Here Be Dragons

2008-01-21

No one has threatened me yet so as long as I am airing my, admittedly more emotional, political issues, I might as well write about the 500 pound gorilla that everyone shies away from.

That�s right Hillary Clinton. This woman raises more emotion than a psychotherapy session for Charles Manson. Here�s a VERY partial list of issues.

Healthcare. She couldn�t push her agenda when Bill put her in charge of it but did she take a bribe to back down?

Marital issues. Did she know he was a cheat? If so why does she still put up with it? Why did she ever?

Presidential experience. Does being the President�s wife give you presidential experience?

New York Senator. Did she really care about NY or just use it as a spring board?

I�m sure everyone has their own question for Hilary. But that�s not MY issue.

Here�s my issue:

When was the last time you heard a black man say, �It�s about time we saw a woman in the White House.�? Versus when was the last time you heard a woman say, �It�s about time we saw a man of color in the White House.�? I�ve heard a whole lot of the latter but never the former. It isn�t a black man�s issue and I don�t see why white women take up a black issue when they have their own woman issues to still straighten out.

Were you around for the Equal rights amendment where women banded together to defeat it themselves? I cried for a very long time. That was my first election, my first time voting. I was so proud and then I found out that we did it to ourselves. Talk about self destructive and self defeating. We are eager to take on a race issue when it doesn�t apply but back off when it comes to liberating ourselves!

Are you old enough to have said to a man, black, white or yellow, �I can�t wait to see a woman President.� And be laughed at and then told either, �Not in my lifetime� or �Over my dead body�? because even if that man was black in the 60�s they still had a dick and by god that gave them SOMETHING over someone, in this case women, no matter what other problems they had.

Do you remember the Irish AND Catholic nation rising as a solid block to elect Kennedy, one of our youngest and most loved Presidents, against all odds of a non-wasp being elected? He was neouveau riche, a dirty immigrant to boot and a lockstep Catholic and the common man had had enough and elevated him to the highest level the nation could bestow because they voted as one with a purpose to promote their own kind, just as the Irish Catholics did with the fire and police in NY and Boston.

The sexist glass ceiling of not only corporate America but political America still needs to be broken. It�s been breached in spots but American women are still underpaid compared to men in the same positions. I�m not sure that�s still applying to blacks. Race has been actively policed for the last 40 years with equal opportunity, although it applies to sex it isn�t as well policed and women are still fighting victimization in rape and harassment issues. I think a black woman is doubly at risk.

So it is my proud decision to want to vote for Hilary Clinton because she is a woman and because none of her political viewpoints are terribly off and so I don�t think in her worst moments she could do much harm. I think she�s one tough cookie that can deal with the best of them and I think she knows how to make things work in the political arena as well as any man.

I find no shame in this view. I feel like I am voting for the equal rights amendment again. I am trying to elevate a woman and yes I have an issue with the black man that laughed at me many years ago as a child and yes I have an issue with the people that say sex is an irrelevant factor when race and religion weren�t for an Irish Catholic that definitely shattered the WASP boundaries for all time. Why is sex any less important than race? Is one form of discrimintaion better than another?

Yes, it�s time for a President of color and yes it�s time for a woman but I can only vote for one and guess what? I�m not black but I am a woman. That�s MY issue and I�m voting it unless some miracle worker appears because frankly they aren�t all that different from each other and I think Hillary will guard abortion and that�s a whole �nother kettle of fish to fry.

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