It's a Fact: The DNC Couldn’t Even Wait for the Body to Cool

Photo credits: AP

Paul Krugman is right; this is definitely the year the progressive movement lost a lot of its innocence - if not the movement in its entirety, certainly a few of its long-time members. My lost innocence has to do with the jarring realization that news sources such as PBS, the Washington Post, and the NY Times and their respective pundits are liberal in every way possible except when it comes to granting equal rights and respect to women. And I’ve not even mentioned the vulgar talking heads at MSNBC and CNN.

Actually, I was more offended by comments I heard from PBS’s NewsHour cast than from the likes of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. Shouldn’t Jim Lehrer or Mark Shields have known better than to visibly display contempt week after week for the first viable woman candidate in a presidential primary?

Indeed it has been a whole week since Hillary Clinton made her concession speech, and I’m still simmering in outrage at the way she was treated by the Obama campaign, the DNC, and the media, a shameless triumvirate of good old boys that carried the less qualified, limping Obama over the finish line.

Simmering outrage aside, I actually have been looking for a viable way forward that doesn’t require swallowing the vicious strain of misogyny that erupted in our culture throughout the Democratic campaign and passively falling in line behind “Sweetie” Obama, who supposedly represents the lesser of two evils for women voters in the general election race.

Yesterday, I stumbled on Ellen Goodman’s op-ed invitingly titled, The Best Revenge: Get Even. Ellen acknowledged:

“This has not been an easy week for ardent Hillary Clinton supporters, who are being told to move on and move over to the Barack Obama camp. The woman who looked improbably energetic and strong as she bowed out last Saturday reinforced both the respect and disappointment of her core supporters.

“Mourning is not too strong a word to describe what I've been hearing in the last few days. No sooner had the speech ended than a Clinton fund-raiser received an e-mail from the Democratic National Committee asking her to raise money for Obama. She said, tersely, they didn't even wait for the body to cool.

‘“Women have had the idea of her being president in their heads for a decade or more. So the level of disappointment, anger, discouragement is that much stronger,’ said Marie Wilson of the White House Project. As Dianne Feinstein said, ‘the nerve endings have to be healed.’”

As you may have noticed, I’m one blogger whose nerve endings are still pretty raw. But I’m listening, Ellen:

“Well, fair enough. But in the early stage of the mourning process, those supporters who have been dismissively pegged as Angry White Women should take another adage from politics: Don't Get Mad, Get Even.

“This is not a revenge fantasy, especially not against Obama. I cannot imagine the core of Clinton's female supporters turning to McCain, a man who voted against equal pay, let alone abortion rights. So I'm not talking about payback; I'm talking about pay it forward. I mean ‘get even’ in a very different sense: Even the playing field, even the odds.

‘“Get Even in the Media.* Every Clinton supporter I talk to heatedly brings up the media. Women who have never let the word ‘misogyny’ slip from their lips now pair it alliteratively with media. If you have five minutes, go to the website of the Women's Media Center (womensmediacenter.com) and be aware that this is just a Whitman's Sampler.

‘“It wasn't just the ugly stuff coming out from under the rocks – ‘Life's a B - -, Don't Elect One.’ Nor was it just the sleazy shout-outs of the new boys' blogosphere. What shocked even the slur-hardened feminists was that, as Ellen Malcolm of Emily's List said, ‘it seemed to be so acceptable. And it was shameful.’ Where was the DNC's voice of protest? Where were the big feet and CEOs of the media? Why do sexist slurs get a laugh while racist slurs end careers? Getting even is, finally, shaming the media messengers.

‘“Get Even in Politics. First lady Hillary Clinton made the water safe for ‘uppity’ wives like Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama. She may well make it easier for the next woman running for the West Wing. But how different would this race have been if there were three women in the mix? Women of varied opinions and backgrounds? Women are still lagging behind in the profession of politics, and are reticent to run. For all those mourners who fear there won't be a woman in the White House in their lifetime, getting even is building - sports metaphors be damned - the farm team.

“Get Even as Voters. Until now, Democrats have taken our votes for granted. Where else would progressive women go? Democratic leaders have often seen these women as a one-issue, pro-choice group. It's not enough.

“I'm not saying that Clinton's world will be appeased by offering her the vice presidency. To some this would be a proper reward, but others would see it as only a consolation prize. More important, Obama needs to talk directly to women in this fragile, slip-sliding, backsliding economy. Getting even requires winning respect.

‘“It would break my heart,’ said Clinton, ‘if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.’ Well, I'll hold the half-full cup lightly in my hand. But let's remember how good women are supposed to be at multi-tasking. It's not so hard to root for Obama and work on leveling the field for the next women.

“Getting ‘even’ is the best revenge.”

Um, okay, Ellen. Give me a few more days, and I’ll consider rooting for Obama.

About leveling that playing field for the next woman? I officially left the Democratic party the other day and registered as an independent. Yep. Independent. It has a nice ring to it. As I’ve noted elsewhere, I no longer have any obligation whatsoever to the sexist political hacks of either party and if it appears the Dems have not yet learned that misogyny no longer cuts it, I’ll remember in November to vote present.




*Bold emphasis on subheads is my added touch.