman? OF COURSE. I want equal representation!

How can we have equality without equal representation?