Posts Tagged ‘ Martha Coakley ’

News from Around the Web

December 23, 2012
By
News from Around the Web

Here is some of the news from around the web affecting women: Last week, The Commission on Judicial Performance, admonished California Superior Court Judge Derek G. Johnson for comments he made during a 2008 rape trial. During a sentencing for someone convicted of rape, domestic battery and stalking his former live-in girlfriend, Johnson said, “I’m not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something. If someone doesn’t want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down.”  Johnson’s comments were offensive and just plain wrong. In the wake of the Newtown tragedy, Charlotte Allen of the The National Review, questioned the lack of “male aggression” in elementary schools writing it, “can be a good thing, as in protecting the weak — but it has been forced out of the culture of elementary schools and the education schools that train their personnel.” Meanwhile, The Hartford Courant published a tribute to the women of Sandy Hook citing the staff’s “goodness and strength.” Also in New England, yet another Senate race kicked off in Massachusetts following President Obama’s nomination of Senator John Kerry as Secretary of State. Senator Scott Brown, who lost the November election to Elizabeth Warren, is expected to run on the Republican ticket. Former Governor [...]

Read more »

What Should We Do About Sexism and Bachmann?

January 5, 2012
By
What Should We Do About Sexism and Bachmann?

Let’s not waste time debating whether sexism was a factor in Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann’s failed bid for president. It was. Let’s instead focus on what we will do about it. Because something needs to be done. Not that we wanted to see Bachmann in the White House. God no. But nor do we want to see Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry or any other anti-woman candidate get elected. But why is Bachmann going home and not the other non-Romneys? For several reasons. First, there is a double standard at work. Susan Mulligan at U.S. News points out, “Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party-approving Republican Congresswoman from Minnesota, has said some crazy things… All of that provides a solid basis for questioning her as a candidate and wondering whether she’s suited for the Oval Office. But has Bachmann said or done anything more bizarre than some of her opponents, including several who are above her in polling in Iowa?” Not really. Second, women don’t “look presidential.” Remember when Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote, “I can think of no reason why anyone who, for some unaccountable reason, supports Michele Bachmann will not move over to Perry… Perry, who actually looks like a president …” [...]

Read more »

Senator Brown’s Locker Room Response to Elizabeth Warren

October 6, 2011
By
Senator Brown’s Locker Room Response to Elizabeth Warren

Senator Scott Brown resorted to a locker room-style response this morning on a local Boston radio station when speaking about Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren. Earlier in the week, during a Democratic primary debate, Warren was asked how she paid her tuition. Alluding to Senator Scott Brown’s Cosmopolitan photo shoot she said, “I kept my clothes on.” This morning, the radio show host asked Brown, “Have you officially responded to Elizabeth Warren’s comment about how she didn’t take her clothes off?” To which the Senator responded, “Thank God,” then he and the host laughed like teenagers. We weren’t thrilled when we heard Warren’s comment during the debate. We’d prefer she stay on the high road. However, while Warren referenced Brown’s actions, the  Senator referenced his challenger’s appearance. His comment was low. Was it sexist? Perhaps the “Blink-and-you-might-miss-it“ variety. Taken alone, what Brown said could be viewed as just immature and not very savvy. But couple it with previous campaign behavior – with his silence on the campaign trail in 2010 when a supporter suggested shoving a curling iron in then opponent Martha Coakley - and it stinks. Read The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics here.     Photo from Medill DC used with a [...]

Read more »

The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics

August 18, 2011
By
The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics

The latest presidential election cycle has only just begun and already we are engaged in some lively discussions about the sexist treatment of candidate Michele Bachmann. Was the Newsweek cover photo of the Congresswoman and the accompanying headline sexist? Was the “submissive wife” question out of line?  Sexism may seem more out in front during a presidential campaign but it exists in politics all the time – and at the state and local level too. Some of the sexism is over the top, and some not so obvious. To help you easily identify and respond to unfair treatment of female politicians, here is “The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics.” Overt sexism: In this category we have the outrageous remarks that make you scream, “How does this person (insert name of person who spoke or wrote the sexist comment) keep their job?!” Examples: Conan O’Brien sidekick Andy Richter’s recent tweet that read, “There’s nothing wrong with Michele Bachmann that two solid weeks of orgasms won’t cure.” Statements like that one attempt to reduce a female candidate to a shrew, a sexual object, anything but a viable contender for the job. An Alex Beam column in The Boston Globe during the Massachusetts Senate race last [...]

Read more »

2010 Political Review (Slideshow)

December 31, 2010
By

Here is a look back at just a few of the political stories we were talking about in 2010. What do you think 2011 will bring?

Read more »

Footwear and the Midterm Elections

August 28, 2010
By
Footwear and the Midterm Elections

Sometimes, I know I like something, but I don’t know why. I could be enjoying a cabernet sauvignon, for example, and then someone with a better palate than mine says, “This is so deep and rich. So many tannins. Do you taste the chocolate?” And bingo! It all becomes clear. And so it is with politics. For years I thought my interest stemmed from a sense of civic duty, a desire to make the world a better place, from wanting to hold my legislators accountable, demand justice, transparency and equality. But recently it’s become clear to me. I am interested in politics because I love shoes. Shoes, you see, matter a great deal in politics. The voters in Colorado understand this. They just gave the GOP primary nod to Senate hopeful Ken Buck, the man who said he deserved the vote because he doesn’t wear high heels. He will face Senator Michael Bennet in the general election. Bennet is too frequently photographed from the waist up and so I need to learn more about his footwear. Florsheim? Cole Haan? Gucci? Time will tell. And Bennet should not take this scrutiny lightly. After all, you remember what happened in the Massachusetts [...]

Read more »

Six Things We Need to Do to Send a Woman to the White House

July 9, 2010
By

Last week I posted a question at SkinnyScoop: Do you think a woman will be elected president in your lifetime? Most of the respondents (81 percent) said yes. No one answered definitely not. I sure hope the respondents are right, but getting there won’t be easy. One respondent at SkinnyScoop wrote, “We are ready and there are more of us than them, we just need to get out and vote ladies.” It seems simple. But it’s not. The sad truth is we haven’t moved past the misogyny and sexism we witnessed during Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. Senate hopeful Martha Coakley didn’t do herself any favors when she made some bad campaign decisions last winter but the press didn’t do her many favors either. And the Republicans don’t seem to treat their women much better, as Newsweek recently pointed out. I remember during Clinton’s presidential run people groaning about the word misogyny. “I’m so sick of feminists talking about misogyny,” friends and coworkers would tell me when I was discussing things Tucker Carlson, Chris Matthews, Glen Beck and Keith Olbermann had said on television the night before. I challenge those same people to come up with a better explanation for Playboy’s recent [...]

Read more »

Are Women to Blame?

June 16, 2010
By
Are Women to Blame?

I have recently found a new slew of articles supporting the popular idea that women are to blame –for everything. Politico ran an article earlier this week citing research from American University’s Women & Politics Institute that shows only 13.5 percent of the lawmaker guests on the Sunday morning talk shows are women. (We referenced a similar statistic several months ago.) According to Politico, the show producers say part of the reason they feature so few women is “the shows must be topical.” Women represent slightly more than half of the country’s population. I would have thought women lawmakers could discuss topical issues. But according to the article the producers also say, “Some congressional women — Nancy Pelosi chief among them — do not help the cause by making themselves so difficult to book. Most producers say they try to recruit female lawmakers nearly every weekend but receive a steady stream of rejection slips.” Pelosi’s spokeswomen, in her defense, is quoted in the piece as saying  the speaker’s travel schedule makes it difficult for her to appear but there are plenty of other women who would make good guests. Those other women, however, at least according to one producer quoted [...]

Read more »

Woman in Politics: Harmony Wu

May 25, 2010
By
Woman in Politics: Harmony Wu

Since we’re always urging women to get involved politically, we thought it would be informative to share insights from a woman who is. Last week I sat down with Harmony Wu, a political activist in Needham, Massachusetts to find out what motivates her to do what she does. I first heard of Wu when I worked on the Martha Coakley for U.S. Senate campaign. Volunteers at the phone bank I managed would come in every night and say, “You need to meet Harmony. You should really meet Harmony.” Fast forward to the healthcare vote and our induction of Congressman Stephen Lynch into the Ignorant Male Legislator’s club. We posted a job opening for someone to take his place in the Ninth Congressional  district; someone who would represent the district and lead with courage and integrity. Later that same day, we heard Harmony Wu was considering a run for the seat. After some serious consideration, Wu decided not to run, posting this statement on her website: Over the last two weeks, I have met with numerous people to address the many aspects of a potential campaign against Mr. Lynch. The ability to maintain my family life during the campaign and as [...]

Read more »

Stop the Rape Culture (TRIGGER WARNING)

January 25, 2010
By

(TRIGGER WARNING) A woman was raped last week in Toledo, Ohio on the side of busy street in broad daylight.  A high school student approached her as she was walking down the street and threatened her with a pair of scissors. Cars drove by and several beeped. One witness called 911 but no one stopped. According to the local police, some witnesses thought the act was consensual and some may not have comprehended what they were seeing. How could they have? This is not supposed to happen in a  civilized society. Late last year, we were shocked and frightened by the gang rape of a high school girl outside a school dance in Richmond, California. Now we are sickened by a rapist brazen enough to attack out in the open in broad daylight. (Trigger warning) Over at Shakesville, there is an excellent piece on rape culture – what it is and what contributes to it. I’ve linked to it before. Again, if you can read it, I recommend it. I thought I was done writing about the Senate election in Massachusetts, but as I reread Melissa McEwan’s piece at Shakesville, I couldn’t help but reflect on our new Senator-elect. During [...]

Read more »

Get Adobe Flash player