Today was primary day in my state. I got out first thing this morning and pulled the metaphorical lever for Barack Obama. It wasn't an easy choice. There's a lot to like about both Democratic candidates, and a little to dislike about either. My feminist friends over at Shakesville are a little suspicious of Obama. The see him as running an antifeminist campaign. That is, they think that he is running against Clinton as a woman, instead of as a person. Which he may be. That may even be smart politics. But we don't have to like it.
I, in any case, will be perfectly happy to vote for whoever the Dems nominate. I'd like to see an Obama/Clinton ticket, in pretty much either order. Mostly, I'll be happy to see the end of the current administration, which I think is criminally incompetent.
Friday Fragments
5 years ago
3 comments:
AMEN TO THE END OF THE BUSH FIASCO. I AM SOLIDLY FOR MS. CLINTON. (WHO WON OUR STATES PRIMARY B T W) I WILL HOWEVER VOTE FOR WHICHEVER DEMOCRAT WINS THE NOMINATION. ANOTHER FOUR YEARS OF REPUBLICAN POLICIES WOULD BE A NATIONAL DISASTER OF UNBELEIVABLE PROPORTIONS.
I'll be voting for Obama on March 4th! I think that claiming his campaign is anti-feminist is like claiming that anyone against him is racist. People need to choose candidates based on their merits- not gender or race. Of course, I will also be thrilled to have anyone but Bush in the White House next year!
To clarify: They aren't accusing Obama of being anti-feminist simply for running against Clinton. They are accusing him of being anti-feminist in his words and actions. One that sticks in my mind is a quote (I'd look for it, but I'm too lazy) something to the effect of when she gets stressed, "the claws come out." Some of the people at Shakesville feel, and I agree, that Obama would not have used that language against a male opponent. He would have said something like "the gloves come off."
We can debate whether or not that's seriously loaded language. And we can try to determine whether it was just a slip (of the kind I might make) or a deliberate appeal to sexism. It's unarguably less offensive than a lot of stuff pouring out of the nut jobs on the far right.
In any case, it didn't upset me enough to cause me not to vote for him. Whether that makes me a bad feminist or not, well, you can decide.
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