The Political Voices of Women

Here is a guest post from community member Marcia G. Yerman, who also blogs at The Huffington Post.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

While I was trying to make it through Wednesday’s lipstick news cycle, I had to wonder if everyone else was suffering from amnesia.

Doesn’t anyone remember when John McCain made an ugly “joke” (that most newspapers wouldn’t print) about Hillary Clinton, Janet Reno, and Chelsea Clinton?

Or the sterling moment when the candidate chose not to chastise a supporter when she asked him about his potential Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, saying, “How do we beat the bitch?”

Perhaps McCain set the bar for civility and respect back in 1992, when he was on the campaign trail.

In his book, The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don’t Trust Him and Why Independ…, Cliff Schecter reported on an incident between McCain and his wife Cindy. In response to a comment she made about his thinning hair, he retorted, “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt.”

Somehow, I don’t think he will speak to Sarah Palin that way.

Here is a guest post by community member Moi, she also blogs at Bloggg.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Ooh That Smell…

Obama is getting my Hold The Nose vote. I’m sure he won’t care if I’m holding my nose or not. And it’s not because I drank the Kool Aid – I just feel the gun at my head.

Many people I know are mad at me. Oh, well, they will have more stress than I will. Lambert at Corrente says I can still be a PUMA anyway, lol. YES, I know how much vile BS Obama spewed during the primary. The media treatment was just as abhorrent to me as it was to them. I used to really like Olbermann; now I can’t stand the sight of him. The sexism has really sunk in, and the men did it to themselves. In the end, however, there are more reasons Not to vote Republican than Not to vote Democrat, or not to vote at all. And no, I won’t include the SCOTUS or Roe v. Wade, because I think they should not be part of it, either.

If you are a Dem, and vote for McCain, then maybe I could say You have fallen for the Republican Kool Aid. It has always made me wonder, the people who started this movement, are they really Republicans in stealth, who have set out to do this ON PURPOSE to split up the Democratic Party? And not just for PUMA itself, but for a lot of the bloggers that banded together early with PUMA? If that’s true, then the Republicans have succeeded. So far. Meaning we ALL drank the Kool Aid.

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Here is a guest post from community member Marcella Peralta Simon – Are Democrats Getting What They Deserve?

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

In the interests of full disclosure, I am a lifelong Democrat, having licked stamps for Johnson in 1964 as a tot, voting the first time for Jimmy Carter in 1976.

I watched the Hillary-Obama contest from the distant vantage point of Australia. I became increasingly disturbed by the dismissive, angry comments attacking Hillary and the Clintons by the press and bloggers. Equally disturbing was the near worship of Obama as a kind of political messiah. Nothing is scarier than someone with a messianic complex and I became worried. (I am just as scared by a “maverick” who takes risks and is hated by his own party).

Hillary has plenty of baggage but she also has substance and experience. But Democratic voters chose style over substance, the rock star over the school marm. In a culture obsessed by celebrity, this is not surprising.

As I came to understand Obama, I began to appreciate and admire him as a savvy, smart politician, much in the same vein as Bill Clinton. I feel comfortable with a good politician to solve problems that require policy interventions as one would want a good plumber to fix leaky pipes, not tear them up and leave the mess for the next generation to clean up.

However, now you see a new rock star, Sarah Palin, also light on resume and heavy on charisma brought in to counteract Obama. They both are inspirational speakers, come from relatively humble beginnings, and rose up through the ranks of local politics. Granted, Obama is better educated and more worldly, but when did America care so much about that?

The Republicans brought Sarah Palin in very cynically because they knew that people who have been put on pedestals can fall off with a slight nudge. And the Democrats by nominating Obama have left themselves wide open for such a tactic.

If the actual policies of John McCain and Sarah Palin aren’t enough to convince you, that if elected they will be 4-8 more years of George Bush, maybe this will.  McCain and Palin are proving, that they have learned from the Bush administration, that truth is not as important as perception.

So…Even if you’re o.k. with four more years of a Bush economy.

Even if you’re o.k. with four more years of Bush healthcare (crisis) policy.

Even if you’re o.k. with four more years of Bush foreign policy and the Iraq war.

Even if you’re o.k. with four more years of Bush corporate welfare.

Even if you’re o.k. with skyrocketing gas prices.

Even if you’re o.k. with eroding women’s rights.

Even if the last eight years of the Bush administration have served you well…How do you feel about four more years of lies and deception?  Are you o.k. with that?  Just in case you are not o.k. with that, you should know how much lying and deception has been going on in the last ten days.

McCain and Palin are not just more of the same Bush policies, they are more of the same Bush deceptions.  Is this really what you want for the next four years?  If not, here are some ways to fact-check the McCain/Palin ticket.

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 We have a tendency to think that the idea of women running for President of the United States is something new.  Surprisingly it is not.  Women were running for the highest office in the land even before they were allowed to vote.   Since the year 1870 approximately 303 women (world-wide) have won for the presidency or head of state of their countries.  43 have won their elections.  During that time frame the following women have run for POTUS.  Thus far, none have even made it to the national ticket.  Only Geraldine Farerro and Sarah Palin have made it to a national ticket, as VP’s.  When you consider the rest of the world, the United States is far, far behind the curve when it comes to women running for the head of state – and winning.

The big question should be:  Why?

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I am happy to announce that this weekend, our Political Voices of Women Community has surpassed 100 members.  Our growing community is a mix of political opinions and affiliations, from liberal to conservative, and everything in between.  [see community here]

The Political Voices of Women (main site), began as a list of 100 women political bloggers.  In less than a year, that list has grown to well over 500 (see list here).  We now have a growing community, and have recently added twelve contributing editors…

• Kay B. Day
• Sarah Granger
• Tami Winfrey Harris
• Pamela Lyn
• Patricia Murphy
• PunditMom
• SJ Reidhead
• Suzanne Reisman
• Janet Shan
• Dana Tuszke
• Tracy Viselli
• Jill Miller Zimon

In addition to our regular contributors, we also have many guest bloggers each week.  The Political Voices of Women is becoming a powerhouse of women political bloggers.

Our community members can contribute posts to our blog, and often these posts are used as guest posts on the primary site.  Here are some of our most active community members…

• Penny Ronning – The NonSilent Majority
• Deb Della Piana – Turn Left Hypocrisy.com
• Emily D – Political Artwork
• Marcia G. Yerman – The Huffington Post
• Anita S. Lane -Unconventional Politics
• Card-carrying Buddhist – No Blood For Hubris
• Just Wondering – Vim and Vinegar
• Nancy Hill – Build Peace
• Carol Gee – South by Southwest
• Zaftig Redhead -The Zaftig Redhead
• Doris Anne Bearlieu – Life’s Ultimate Test
• Emily Kronenberger -  New Wave Grrrl

Members can comment on posts, start and participate in forum discussions, promote their personal blogs, upload videos and images, make new friends, and more.  Our main site is open to both men and women, but our community is strictly women…I think the all women aspect of our community promotes “real” and “honest” discussion, without the need for visoral and personal attacks.  Even though we often disagree within the community, we also want to promote a safe place for these disagreements, so respectful disagreement is what you will find here.

If you are a woman who blogs (or would like to blog) about politics, I hope you will consider joining our community.

[cross-posted at BlogHer Health and Wellness]

A new report is out about insurance and health care, and it’s not good. If you think the cost of health care is high now, just wait…It’s going to get even higher. Who would have thought that you could have insurance, and still not be able to afford healthcare? How is that possible? Only in America.

A few weeks ago I posted about the rising cost of prescription drugs, now it’s copays and premiums that will be increasing. Even people who have insurance and prescription drug plans, still can’t afford their medications. I thought insurance was suppose to “insure” we have quality and affordable health care? Not so much.

The United States spends more of its income on health care than any nation on earth, nearly $6,000 per person per year, more than 15 percent of our total income. In contrast, the countries of the European Monetary Union spend about $2,500 per person per year, less than 10 percent of their income.

The United States is very rich and we spend the most in the world on health care. We have a right to expect more for our money than a life expectancy outcome that places us thirtieth in the world, behind Singapore, Chile, and Costa Rica as well as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and every Western European nation.

Our health care system certainly delivers innovations in pharmaceutical and other technologies. It leads the world in Nobel Prizes for medicine and physiology. But it does not deliver medical care equitably to all Americans. Those who can pay have access to the best health care in the world. Those with good insurance plans—a decreasing fraction of the population—get good, life-extending health care. The rest must make do. And the result is that enough people fall through the cracks to place us at the bottom of the rich country life expectancy tables.

Here is some of what other women bloggers are saying about the rising cost of health care.

From Green LA Girl…

Our health care system’s so fucked up that people are getting married — and considering divorce! — simply due to health insurance issues. In the NY Times: “For today’s couples, “in sickness and in health” may seem less a lover’s troth than an actuarial contract. They marry for better or worse, for richer or poorer, for co-pays and deductibles.”

From MOMocrats…

• Under McCain’s Plan, Health Insurance Benefits Would be Taxed For The First Time, Resulting In A $3.6 Trillion Tax Increase On Working Families. McCain’s health care plan would eliminate the payroll deduction on health care benefits, which would have the effect of raising taxes on working families by $3.6 trillion. [New York Times, 5/1/08]
• The Health Care Tax Credit McCain Offers Would Cover Less Than Half The Cost Of An Average Health Care Plan. The McCain health plan would give families a $5,000 tax credit to purchase health insurance. However, in 2007, the average family health insurance plan cost $12,000 – more than double the value of McCain’s health care tax credit. [“Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/11/07; “‘Call To Action’ On Health Care Reform,” John McCain 2008 press release, 4/29/08; Wall Street Journal, 10/11/07]

From Just Random‘s presidential wish list…

Universal Health Care (or at least affordable health care) – Why is the United States the only modernized country with out some form of universal health care? I know an argument could be made for the U.S. having the best health care, but why can’t we have both, come on some one smarter than me make it happen. Every child in this country should have access to health care.

From Christian Liberal’s Weblog…

Whatever the case, it’s surprising that so many self-professed Christians, and especially the evangelical type, are so eager to maul, mangle and manipulate those words, those lessons, so that it comes out as “every man for himself”, which of course is the exact opposite of the meaning and spirit of those teachings.

They’ll use phrases like “self-determination” or “market forces”, but it’s really just code words for “you’re on your own” and “don’t expect any help from me.” Likewise, they will use negative words to describe the concept. It’s been found that a majority of Americans favors universal healthcare, but if you change the language to “socialized medicine” the approval rating drops below 50%. And the greed-oriented apologists are quite expert at word-smithing.

The point is, any good-hearted Christian would not begrudge the care given to a needy neighbor.

Are you having trouble affording health care? Are you hoping if Obama is elected, things might get a little better? Are you worried, that if McCain is elected, things will get worse? Let me know what you think in comments.

The following is a video clip of the advice GOP Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin had for Senator Hillary Clinton during the Democratic Presidential Primary Race.

url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA15XU23kEc

related article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/29/palin-hillary-clintons-wh_n_122504.html

Hopefully, Sarah Palin will take her own advice.

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From community member Veronica Arreola, who blogs at Moms With Issues…

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

It was the tweet heard around the world. Sarah Palin is John McCain’s pick for his running mate. Ah, sweet irony.

Palin is now the second woman to ever be chosen for the vice-presidential position on a major party ticket. This is a major milestone for women in this country. It was a generation ago, 1984, that Geraldine Ferraro was the running mate for Walter Mondale. The college students I work with on a daily basis weren’t even born then. Think about that.

That said, I think that Palin may be the best thing for feminism since Alice Paul went on a hunger strike. Stay with me…

It is obvious to many women that the decision to pick Palin is a direct ploy to woo still angry Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters. For some of those HRC supporters McCain is far too conservative for them to really vote for and the addition of a NRA-supporting, abstinence-only toting, polar bear-hating woman to the ticket isn’t going to sway them. Yet, the GOP is playing Palin as if she is the answer to disgruntled feminists.

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Here is a guest post by community member Moi from Blogg.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Sigh.

This is not really about the Hillary supporters. That’s a big cover. McCain did this for the cash from the Religious Right – he had no choice. They don’t really think we will vote for Palin-via-McCain because Palin is a woman. Think Republican for once… They think Hillary Clinton supporters are stupid for other reasons, and any Democrat who votes for them and doesn’t agree with their policies will prove them right.

There are a lot of reasons NOT to want this woman in that office. That she wouldn’t be ready to run the country and pro-life views does not even scratch the surface.

Palin is one of the Religious Right (aka RR); because of the way churches and religious organizations have treated my son, I am totally averse to organized religion of any sort. Don’t even get me started on her baby with Downs – and she wants to be the VP and be totally away from it????? Being a mom of a 16 year old with autism, I know the deal. And yes, I have heard the rumors about the parentage of that Downs baby, but let’s give her the benefit of the doubt and say it is hers, since she and her husband are supposedly raising it.

It is one thing to be a mother and work. I know what it’s like to have a special needs child and work full time. But I don’t – because my son needs me to be home to advocate for him. I read once that raising one special needs child can take the time of raising 10 neurotypical (NT) kids. They say that when you have two NT kids, you have 4 times the work. Does that mean Palin then has at least 30 times the work of parents of five NT children? That she has no interest in foreign policy, or even experience with other countries, and accepted this nomination, and of course while having a baby (a baby, not an older child, no less) with Downs at home, is the sign of a person with an ego the size of Kansas that has no business taking on the welfare of an entire country. In addition, it shows she has no clue about special needs children, and what hers is going to need. I cannot see how she can really value the presidency, or have any grasp of the concept. And I cannot begin to describe what this says about McCain’s judgment in picking her. But I digress…..

BO gave a very good speech on Thursday night. I am not a BO fan, so that is a lot for me to say about him. The whole situation was so powerful, with the Parthenon/Lincoln Memorial and the pyrotechnics, etc., that McCain knew if he picked milquetoast Romney or Pawlenty, he’d lose in November. He needed a big boom. So he had to do something drastic, and via Palin the RR gave him the push over the cliff.

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