Sarah Morgan
I hate that stupid female Republicans seem to be trendy.
I’m not talking about their political leanings. Certainly, I don’t agree with Sarah Palin or Christine O’Donnell. But what’s worse is that I don’t respect them. And it doesn’t seem like many other people do, either.
Now, no, certainly I couldn’t do any better on the national stage. I am deeply, unpardonably ignorant about many things.
But that’s why I’m not running for Congress or the Vice-Presidency: because I have no business doing so.
People who believe “evolution is a myth” and that American scientists have created “mice with fully functioning human brains” or that there is a “Department of Law” in the White House and the Vice President is “in charge of the U.S. Senate” (first two, O’Donnell; second two, Palin) – I don’t think that these people have any business doing it either.
The point of political satire is to find things to poke fun at about our leaders. It’s supposed to feel daring, because it’s supposed to be a fine line, like a court jester, of taking the pomp out without being disrespectful. But when it’s difficult to respect a leader in the first place, even the comedians shift gears. They’re just doing impersonations, not parody, at this point.
I am very, very sure that there are many brilliant women who would love the opportunity that these women have had – the chance to be leaders, even if it did go with the public scruti. I’m sure that many of those brilliant women are ones with whom I would disagree completely. I think that would be absolutely awesome.
So why on earth are Republicans pretending that those women don’t exist?
I am not privy to the actual intelligence capability of either Sarah Palin or Christine O’Donnell, whose gaffs are well publicized by the national media. My question is, since Joe Biden’s gaffs are less scrutinized by the media, does that make them any more or less worthy of respect on the “stupid meter”? I choose to make my judgements less on answers to “quizes”, which can be corrected by an internet search, and more on policy, which will certainly have an impact on my life. (If Liza follows your blog, Sarah, I can’t wait to hear what she has to respond to her A. J. on this one:-) )
I don’t know the IQ or GPA of Sarah Palin, Christine O’Donnell, Joe Biden, or any politician. (And he does screw up plenty, but as he’s from my maternal ancestral home of Scranton, I can’t rag on him, at least not if I want to avoid the wrath of my relatives. :) )
Anyway, I was focused on the women from a feminist perspective: I just hate that American politics often makes women look stupid. I wish both parties gave more brilliant women the support of their national platforms.