N.O.W., Defend Sarah

I wandered over to the N.O.W. (National Organization of Women) web site to see how an organization, that says they fight for women, is responding to some of the most sexist news coverage since the 1950s.

The Obama-supporting-media launched these attacks on GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin:

1. Wondering aloud what kind of mom would accept the VP job knowing her pregnant daughter would suffer scrutiny.
2. Outrage that Palin took the job when she has a special needs child.  "Who's going to raise the child?" - they ask.
3. Smug I-told-you-so comments arguing Bristol Palin's condition confirms that teaching abstinence doesn't work.
4. Asking if Sarah Palin took care of herself during her pregnancy.
5. Repeated questions about who is writing Sarah Palin's speeches.
6. Her speech included "shrill" criticism of Obama.
7. Worst of all - openly asking whether Trig, the special needs child, is in fact the son of Sarah's daughter Bristol and whether Sarah says Trig is her own to mute criticism her 17yr old daughter has had two children.

These are "sexist" attacks because they would never be said of a man.  No one asks who writes Barack Obama's speeches?  No one was outraged about Biden taking a job in the U.S. Senate after his wife was killed in an auto accident - Biden was even sworn in at his sons' hospital bedside.  No one asks why Obama spent 18 months running for President even though he has two young daughters and a wife with a demanding $300,000/yr hospital job.

So, what is N.O.W. doing to respond to these attacks on a prominent successful woman?

I would think defending Sarah Palin would be priority one for the National Organization of Women.  But there was not much there there - no featured story chronicling the attacks I listed above, no video of the N.O.W.'s leader rushing to Palin's defense.

In fact, their leader, Kim Gandy, said this:

"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."

OK - so much for a call to arms to protect a strong independent woman!  Sarah Palin is a shining example of a loving mom and wife who is also a competent executive - the most popular Governor in America, man or woman.

Obviously, N.O.W. is all about supporting abortion rights not women.

I thought that NARAL Pro-Choice America was the lead group supporting abortion rights?  (I think NARAL stands for National Abortion Rights Action League but I can't say for sure because I can't find it explained anywhere on their web site)

To N.O.W.'s credit, they have included one example of media attacks on Palin, in their "NOW's Media Hall of Shame - 2008 Election Edition".  The one Palin attack is this video of John Roberts wondering whether Palin can be a good mom as VP.

Of course, it is only one of 30 entries in their Hall of Shame - most of the other 29 are video of Obama-loving media folk attacking Hillary.  Now, the Obama-loving media folk are attacking Palin.  Setting aside the fact that maybe the Obama-loving media folk are the problem, where is the aggressive counter-punch by N.O.W.?

N.O.W. also has a handy tool where you can draft a letter, with a couple clicks, and send it to the best contact at the offending organization.  In the case of CNN that's Rick Davis, Executive V.P. of News Standards & Practices (obviously this guy does not have a lot to do at CNN :-).  N.O.W. also provides a sample letter to get you started and then you can customize it.

Here's my creation:

I am writing to you today as a media consumer, a potential customer of your sponsors, and, most importantly, a supporter of women's rights.

The media's coverage of the GOP VP candidate Gov. Sara Palin has been blatantly sexist and shockingly irresponsible. Gov. Palin -- who broke new ground for women as the first female GOP candidate in history -- was both insulted and criticized using a gender-based grading system that focused on her children, her hair, her clothes and other factors that rarely come up when men candidates are discussed.

Taken together, these sexist clichés, stereotypes and insults created an environment of disrespect and outright hostility toward all women. Any question of whether or not we still need a feminist movement was answered this election season, and the answer is a resounding “Yes!” – at least for Democrats and their supporters in the media.

John Roberts was a key offender in this melee of misogyny.

Here’s his quote from September 4, 2008:

"There's also this issue that, on April 18, she gave birth to a baby with Down syndrome... The baby is just slightly more than 4 months old now. Children with Down syndrome require an awful lot of attention. The role of vice president, it seems to me, would take up an awful lot of her time, and it raises the issue of how much time will she have to dedicate to her newborn child?"

CNN should be ashamed to feature someone who would promote such divisive and bigoted rhetoric.

I would like to know whether you are willing to make a commitment to stop producing, financing and benefiting from what amounts to hate speech. Sexism -- as well as racism, homophobia and other biases -- have no place in the dissemination of news, particularly when an important presidential election is at stake.

I look forward to receiving a response from you addressing this issue.

Sincerely,

Matt

You can send your own thoughts about John Roberts' arrogance to:

Rick Davis -- CNN News Group
Title: Executive Vice President - CNN News Standards, Practices
Department: Headquarters
E-mail: rick.davis@turner.com
Phone: (404) 827-1500
Fax: (404) 878-0891
Address: One CNN Center, PO Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30348

You can send your own thoughts about N.O.W.'s hypocrisy to:

National Organization for Women
1100 H Street NW, 3rd floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 628-8669 (628-8NOW)
Fax: (202) 785-8576
Electronic mail
National Officers

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