Sen. Debbie Stabenow on Hillary and Women's History

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) wrote this wonderful piece for the blog on HillaryClinton.com. Read it here.  As for my blog from Texas - it's coming very soon.  I had an amazing time.

A Kudo

Sharon got this email from field organizer Bob McDaniel, who volunteered in Tacoma for a few days before the rally and caucus and was very helpful. We wanted to share it with you because it was so sweet. Bob said:

"I measure our activists out here in Ohio using the South Sound yardstick and they all come up woefully short on energy and organizational muscle. Congratulations on the primary win. Methinks if they are going to give ‘em trouble seating the FL and MI delegations, maybe they should unseat the WA caucus delegates and send ones based on the the WA primary as the true representatives of your fine state.

Thanks so much for your dedication and resolve on behalf of HRC. It made this tired old organizer so happy he could cry."

So thank you all for your amazing energy and commitment! You made a field organizer cry! :)

Hillary and Obama debate: the SNL take

We all need some laughs, so take a moment to enjoy this video, Saturday Night Live's take on what happens when Obama answers questions posed by the adoring media.

Maybe I was the only one, but when I watched Senator Obama refuse to reject Louis Farrakhan's support last night, then laugh at Hillary when she pointed this out, then pretend that the issue was all semantics and play the point for comedy to the audience, I thought: this is not a man I want as my president. Obama is smart enough to understand Hillary's distinction between denouncing someone's beliefs (and how could a Democratic nominee not denounce anti-Semitism and racism?) and outright rejecting that person's support for your campaign. Sometimes an ideology is vicious enough that only the strongest possible language - free from equivocation and waffling - is what's needed to reject any association with it once and for all. Instead of being presidential, Obama acted as if the exchange was just an opportunity for a cheap debating point. That really got my goat!

Robin Morgan: "Goodbye to All That 2"

In 1970, writer and activist Robin Morgan wrote "Goodbye to All That," a famous feminist screed. Today, outraged by the double standard applied to Hillary as opposed to all male politicians, she has written "Goodbye to All That No. 2." You can read it here. Here's the first paragraph:

"During my decades in civil-rights, anti-war, and contemporary women’s movements, I’ve avoided writing another specific “Goodbye . . .” But not since the suffrage struggle have two communities—joint conscience-keepers of this country—been so set in competition, as the contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama unfurls."

Thanks to Kathy Hayes and several others for sending us this article!

Guest Blog: The roller-coaster ride of supporting Hillary

I posted a link to our media petition in my last blog. Here is an article by local resident Mary Magee on the subject. The link to the petition is at the bottom of the article.

"I support Hillary Clinton in her run for President. I believe in her candidacy because I’m a woman, a baby boomer, and an admirer of the Clintons and the service they have given this country so far. Supporting Hillary has been a roller-coaster ride, especially since October. Media coverage of her, in all its forms has been disappointing.
With rare exceptions, nothing Hillary does is treated in the media as anything but suspect. If she’s tough, she’s called inaccessible. If she’s emotional, she’s weak or phony. If she gives nuanced answers, she’s incompetent, or worse.
The MSNBC debate on October 30, “07 made me furious as I saw newsmen, Tim Russert, Brian Williams and Chris Matthews, lead the charge against Hillary. The “moderators” were in attack mode. (And no, they don’t do this to both parties equally. If you want evidence, go to www.dailyhowler.com and look at Bob Somerby’s archives for 11/2/07).
More upsetting was the fact that John Edwards, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama followed MSNBC’s lead and went after her, painting her as untrustworthy. A charge taken right out of the opposition’s play book. It’s a trend that has continued in subsequent debates.
I should add that MSNBC reporters Williams, Russert, and Matthews, were hand-picked by Jack Welch, a conservative media mogul who supports Bush, and expects his journalists to attack Democratic frontrunners. They ridiculed Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. We’re all living with the consequences.
Predictably, there was a media frenzy after the October debate, most of it anti-Hillary. Kathleen Parker of the Orlando Sentinel had three columns published within eight days, all mocking Hillary and accompanied by demeaning cartoons.
In the November 15, ’07 Nevada CNN debate, Hillary fought back and I was elated, until I read two columns by Maureen Dowd from the New York Times. On November 16, ’07 she wrote, “(Hillary) may hope that we’re all evolving into a kingdom of queen bees and their male slaves.” On November 18, ’07 she referred to Hillary as a “dominatrix,” who cracks the whip at “Obambi.”
I’m sure these sexist and racist remarks were encouraged by her friend, Chris Matthews, himself a major misogynist. I kept wondering where our other women columnists like Ellen Goodman and Tad Bartimus had gone.
As the right-leaning media ridiculed Hillary, those on the left passed her by. Progressive talk radio touted Edwards and Obama, especially host Ed Schultz, a kind of liberal Rush Limbaugh. Big Eddie, as he likes to call himself, twists everything Hillary says or does, than is enraged when she doesn’t come on his show.
In the midst of the fray, a ray of light came from an amazing person. On November 19, ’07 Leonard Pitts, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Miami Herald wrote a response to the McCain supporter’s horrible comment, “How do we beat the b….?” Pitts, an African-American pointed out that sexist slurs are no more acceptable than racial slurs. A rare acknowledgement that sexism is playing a heretofore unmentioned role in the campaign. His point was recently reinforced by Gloria Steinem in her January 8, ’07, New York Times article.
Iowa’s results were upsetting, but Hillary’s debate performance just before the New Hampshire primary was awesome. Her win there surprised all the pundits. As I savored the post-election coverage, I switched from CNN to MSNBC and watched Chris Matthews and Tim Russert squirm while Keith Olberman applauded Hillary for her win.
I respect Hillary because she rebounds in spite of the discrimination she faces. She keeps fighting for what she believes. We should all have that much courage."
Reach Mary Magee at marymagee@harbornet.com

Here is the link to the petition:
http://stage.citizenspeak.org/node/1224

Let's speak up for Hillary and for ourselves

Hillary Clinton supporters aren't always as vocal as the Obama supporters. Let's make our voices heard! Here are two petitions that you should sign right now to let your support for Hillary be heard by the people that matter.

First, go to http://www.petitiononline.com/waforhrc/petition.html to let Senators Murray and Cantwell know that you want them to stick with Hillary. They are getting tons of email and calls from Obama supporters right now asking them to change their minds. You should also go to www.cantwell.com and www.pattymurray.com, click "contact us" and tell the Senators - via phone or email - to stick with Hillary!

Second, we all know the media has been shamefully biased in favor of Obama and against Hillary. Go to http://stage.citizenspeak.org/node/1224, fill in the form, add your own comment, and click Send. The letter asking for balanced media coverage, plus your name and comment, will be sent to 25 influential journalists, including Wolf Blitzer and Brian Williams.

This isn't over till it's over, and we can make a difference!