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Los Angeles NOW Pres. endorses Palin
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/la-now-prez-on.html
LA NOW Prez on Palin: 'America, This is What a Feminist Looks Like'
October 06, 2008 11:45 AM
Jennifer Parker
-->Shelly Mandell, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin over the weekend in California, speaking not on behalf of NOW but "as an individual, as a woman's rights activist for 30 years who has worked for all those years to see this day."
Going through her feminist bona fides -- the International Women's Year, the Equal Rights Amendment, Geraldine Ferraro -- Mandell said she is "proud to support Sarah Palin, a woman who will fight for women's rights ... a woman who will, Lord knows, shake things up."
"Make no mistake," Mandell said. "I'm a life-long Democrat ... I don't agree with Gov. Palin on several issues." And yet, she said, "I know Sarah Palin cares about women?s rights, she cares about equality, she cares about equal pay, and as Vice President she will fight for it. She cares about our children and she cares about women's lives. She's an athlete and she knows what Title Nine did for girls like her."
"It is an honor to call her sister," Mandell said as she handed the microphone over to Palin, who would accuse Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., of "palling around with terrorists."
?America," Mandell said, "this is what a feminist looks like."
Re: Los Angeles NOW Pres. endorses Palin
You forgot the second half of the story (from the same blog):
California's NOW President, Patty Bellasalma, issued a statement saying that the "National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC) joined with many allied organizations representing a broad and diverse cross-section of U.S. women to endorse Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Both have long records of service, fighting to improve the rights of women, families, and working people. From voting rights to equal pay legislation to authoring and funding the Violence Against Women Act, it was clear to NOW PAC that the Obama/Biden ticket represents the best team for the kind of future we envision for women and girls.
"A member and officer of the Los Angeles NOW chapter, Shelly Mandell, recently introduced Governor Sarah Palin at an event in Carson, California. Ms. Mandell was speaking as an individual and was not authorized to represent NOW, the NOW PAC or LA NOW in any capacity in connection with a federal candidate endorsement. As NOW President Kim Gandy said upon Palin?s selection , 'Not every woman supports women's rights.' The use of Shelly Mandell?s Los Angeles NOW title was apparently intended to mislead the public, and indeed has resulted in local television outlets and internet reports misstating that LA NOW has ?endorsed? Sarah Palin or that she has a record of supporting women?s rights. This in fact is not the case.
"As President of California NOW and as a member and officer of Los Angeles NOW, I can assure you that there is no local or state affiliate of NOW, including LA NOW, which endorses or supports the McCain/Palin ticket. John McCain and Sarah Palin oppose many of the rights and freedoms we have fought for throughout NOW's 42 years, and we will not be pushed back to the days of back-alley abortions, forced pregnancies, and pay discrimination without remedy. Nor will we let the media distractions deter our members and activists from our organizing for freedom and equality for all women, putting our hopes and our dreams, our hard work and our hard-earned money, behind a proven team for women: the next President of the United States ? Barack Obama ? and his running mate, longtime friend and ally of women, Sen. Joe Biden With equal ferocity we will fight to protect young women by defeating Proposition 4 and to keep bigotry and discrimination out of our state constitution by defeating Proposition 8 here in California."
-- jpt
How does she know that? What women's rights did Palin fight for in Alaska? This woman says Palin cares about equal pay, but her running mate voted against the Ledbetter Act. I haven't heard Palin either criticize him for that vote or propose some other policy to ensure equal pay. I've searched and searched, but I cannot find any record of Palin fighting for women's rights. Am I missing something?
I'm not sure if these "what has she done" questions are directed at me, or rhetorical in nature. I don't know enough about her work as a public servant to answer that question.
My impression from the article is that this woman endorsing her believes she represents feminist ideals because she is someone who has overcome gender stereotypes and gained leadership status in an otherwise male dominated profession. In this sense, I imagine she would refer to someone like Governor Napalitano the same way. So perhaps more of a trailblazer than anything else.
I mostly meant it rhetorically. But if you believe that Palin would be good for women's rights (do you? I don't know), then I'd be highly curious to know why. Sure, she's a trailblazer by being a female governor and VP candidate, but from what I can tell, she has been successful largely by playing into gender stereotypes rather than overcoming them, particularly in emphasizing her role as a mother and in allowing her husband so much access to her administration. I just haven't seen anything in her record to indicate that she would be an advocate for women's rights in the White House, and the story didn't quote the speaker as providing any evidence to substantiate this claim.