Speaking Out on Behalf of a Presidential Commission on Women

I just signed a petition from WomenCount urging Congress to support legislation creating a presidential commission on women that will bring together the best thinkers from all backgrounds, sectors, and political parties to impact the future of women in our nation.

In the petition’s comment box, I wrote:

The election of Barack Obama as president in 2008 demonstrated that America has come a long way in overcoming racism. However, the shadow side of the 2008 election was this: through the abuse that Hillary Clinton endured during the Democratic primary, America told the rest of the world that the oppression of women is acceptable. It will take years for our nation to live down the shamefulness of the sexism and misogyny that surfaced in our media and among our political leaders. And who knows what horrific treatment women will continue to experience in other countries due to our example.

If you’d like to learn more about the petition and sign it yourself, go here.

W.H. Council on Women and Girls: “No Full-Time Staff, No Cabinet-Level Leader And No Set Meeting Schedule”

Maybe it’s my imagination, but lately I seem to be catching a glimpse of more balanced news coverage of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The media seems to be escaping from the euphoric daze in which it has wandered from the day Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency. If I’m not mistaken, pundits and reporters alike appear to be achieving a more sober awareness of this man who, as George Will expressed it in a recent column, boasts only one qualification for the office he now holds – the campaign he ran.

After several stumbles, Obama himself may be catching on to the fact that there is a difference between governing and campaigning. In governing, you ignore at your own risk the concerted voices of an oppressed constituency.

Thanks primarily to pressure from Hilllary Clinton’s supporters in the primary who refused to accept the ugliness of that race and meekly go on with life, just yesterday Obama announced the formation of the White House Council on Women and Girls.

What’s surprising to me the day after is this straightforward and balanced account of the event provided by Politico’s Josh Gerstein. I caught not even a trace of condescension or the snarky putdown from Gerstein that usually targets Hillary and her supporters while seeking to elevate Obama.

Gerstein writes:

After Barack Obama’s election, some in the women’s movement thought big – pushing for a Cabinet-level office, or even a blue-ribbon Presidential Commission on Women.

But when Obama announced his plans Wednesday, he brushed aside those requests.

Instead, he started the White House Council on Women and Girls — a sort of inter-agency task force with no full-time staff, no Cabinet-level leader and no set meeting schedule.

Women’s advocates who filed out of his East Room announcement Wednesday said they were delighted that their issues would get White House-level attention, whatever the forum.

But Obama’s move left others in the women’s movement questioning why he simply wouldn’t give the panel the prestige and heft they feel it deserves. Some activists already are strategizing about new ways to elevate women’s issues, beyond what Obama did.

“I think it falls far short of what’s needed,” Martha Burk, a former chair of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, said about the new board. The council will be headed by two top Obama advisers, Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen.

“With all respect to Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen, both of whom are excellent folks….I think both are going to find this is one of many things they’re responsible for and I think they’ll be stretched to give it proper attention. We have told them that,” Burk said.

One group – made up primarily of women who supported Hillary Clinton over Obama in the Democratic primary – said it will go to Congress seeking a presidential commission on women. The group sent out a blast email to rally its members around the idea just hours after Obama spoke.

In addition, the Center for American Progress is joining one of Obama’s most prominent female supporters, Maria Shriver, to launch a major inquiry into the stresses facing American women.

The White House confirmed officials considered and rejected the idea of creating a presidential commission. "They looked at a variety of options but ultimately they decided to go with the council that was announced," said one official, who asked not to be named.

Read more:

BTW, an unimpressed commenter at Politico wrote this response to Gerstein’s post (emphasis mine):

Party: NA Reply #10Date: Mar. 12, 2009 - 7:57 AM EST

When an independent panel went through both McCain and Obama's campaign payrolls, the significant difference between them was that McCain paid his female staffers 1.05 average to each 1.00 for male (which i don't believe in either and I am a female, should have been equal pay for equal job)...Obama on the other hand paid his female staffers and workers .74 to each 1.00 paid to male staffers and workers (which OF COURSE I don't believe in), so my question is this...why are these women surprised that he went back on his word in this regard? If these women didn't care about the female workers and staffers on his campaign being paid 3/4 of what he was paying the male staffers doing the same job, WHY ARE THEY PRETENDING TO CARE ABOUT SOME COMMITTEE HE AGREED TO? You women out there who overlooked things like this when it came to Obama and still voted for him thinking women's issues were going to be at the forefront of his agenda (and given the current economic and foreign problems, I say why should they right now) you are a stupid bunch of females and you get what you deserve by not knowing your facts before you voted (ie the way he spoke to female reporters by calling them sweetie etc...and many, many, many more things you Obama loving women) WAKE UP!

Hillary Supporter Susie Tompkins Buell Speaks Out

Hillary Clinton and Susie Tompkins Buell at a San Francisco fundraiser in Feb. 2007. Photo from AP by Paul Sakuma.

Dedicated Hillary Clinton supporter Susie Tompkins Buell’s post today, Aug. 28, 2008 is a must-read for all of us who witnessed the sexism and misogyny endured by Sen. Clinton throughout the Democratic primary; this kind of abuse continues to find expression on left-wing web sites as recently demonstrated by the likes of Nora Ephron (Yes, women can be misogynous. Check out the repeated trashing of Hillary Clinton in Maureen Dowd’s NY Times op-ed column.)

Tomkins Buell writes:

“On June 7th, my heart was broken. The candidate of my lifetime and my dear friend Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton suspended her historic Presidential campaign.

“Over the past two months I have become the poster-child, in the press, for the so-called Hillary holdouts; Hillary Clinton supporters who were angry and frustrated with the way she was treated in the primary and post-primary and weren't ready for unity. I was frustrated at the incredible amount of misogyny in our political process and in our media. And I was embarrassed that my party, and its leadership, never came to her defense when she faced a barrage of attacks based on her gender.

“I still bear some wounds, but I've thought long and hard about the issues I support and that I believe in and Hillary has led me to understand that Senator McCain supports little of what I champion.

“The turning point for me was the Democratic Convention in Denver this week. I saw how Hillary was treated by the Obama campaign and his supporters and I saw how President Clinton was greeted as a hero in our party and our country.

“This was not an easy decision, not because I dislike Senator Obama or think he's not a good public servant, but because I so strongly believed that Hillary was the stronger candidate.

“I will never forget about Hillary and will continue to honor and support her -- Hillary's grace and commitment will always guide me and my convictions. Her campaign was a turning point in my life and in my activism. And after working many months on her campaign, there was no doubt in my mind that Hillary would provide the leadership that we needed in these daunting times.

“After eighteen months and 18 million voters, she is so much more defined, known and respected by voters across America and opinion leaders of the world. People have seen how brilliant, compassionate and dedicated she is to her country and I think we can all agree that she came into her own during this campaign. But part of losing is looking back and using your mistakes as lessons. We must never allow misogynistic attacks in the media or in our political process ever again. In May of 2008 I co-founded WomenCount (www.womencount.org), a political action committee dedicated at that time to encouraging Hillary to stay in the race and not bow out under pressure. Now we have turned WomenCount into a 527/PAC dedicated to battling the gender bias in our media and political process. I like to think of it as a Moveon.org for Women. And its most important work will serve to protect women like Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain, and Hillary Clinton from misogynistic attacks. I know that Hillary's most important work is yet to come and I know with a President Obama, her dream of Universal Health Care for all Americans will come true. Senator Obama has done the right thing; he has honored her and her policies in the way they deserve to be honored. Do I wish she were at least Vice-President? Absolutely, but that's water under the bridge. We live in dark times and we need the kind of leadership that can take on our problems head-on and I know Senators Obama and Biden will do just that. So I hope everyone will join me and Hillary in saying, NO WAY, NO HOW, NO MCCAIN.

Personally, I’m not quite there yet – I remain in the category of the undecided – but I feel vindicated to some extent by the example set by Clinton supporters like Tompkins Buell, and I’m proud to have been in their company on this long and difficult campaign journey. And I strongly support WomenCount in its new goal to fight gender bias in our media and political process.

Clinton Campaign Undaunted by Obama’s Scary Display of Hubris

After grandstanding for the press earlier this week by jumping to the questionable conclusion that President Bush had singled him out as an “appeaser” in his speech to Israel’s Knesset, Barack Obama has subsequently displayed even further evidence of a smug and scary hubris. He’s planning to celebrate his crowning as the Democratic nominee with a rally in Iowa Tuesday night, even though the Rules Committee won’t resolve the Michigan and Florida issue until May 31, and the latest polls show the race between him and Sen. Hillary Clinton is still close.

According to RealClearPolitics, the national poll average this morning shows Obama leading Clinton by only 6.8 points, just barely exceeding the margin for error. In the upcoming primaries, Obama leads in Oregon by an average of 14.3 points while Clinton leads in Kentucky by a whopping 28.8 points.

It will be interesting to see Obama taking bows onstage Tuesday night in Iowa as his adoring flock chants “Yes, we can” when word reaches the anointed one that Clinton has replicated her win in West Virginia by mopping the floor with him in Kentucky.

Clinton Supporters Count Too pointed out the other day:

“THIS IS NOT OVER…DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU IT IS AND DON'T LET YOURSELF THINK IT IS. IT IS NOT OVER. This is only one part of the Road to the White House and the candidates are statistically neck to neck. The next step is the Resolution of FL and MI and we will demonstrate in Washington on May 31st when the Rules Committee meets. Save the date. …more later. Each time we enter a new phase we will determine the most effective strategy and communicate it to you. Your part is to help make it happen throughout OH, MI, PA and FL, the critical states where we have the advantage.”

Plus, WomenCount has reported dramatic success in fundraising:

WomenCount, a new PAC formed to fund full-page ads to run this week for Hillary Clinton has received more than $170,000 in 48 hours from women all around the country. The PAC will fund ads in USA Today, the NY Times, and some regional newspapers.

You can view the ad over at TaylorMarsh.

"WomenCount PAC was created to ensure that the 51 percent of American citizens who are women have their values and votes counted in the political process.”

WomenCount Raises $170K in Two Days for HRC Ad

WomenCount, a new PAC formed to fund full-page ads to run this week for Hillary Clinton has received more than $170,000 in 48 hours from women all around the country. The PAC will fund ads in USA Today, the NY Times, and some regional newspapers.

You can view the ad over at TaylorMarsh.

"WomenCount PAC was created to ensure that the 51 percent of American citizens who are women have their values and votes counted in the political process."

Read more at Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal,