Baby-sitters for Iowa's caucus-goers? What radical woman-centered thing will Hillary do next? This is not how politics is supposed to work! Or so whine the hordes of right-wingers such as Michael Saul and Michael McAuliff over at the New York Daily News.
The men charge that baby-sitters are "Hillary Clinton's secret weapon" and "Clinton is going to the extremes."
Their testosty readers respond to Hillary's novel approach of considering the needs of women with comments like:
"This woman is freaking scary!" and "Desperate housewives?"
It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: Hillary Clinton's bid for the presidency relies primarily on the support of women. The Iowa caucus is a tradition passed down from nearly two centuries ago when the only folks who mattered in this "democracy" were elite white men who had wives to watch the children. In the year 2008, women continue the tradition of being the primary caretakers of children. In other words, untold numbers of men enjoy the privilege of participating in the Iowa caucus because they have wives to watch their children.
In fact, a political system that was designed around the lives of men and thus puts women at a disadvantage is the "secret weapon" of all male candidates. Like a man in the White House, some traditions seem to go on forever.
Iowa has never elected a woman to either the Senate or the House. Iowa has never elected a woman Governor.
A woman in the White House is a terrifying concept to many precisely because it would imperil many of our longstanding male-centered traditions. Clearly, a Madame President would result in dramatically kicking up the self-esteem or status of the women and girls of this cowboy country.
That alone would forever change this nation.
Since a woman president would owe her victory to women, who knows what long-overdue women- or family-centered policies might emerge? Equal pay? Universal childcare? Social security credits for stay-at-home moms? Paid maternity/paternity leave? The best hope of winning any of the women-friendly or family-supportive policies that so very many European women and families take for granted lies with getting a Madame President into the White House.
Baby-sitters for caucus-goers . . . it's like women are important, well, we are to Hillary.
Iowa Hillary Clinton News Gender Democratic Feminist News Male Dominated Politics Iowa Caucus Madame President Patriarchy
