There are, of course, some that are more interesting than others, mostly having to do with the level of dialogue they bring to the party. So what do they have to say about the Palin phenomenon?
For the fun ones, discussion tends to begin in terms of the here, rather than the hereafter. That is more my language. They tend to delight in their antagonism, knowing how antithetical they are to the conveniently monolithic “feminine mind,” which always makes for a good show. While their values may sometimes be informed by that whole god thing, the most exciting quality they all share is that they are brainy fucking bitches with smart mouths. So I’ve been curious about what lines these ladies are holding on Palin’s political persona and the McCain campaign at large, because if anybody would have something at least minimally stimulating to say, it would be them.
Unfortunately, it’s not. These are some lackluster disappointments right here.
“Dr.” Laura about being bummed over Palin as a working mother, though at least she stays consistent with her purported value system. I agree with her that highly public figures function as some sort of pitch control for the coming age, which is exactly why I’m so wildly enthusiastic for Michelle Obama.
which runs contrary to “Dr.” Laura’s take, stating,
The women’s movement, the orthodox organized women’s movement, does a very good job representing women who just want to be like men. But there are about 80% who want to be family centered. . .they don’t represent us.
Unlike “Dr.” Laura, I don’t give a fuck what the lady does, but H-S, one of the brightest of the bunch, is really grasping at straws if she’s trying to push that whole “family centered” trip that they’re trying to sell all the hayseeds. As “Dr.” Laura asks with so much pained disappointment,
“Really, what kind of role model is a woman whose fifth child was recently born with a serious issue, Down Syndrome, and then goes back to the job of Governor within days of the birth?”
I’d say a perfectly fine one, but not exactly a woman who is holding family a priority over carreer, would you? I would also argue that it’s in fact Palin who wants to be “just like men,” seeing as she has upheld policy that didn’t just ignore women, but aggressively attacked their financial, cultural, and political standing. That is, if I cared about that whole male=patriarchy=penis framework, and a woman acting “like a man” meant anything at all to me.
She also notes that Palin did not ride her husband’s coat tails. I would say congratulations, but I can’t actually think of many (ie ANY) women who rode their husband’s coattails to the promised land of professional success. Not outside of Hollywood, at least. It’s also wickedly delusional to imagine Palin’s political rise as anything but a lifeline thrown down by the GOP in a political masterstroke. Her political aspirations had not a prayer of reaching a national level, and while maybe not her husband’s (how scandalous!), it has been a fantastic ride on the coattails of one John S. McCain.
Moving on, the absurdity around Palin as a “feminist” (what’s up classic right wing hegemony) , who spins herself into some frothing, sexy tizzy over any woman who adopts a vaguely domineering s/m stance:
In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment.
Tee hee. Does make me laugh, though I have no idea why having a cunt which assumes a position of power implicitly crowns you as a feminist icon, or why being a woman is the only paperwork one needs to prove they have women’s interests at heart. A singular woman in power .
This, though, was a glorious and unexpected turn:
Hence I have always frankly admitted that abortion is murder, the extermination of the powerless by the powerful. Liberals for the most part have shrunk from facing the ethical consequences of their embrace of abortion, which results in the annihilation of concrete individuals and not just clumps of insensate tissue. The state in my view has no authority whatever to intervene in the biological processes of any woman’s body, which nature has implanted there before birth and hence before that woman’s entrance into society and citizenship.
Agree x10,000. The unpalatable truth which makes everyone squirm, and anti-choice arguments look like pristine, refined logical gemstones when held in contrast to the impossibly amorphous, “at what moment does a person become a person?” Oh, shut up, and leave the cosmic mysticism to the bible thumpers. All of our lives are as precious as a tape worm’s if the body we’re leeching off of decides that we’re unwelcome. If you’re the sort who loves Chicken Soup For the Soul, that might be too sad a truth for you to face with some humor, but for the rest of us, it only makes the present moment all the more special.
Finally, there’s the most conspicuously quiet of the whole bunch, dame Ann Coulter. Ann, who endorsed Hilary during the primaries over McCain and typically is my shining star, has been uncharacteristically shy. The best I could find was where her funniest barb accused us ugly hags of being jealous that Palins a hottie. Whatevs. She can’t be feeling threatened on an intellectual level, so it’s either residual horror over McCain, or feeling like her whole schtick has been coopted and her face would make one beauty queen too many cheerleading for the GOP. Mid century wisdom might remind you that the masculine ego is a delicate creature one must tend to with prudence and sensitive grace.
Either way, I’m unsatisfied. Gimme some action, ladies. Please.
