Sitting in the dentist chair this morning I got to thinking… ..
Imus’s radio show has hit the fan. So has the subject of racism and misogyny,
but let’s not forget hypocrisy. Oh, and did I mention Hillary? There’s no doubt
that Imus’s remarks were racist, but considering he’s a shock jock who’s been
left to spew venom for years is anyone surprised? The real problem will be if
Dan Abrams of MSNBC has to replace the three plus hours of easy programming.
Infomercials here they come? We shall see. But seriously, when we’re talking
about “hos,” you really can’t talk about this slander used against
the Rutgers team without also mentioning the Democratic “front-runner,”
at least when it comes to most polls, Hillary Clinton. Because without a calculator
you cannot count the number of times Clinton has been called a “money whore”
and worse in comment sections across the blogosphere, including this very site.
The hard part to take about this is that it’s coming from Democrats and so-called progressives in
our own party. What does that say about us? If the Democratic front-runner remains
Hillary and Democratic progressives refer to her as a “money whore” and more, what will happen if she’s our nominee? The language against this powerful, competent
and electrically charged female is sure to get worse as things get amped up. Remember what the wingnuts did to Hillary in the 1990′s? It’s almost a right of passage to power to slander Hillary Clinton if you’re a Republican, especially on radio.
Headlines like the one below never please anyone, especially Barack Obama’s people. I’ve been called every name in the book in emails, with my honesty challenged in comment sections because I dare to challenge Obama, though no one should attach these attacks to Mr. Obama, who would have none of it I am sure. When I trumpeted Hillary’s competence and star power, that’s when the vitriol spiked. I was even called a racist.
When rightly reporting on a positive performance from Hillary, that’s when commenters and others really went after Clinton. When I
wrote about her amazing performance at the Nevada health care forum all hell broke loose. Saying Hillary
shined was just too much for some to take. I got “money whore” comments
on this blog. I can’t say that I was shocked but I was disappointed. Hillary
deserves better. Women deserve better. The Democratic progressive cause that has trumpeted women’s rights deserves a lot better, too. But the dominance of this smart, powerful
and competent female is impossible to ignore so it’s likely the attacks will only get
worse instead of better. She’s again besting everyone in the field in the
latest poll just released.
Sen. Hillary Clinton remains the dominant presidential front-runner among
Democrats nationally, with twice the support as her nearest challenger. Sen.
Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards, and former Vice President Al Gore
are tightly bunched in second place, with all other candidates in low single
digits. If Gore is removed from the ballot and his supporters’ second-place
choices substituted, Clinton’s lead becomes even more dominant, with Obama
and Edwards tied far behind.Hillary Clinton Remains
Dominant Front-Runner Among Democrats
Obama and Edwards close in second place
Imus’s purposeful slander against the Rutgers team is nothing different than
what black rap artists do to women every day in studios and on CDs across this
country. Some female rap artists join in. Now everyone is recalibrating and
looking inward. Yesterday Jesse Jackson had the audacity to come after MSNBC
for not having a black anchor that has producers and writers and a staff, all
the while David Gregory repeated more than twice that Alison Stewart is an
African American with her own show. Jackson ignored it. Why? Because Stewart
is a black woman and she doesn’t count? Was Jackson making another point, pushing
his own agenda? Nah, that would never happen. Never mind that Alison Stewart
is one of the most talented women in cable news today. Yet yesterday on “Hardball”
Jackson ignored that she indeed has her own show no matter how many times Gregory said it. Why? Women are never given their due and the higher we rise the worse it becomes for us all, especially when we criticize one type of slander while ignoring another.
The hypocrisy is knee deep right now, which extends to what even Democrats are calling Hillary Clinton. I don’t care if you want her as the nominee or if you’re
working for Edwards or Obama. If you think Imus was wrong and racist then it’s
time you check your own language if you’re one of the people whose disrespect
for the first viable female candidate for president turns towards shock jock
territory in a slanderous attack that has you calling Hillary a “money
whore” or something equally derogatory; some talking about how she is a lesbian, or how Bill was bad because of Hillary, which is a staple on wingnut radio. It’s the same insult against women, one of color and one
of power. Race, misogyny and power are often entwined.
The Rutgers team and
Hillary Clinton may be of different races, but the issue is still the same. Disrespect and the disempowerment of women who are going for the brass ring, which takes incredible courage, power and personal accomplishment, while having to duck vile language that is meant to limit us and which makes us all less.
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