Tammy Bruce: Ferraro Speaks Out About Palin

Ferraro Speaks Out About Palin

One of Ferraro's Time covers in 1984.

In an interview with the Times of London, Ferraro speaks bluntly about the media's continued sexism in coverage of Gov. Palin.

Geraldine Ferraro accuses media over 'sexist' scrutiny of Sarah Palin

Ms Ferraro remains angry at the “sexist treatment” of Mrs Clinton by the media. “In New Hampshire, someone put up a sign saying ‘Iron My Shirt’. Nobody spoke out. Imagine if Hillary’s supporters had said [to Obama] ‘Shine my shoes’. Everybody would quite rightly have been jumping on it. Women in politics should not be treated better than men, just fairly.”

So would Mrs Palin be facing questions about her newborn baby or how she deals with her pregnant teenage daughter if she was a man? “Definitely not,” replied Ms Ferraro. “Most men get round it by giving that parenting job to their wives.” She also said that the Republican vice-presidential nominee – as an antiabortion conservative, liberated without preaching women’s liberation – was cutting across some of the entrenched positions in America’s culture wars.

Issues such as how a largely liberal media dealt with a Republican woman were, said Ms Ferraro, among those that needed to be studied properly once the election was over.

I also remain intrigued by the fact that Ms. Ferraro still refuses to divulge for whom she's voting. Here's how she put it to the Times when they asked:

Ms Ferraro, 73, told The Times: “I had been hoping I wouldn’t be the last,” even though – as a lifelong Democrat – “it would be astounding if I did not end up voting for the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket.”

Yes, it would, and as we've seen a lot of astounding things happen these days :)

UPDATE:

Some have sent me notes that on Hannity & Colmes just yesterday she apparently says she will be voting for the Obama/Biden ticket. Considering in interviews conducted on the same day, including the one I've linked to here, she is non-commital about for whom she's voting, a better analysis would be that she's still ambivalent. For a party leader (as she should be seen) it must be a difficult time. Heck, it took me 10 years to finally leave the party after I resigned from NOW and knew the Dems were in trouble then. I registered as a Decline-to-State only this past February.

That said, don't be surprised when you hear Ms. Ferraro issue more ambivalent statements about for whom she's voting, or more likely, she will say nothing at all. I do think Ms. Ferraro's vote is very much up in the air. At the same time, I would think odds are she'll vote for Obama/Biden. I would hope she would reach for her more daring self and have the courage to vote for McCain/Palin.

Posted by Tammy · September 6, 2008 11:27 AM · Permalink
Authentic Feminism | Politics

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Astounding? Not as astonishing as the Democratic VP candidate from 2000 speaking at the Republican convention.

Posted by: lnbee at September 6, 2008 12:06 PM

I'll say there's a 20% chance Ferraro publicly endorses McCain-Palin, but about a 50% chance she votes for them.

Posted by: Dave J at September 6, 2008 12:33 PM

I don't know where the Hillary people are going to go. I thought I knew til this morning. I crawled out of bed at 7am to catch the subway over for the last day of the AARP convention where Obama was scheduled to speak (live via satellite) at 8:30am. He's a star with little to say. I stayed til the 12:30 live via satellite of McCain. McCain mentioned his VP from Alaska and few people clapped (so I tried to make up for them). The woman in front of me said she was a Hillary supporter who didn't know who to vote for. She didn't like Palin because she should be at home caring for her kids, not a group of nannies. My jaw dropped; I asked her if she knew Hillary didn't raise Chelsea. I told her I couldn't believe how Hillary was treated by the Obama people and by the Democrat party during the primaries. We had a long conversation but I still came away wondering who these Hillary people are.

The Geraldine Ferraro mystery is not hers alone. They understand the press sexism, they understand the Obama dismissals, they understand the Kennedy-Soros party casting Hillary aside - and they understand what was done to them and are angry. But it is the entrenched positions mentioned in the Times of London interview from which Tammy quotes above, that have the "old feminists" unable to get over or around. How can a young woman born to the freedom we got her, "liberated without preaching woman's liberation", as Ferraro says, hold these conservative positions, be speaking out of the feminist order? Yet, this is exactly what we strove to achieve, isn't it? To allow each person the right to choose their own destiny.

It will have to be to the issues that each of us will use to decide who gets our vote. I don't think Ferraro will vote out of expectation. And it will be that loyalty, so exemplified by Hillary at the Convention, that they will soon find Obama stomping over, as he moves to accomplish things outside the party loyalty that got him to the top.

I'm a registered Democrat who stepped out of the loyalty when Clinton stole the 1992 primary from Gore. And, I've voted Republican ever since. And I will on Nov 4th as well.

I hope Geraldine Ferraro and that woman this morning catch on before they too get thrown to that awfully crowded ground under Obama's bus.

Posted by: KatieSilverSpring at September 6, 2008 02:02 PM

Ferraro just recently told Alan Colmes that she would in fact be voting for Obama. She said that her concerns about Obama and foreign policy were alleviated by his choice of Biden for VP. sheeeeesh. This woman seems smarter than this. Why can't she just bring herself to vote for the Palin-McCain ticket?

Posted by: shkoder14 at September 6, 2008 02:27 PM

The more I see Governor Sarah Palin, the more I think of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Yes, that Senator McCarthy.
For having dared to expose actual Soviet spies operating at high levels in the US government - McCarthy was attacked, villified. demonized, and finally destroyed by the left.
Now, for having dared to run for high office in the Republican party - Palin is being attacked, villified, and demonized by the same kind of leftists.
The difference now is that the Republicans and Conservatives are shooting back.

And yes, McCarthy was right. If you don't believe me, read Ann Coulter. Look up Venona.

Posted by: John H Schneider II at September 6, 2008 03:01 PM

Just like I said in a previous thread:

Sarah Palin, win or lose, has become the face of the post-feminist American woman.

Tammy sees it, but then, The Tammy, through her program and written works was kinda the point woman for post-feminist America.

Quick question for Tammy, who's sorry NOW? :)

They tried to throw Tammy under the bus, but Tammy busted their axels!

Follow up question: Victory lap now or with VP-Elect Palin on Nov. 6?

Posted by: RagingBullmoose at September 6, 2008 04:24 PM

There's more....that "moderate" Mort Kondracke called Sarah Palin a Right wing Nut Job today in his segment of the Belt Way Boys...I was really Pissed...So it's a good indicator that I must be now committed to the McCain ticket like I was not before McCain chose her (Palin)...that's a good sign for me...I was worried that I'd cut and run as soon as McCain launches his inevitable statement and secret promise to La Raza to make some crazy concession to Amnesty-lite or some such...not trying to spoil a good feeling but I'll deal with it....Palin makes the medicine go down better.....

Posted by: whitney at September 6, 2008 05:00 PM

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