Classless
By Mitch Berg
As the Twin Cities’ best feminist, I get a little queasy when I see some of what passes for “feminism” these days.
The most notable thing about this campaign, of course, is that it inevitably pits two key “identity politics” camps against (in this case) an older white guy – but, first, against each other.
And, to some – the WaPo’s reliably shallow and shrill Linda Hirschman, in this case – there’s just no getting past the identity politics:
Maria Shriver sure has great hair. Stepping up to the microphone at a girl-power rally in Los Angeles on Feb. 3, California‘s first lady tossed her tawny tresses with authority and instructed Golden State women to vote for Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary on Super Tuesday. So urgent was the matter, she said, that she had come to the rally “straight from my daughter’s riding lesson.”
Two days later, working-class California women, many of whom can’t even afford to give their daughters health care, much less riding lessons, ignored Shriver’s mane-shaking advice and voted for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by a margin of 2 to 1, even as many of their better-off sisters fell into lockstep with the Kennedy heiress.
And there we have one of the most puzzling conundrums of the 2008 Democratic contests. Black voters of all socioeconomic classes are voting for the black candidate. Men are voting for the male candidate regardless of race or class. But even though this is also a year with the first major female presidential candidate, women are split every way they can be. They’re the only voting bloc not voting their bloc.
The simple reason, of course, is that America is not a nation of blocs.
Well, that’s not true. America has tons of blocs. 80% of active-duty military, most married women with children, white married males with kids, engineers, Cuban-Americans, Southerners and Westerners, businesspeople and evangelicals vote Republican. Most teachers, union members, unmarried women, drug dealers and professors vote Democrat.
What do those “blocs” have in common?
Well, as opposed to “women” and “black Americans”, they’re matters of choice. One chooses to be each of those things (even “Cuban-American”; the status started and continues with a choice).
For the Clinton campaign, this is devastating. A year ago, chief strategist Mark Penn proclaimed that the double-X factor was going to catapult his candidate all the way to the White House.
At the time, I figured Mark Penn was an idiot. Apropos nothing much.
Instead, the women’s vote has fragmented. The only conclusion: American women still aren’t strategic enough to form a meaningful political movement directed at taking power. Will they ever be?
If “women” (womyn?) want to marginalize “themselves”, “they” should feel free.
Hirschman seems bedeviled by the notion that woman are people, not X-chromosome-seeking vote-bots:
I can imagine the strategists for the senator from Illinois thinking, “What’s that song in Verdi‘s ‘Rigoletto’?” Women are fickle.
Turns out it’s true.
From the moment the primary season began, the group “women” divided along racial lines. Black women have backed Obama by more than 78 percent. But even after subtracting that group, white women (including Hispanics) are still the single largest demographic in the party, at 44 percent. If they voted as a bloc, it would take only a little help from any other bloc to elect the female candidate. White women favor Clinton. So why is she trailing as the contest heads to Ohio and Texas?
The answer is class. As of Feb. 19, the day of the Wisconsin primary, ABC pollster Gary Langer found that white women with a college degree had favored Clinton in the primaries by 13 percent up to that point. Among less educated women, meanwhile, she commanded a robust 38-point lead. But each passing week since Super Tuesday has seen a further erosion in support for the senator from New York among the educated classes. In Wisconsin, she won a minority of college-educated women. And unless there’s some sort of miracle turnaround in Ohio and Texas, this is what may cost her the Democratic nomination.
In other words, drat the luck, women – even Tic women – aren’t votebots!
For the chattering classes – and there is no chatter-ier columnist in American than Linda Hirschman – “women’s politics” all starts with abortion, extends through “swag”, and ends…well…
This isn’t the class divide I would have predicted a year ago. Among women, the obvious thing would be for lower-income, non-college-educated white and black women to line up behind the candidate with the more generous social platform. Both Clinton and Obama have generous platforms, but Clinton’s health-care plan is more ambitious, and she was the first to propose mandatory paid family leave (which mostly women take).
But Hirschman can’t resist the snooty (emphasis):
But women, black and white, stubbornly refuse to behave according to a strict model of economic self-interest. Black women of all income levels have gone for Obama.
Even before Wisconsin, a plurality of elite white women split off from their poorer counterparts to vote for Obama. So did many of their opinion leaders — Shriver and her Kennedy cousin Caroline, and powerful female governors including Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.
And to Hirschman, it’s just unconscionable that women would think (or, given Obama’s dearth of considered policy, “think”) beyond their chromosomes:
So many feminists’ turn to solidarity with their own class is a surprise.
Because, Linda Hirschman, for women who you’d probably not call “elite” – and men, for that matter, too – it’s the pocketbook, stupid.
I’d tell you to read the whole thing, but all that’d do is get you depressed.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Actually Flash reminds of the kid (I think everyone knew one) who would never play by the rules or admit he lost.
“I tagged you, you’re out.”
“No, I’m not because I have super double secret protection which means I can’t be out. You’re the one who’s out because I called opposites…”
March 4th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Flash-
Since you have all of the facts and info (and Mitch refuses to bust them loose) maybe you can tell me how scaifenet communicates with Mitch. I think I know how MM does it. They have editorial meetings, they issue emails with suggested topics to their paid bloggers, and I imagine that there is some feedback mechanism to let the bloggers know if they are or are not doing a good job for their employer.
Does Mitch get his instructions via email? one-use cell phones with data encryption? Blind drops?
March 4th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
“reminds of the kid”
Than you are the kids that all gang up on the smart boy cause you don’t want anyone else to find out the truth. Why else would you all be so defensive.
Fish in a barrel is what you are.
Let me guess, you all agree that Mitch is the greatest feminist too. Thought so.
Do they pass out PomPoms at the Cheerleading school Sheesh!
“”even though every witness to this thread””
In the super Secret Soros meeting I told everyone that I could handle this on my own. They know they don’t need to worry about SitD anymore.
“how scaifenet communicates ”
These rudimentary questions is only further proof people don;t even read what is written they wait for what to say from someone else I guess.
TownHall, you know, Scaifes Net Child, as in ScaifeNet. You mean NARN doesn’t have their podcasts there anymore and they don’t broadcast on The Patriot owned by RichardScaife’s Net Child TownHall’s new owner Salem. Let me look . . . yeap, there it is, nice logo onthe front page next to Strom. Oh, and their own special page (http://www.townhall.com/talkradio/Show.aspx?RadioShowId=7) yeap, cool . . . must be imagining it . . . . See folks, I like to deal in factual reality, you rath deal in sensory misperception.
Flash
March 4th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Than you are the kids that all gang up on the smart boy cause you don’t want anyone else to find out the truth. Why else would you all be so defensive.
If your going to claim to be smart use proper punctuation in the post where you make that claim.
Hey! I bet you think Hillary & Obama are smart too!
How come you lie all the time? Don’t get defensive, now. We all know what that proves.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
The “Flash Book of Medicine” clearly states:
“The hip bone’s connected to the, head bone; the head bone’s connected to the, foot bone; the foot bone’s connected to the, wrist bone; the wrist bone’s connected to the, Scaife bone; the Scaife bone’s connected to the, ScaifeNet; the ScaifeNet’s connected to, what I call my logic; my logic’s connected to. . . well, certainly nothing that can be defined by any rational mind, but my understanding is it’s loosely connected to the Peev bone, with a cartilage connection to the Nick Coleman ear drum. Look, it’s really tough to explain, but suffice it to say, the end result looks like Quato from “Total Recall.”
March 5th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Ease up on Flash. He’s trying to act like Angryclown in AC’s absence.
What can I say? It takes years of practice.
Not, like, minutes.
March 5th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Congratulations Flash. You have everyone hooked…except me of course.
For the rest of you, listen up. THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T “DISCUSS” ANYTHING WITH MOONBATS! THEY HAVE NOTHING TO SAY!
Flash is barfing up the Sorosphere’s sour stomach at having been thouroughly outed. They have zero credability. The puppet master is pissed off.
Undoubtedly, at the last drinking with morons meeting at the 303 Flash and his sock puppet drinking buddies put their pointed little heads together and hatched a plan to stir up a little noise……and you goofs are eating it up.
So I’ll take this one.
Flash, your puppet pals at MiniMoni are bought and paid for liars. They are on George Soros’ payroll and dance to the tune he’s playing.
That’s a proven fact, period, end of story. Get over it.
No one in the NARN, or the MOB gets a penny from anywhere or anyone that has not been honestly accounted for right up front.
Conservatives do not emulate the Democrat party’s scrub tactics.
Now go sit in your corner, or no kool-aid for you.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Oh, by the way. Anyone notice that the formerly legitimate “reporter” and editors that took MiniMoni pay are working like mad to wash off the big, stinky shit stain their Soros stint left on the front of their shirts?
Sorry Eric, that tie doesn’t quite cover it up, and even if it did we can still smell Soros Stink on you from a mile away. Gonna take time baby, lots of time.
Meanwhile, MiniMoni has resorted to hiring re-cycled City Pages coneheads.
Pfft.
By the end of the summer, I’m willing to bet Feckless Jeff will be the “editor” of MiniMoni. Although I’d vote for Flash.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:59 am
“No one in the NARN, or the MOB gets a penny from anywhere or anyone that has not been honestly accounted for right up front.”
Nope but then I never said anything about money, ‘mitch did’, However, they gladly use and take advantage of TownHall, the wonderful ScaifeBuiltNetwork that allows for the distribution of the memes that are gladly recycled at will by the minions. Again, ScaifeNet is a thing, the network built by Richard Scaife known as Town Hall. Try to change my definition all you want, but you can’t make an apple out of an orange but you all have done a nice job trying.
I maybe go to DL once a month, I’d rather be at RockBottom tappings and I have been to Keagan’s as well so I guess that makes me a member of the SoroSphere AND ScaifeNet . . .according to your logic. But then, I am a reasonable minded moderate, independent of the pains of having to answer to a keeper
March 5th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Did flash really refer to himself as “the smart boy”?
Glad to see he’s working on that sense of humor. Thumbs up!
March 5th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
However, they gladly use and take advantage of TownHall, the wonderful ScaifeBuiltNetwork
WRONG!
Townhall as it appears today was ENTIRELY built by Salem.
Again, ScaifeNet is a thing, the network built by Richard Scaife known as Town Hall.
OK, I know you’re just trying to ape Angryclown here, but seriously – if you can’t show a link between RMS and Salem, really, you should just let it drop.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
It’s a vast rightcon wingspiracy!
March 5th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I see your lips flapping Flash, but all I hear is moonbat barking.
In your present, kool-aid addled frame of mind you wouldn’t recognise logical thinking if it bit you in the ass.
Here’s the spin-proof facts, no assembly required, no batteries necessary…
MiniMoni: Bought and paid for Soros SockPuppets and proven liars.
MoveOn.Org: Bought and paid for Soros SockPuppets.
MediaMatters: Bought and paid for Soros counter propagandists.
Center for American Progress: A clearing house for Sorossphere wanna-be’s.
Tell your scrub party pals that their strings are showing, time to return to the feverswamp and regroup.
In the mean time I’m thinking it’s time for me to visit TownHall again…they must be kicking moonbat ass to have upset the flock like this.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
BTW Flash, I’ve been to a Drinking with Morons at the 303 (I declined to actually drink with the morons though, I couldn’t get past the sippy cups)….so does that make me a Soros Sockpuppet?
HAHAHAHAAAA! Hey, look at me, I’m a “reporter”…..so, so, where’s my frickin’ Soros stipend, damnit! Hahahaaaaaa
You lefty’s slay me..hahahaaaaaaa!
March 5th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
“In the super Secret Soros meeting I told everyone that I could handle this on my own.”
So you morons DID have a plan! F*cked that one up real good didn’t ya?
“They know they don’t need to worry about SitD anymore.”
Right, because we’ve all seen your ass, your moonbat cred is gold…you’re good to go.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:40 am
flash said:
“However, they gladly use and take advantage of TownHall, the wonderful ScaifeBuiltNetwork”
and:
“Again, ScaifeNet is a thing, the network built by Richard Scaife known as Town Hall.”
Did you ever visit townhall.com before Salem renovated the site? It was OK, but it was nothing at all like it is today. If you take a trip in the way back machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.townhall.com/
you find that between 6/15/2006 and 7/20/2006 the site was transformed from a good opinion concentrator web site into a portal with offerings that far outstripped the old site.
I hate to say this, flash, but I am beginning to suspect that you don’t know what you’re talking about. 😉
March 6th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Did you ever visit townhall.com before Salem renovated the site?
Don’t bother asking him for any actual facts. He’s on autopilot.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
“”Don’t bother asking him for any actual facts. He’s on autopilot.”” = Quick, look over here, he has us figured out. Someone pull a rabbit out of a hat or something.
“”really, you should just let it drop.””
When you say that, what more proof does one need.