The past decade has been filled with unspeakable horrors against women played out on the world stage. From Bill Clinton's permanently meandering libidinal apparatus to Sharia rape laws that punish the victim for having the poor taste to bring her genitalia with her in public, there's been enough going on to keep feminists screaming at the tops of their lungs 24/7.
From the first "ZIP" heard in Clinton's Oval Office to the war against terrorists who would keep women partying like it's 1599, the silence from American feminists has been overwhelming. Surely those who have dedicated their lives to advancing the cause of women would have something to say about the American military enabling Afghan girls to go to school again or the fact that Saddam Hussein's rape rooms no longer exist.
Maybe you can understand how the deafening silence led me to believe that feminism was dead.
I was wrong.
Today's New York Times has managed to dig up Gloria Steinem and give her a gig on the Opinion page. Ms. Steinem complains that Mrs. Clinton is being judged unfairly because of her sex.
Writing as if she spends her time cryogenically frozen in 1968, Steinem asks "why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one?" This during an election where the Democratic front-runners consist of an African American male and two women (Mrs. Clinton and John Edwards). Oh, let's not forget that Barack Obama's most prominent and powerful wealthy supporter is Oprah Winfrey who, by all accounts Gloria, is an African American female. If someone were to get Ms. Steinem an Internet connection or a newspaper subscription she could also find out that the current Speaker of the House can wear women's clothing without being described as a fetishist.
You see, G, the problem with Hillary Clinton is, well, Hillary Clinton. The almost hourly repackaging of Hillary's message right now reminds me of an old article in The Onion about a guy who keeps blaming his hangovers on everything but consuming too much alcohol. Neither of the Clintons has a real gift for looking inward during times of trouble. It's always the fault of somebody else.
Hillary wants to present herself as a bold new choice so who does she trot out? Madelyn Albright, Gloria Steinem, Paul Begala and James Carville. They couldn't have looked more old school if they'd brought FDR in riding on a mastodon. Voters see this sham for what it is and act accordingly, which is what the Clintons don't understand. It's not because she's a woman, it's because she is, and always has been, a phony.
I understand the confusion of long time Clinton supporters right now. The Bill and Hill Show has been jerking this country around and lying to it with great effectiveness for almost two decades. The Republicans never found a way to counter it. Barack Obama has finally found a way by doing something completely foreign to Hillary: he's being genuine. True, he has absolutely nothing to say but at least he's himself while he's not saying it.
If Ms. Steinem were to take a bold leap into the 21st Century she'd find that much of her hard work paid off. Hillary Clinton is actually being judged on merit.
That's why the whole thing is falling apart.
Cross posted at Grizzly Groundswell and Real Clear Politics (VOTE for it!)
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