Lege Watch

Now here is a surprise. Now NOW does not want a woman elected to high office.

Not Every Woman Supports Women’s Rights August 29, 2008
Statement of NOW PAC Chair Kim Gandy on the Selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s Vice Presidential Pick

By the way, Kim Gandy is from New Orleans Louisiana.

Sen. John McCain’s choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is a cynical effort to appeal to disappointed Hillary Clinton voters and get them to vote, ultimately, against their own self-interest.

A cynical effort?

She was one of the top two reform governors that McCain was considering. The other being Bobby Jindal

Gov. Palin may be the second woman vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, but she is not the right woman. Sadly, she is a woman who opposes women’s rights, just like John McCain.

Women’s rights? Such as: The right to vote? YES. The right to hold high office? YES. Just exactly what women’s rights is she against?

The fact that Palin is a mother of five who has a 4-month-old baby, a woman who is juggling work and family responsibilities, will speak to many women. But will Palin speak FOR women? Based on her record and her stated positions, the answer is clearly No.

And what positions would those be?

In a gubernatorial debate, Palin stated emphatically that her opposition to abortion was so great, so total, that even if her teenage daughter was impregnated by a rapist, she would “choose life” — meaning apparently that she would not permit her daughter to have an abortion.

Curious, I though now was ‘pro-choice’. As in ‘Please support NOW’s work to pass the Freedom of Choice Act’. That the decision was so important, women have the right to choose.

Yet when this woman makes her choice, and chooses to have her baby, they are dissapointed?

It seems that NOW is not being honest about their position.

Palin also had to withdraw her appointment of a top public safety commissioner who had been reprimanded for sexual harassment, although Palin had been warned about his background through letters by the sexual harassment complainant.

That is their other top complaint? That is extremely weak. Palin is a very popular governor in Alaska. She has worked to clean up corruption in that state.

What McCain does not understand is that women supported Hillary Clinton not just because she was a woman, but because she was a champion on their issues. They will surely not find Sarah Palin to be an advocate for women.

Or perhaps just not a champion for NOW?

Sen. Joe Biden is the VP candidate who appeals to women, with his authorship and championing of landmark domestic violence legislation, support for pay equity, and advocacy for women around the world.

ROFLOL. We are now all Alice living in Wonderland now.

Finally, as the chair of NOW’s Political Action Committee, I am frequently asked whether NOW supports women candidates just because they are women. This gives me an opportunity to once again answer that question with an emphatic ‘No.’ We recognize the importance of having women’s rights supporters at every level but, like Sarah Palin, not every woman supports women’s rights.

Indeed! Clearly NOW does not support women’s rights.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906

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