A FEMINIST VOTING REPUBLICAN
By Dr. Lynette Long on September 29, 2008 at 6:00 AM in Gender Bias, McCain/Palin 2008, Misogyny, Sexism
Two weeks ago I published an article on my blog entitled, “THE X FACTOR.” The article went viral and is posted on dozens of blogs. I have received over 1,000 emails commenting on my position as a liberal Democrat voting for McCain-Palin. Most of the emails agreed with my position, but others called me Benedict Arnold, Lipstick Lady or Bill O’Reilly’s new squeeze. My loyalty to the progressive women’s movement has been challenged because I have chosen to try a different approach to fight for women’s rights. I want to start by squashing all rumors. No I am not stupid. No I am not a closet Republican. And yes I understand the possible implications on Roe v. Wade by supporting a McCain-Palin ticket.
A few days after posting the article I delivered a shortened version of the speech at a McCain-Palin Rally. An executive member of the National Organization for Women contacted me the very next day. It was a friendly conversation tinted with sarcasm. “How do you feel about your speech?” she asked me. “Great.” I responded. “Why shouldn’t I feel great? I gave a speech about women’s rights in front of a large audience. I highlighted the underrepresentation of women in every branch of government, the sexism in the media, and the unfair treatment of Hillary Clinton by the Democratic Party.” “Where did you give your speech?” A rhetorical question deserved a quip answer, “Before thirty-thousand Americans.” Republicans are Americans, aren’t they? “By speaking at a McCain-Palin event people will think you are endorsing McCain.” That’s the point, I am endorsing McCain-Palin.
I tried to explain to my comrade in arms that we have the same goals and that I stand on the same side of the issues with most other feminists. I am strongly pro-choice and will fight anyone who tries to interfere with a woman’s reproductive freedom. I believe in the economic and educational advancement of women. I believe in equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work. I believe in equal representation for women at all levels of government. I believe that only by achieving gender parity in the House, the Senate, the President’s cabinet and on the Supreme Court can women achieve real equality. The problem is not where we want to end up, but how we are going to get there.
I take offense that people think if I vote McCain-Palin that I am not a feminist. If I am anything, I am a feminist.
- I have worked an entire lifetime to further feminist causes. My first professional job was teaching remedial high school math to girls. I started a web-based business called color Math Pink to promote math achievement for girls and I was selected by the American Girl company to write Mathsmarts, a math strategy book for girls. If I am anything, I am a feminist.
- I have researched sex-role stereotyping and gender issues and published dozens of articles in trade and professional journals including Working Mother, Essence, and Ms. If I am anything, I am a feminist.
- I have fought for the rights of women rights every single day of my life. I point out the dearth of photos of women in the New York Times to the lucky person who sits next to me on an airplane, the lack of pictures of women on money to the wait staff at a diner, and I have been in a decade-long fight with the United States Post Office to put more pictures of women on postage stamps. If I am anything, I am a feminist.
- I coined the term “latchkey children” and defended the rights of women to work on national level. I have assisted numerous projects to improve the quality of childcare so that mothers could work and not worry about the safety of their children. If I am anything, I am a feminist.
- I am passionately pro-choice but I also think that it is not always a psychologically free choice. I have written a play which deals with the psychological complexities of abortion entitled, One in Two, which has been performed in New York, New Jersey, and Washington DC. If I am anything, I am a feminist.
I have spent decades coaching women on how to achieve more power in their personal relationships and in the workplace. If I am anything, I am a feminist.
I am voting for McCain-Palin and I am a feminist. Many feminists can’t understand my choice. I am not betraying the cause, the fight, the mission, because I don’t want to vote Democratic. The Democratic Party is not our ally. The Democratic Party is 60% women but it has only once selected a woman as a vice-presidential candidate and that was nearly a quarter of a century ago. We are chattel in our own party. The head of the Democratic National Committee has never been a woman. Money donated to the Women’s Leadership Fund is funneled into the Obama Victory Fund. We cannot give dominion over our bodies or ourselves to one party. Current feminist groups have no teeth because they are part and parcel of the Democratic Party. They are held hostage by Roe v. Wade. They know it and the Democratic Party knows it. The only way to regain our power is to regain our vote. The Democratic Party has no reason to earn our vote. We’ve sacrificed one choice for another.
I will by not be held hostage by the Democratic Party that turned a blind eye to the corruption in the Democratic primaries and Democratic caucuses.
I will not be held hostage by the Democratic Party that ignored a woman who got 18 million votes.
I will not be held hostage by the Democratic Party a party that was deaf, dumb and blind to the persistent and pervasive sexist attacks against Hillary Clinton.
I will not be held hostage by a Democratic Party that has never had a female head of the DNC.
I will not be threatened into submission. I will not cast my vote based on fear.
The Democratic Party cannot be rewarded for its pervasive disrespect of women. Sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. Sometimes you have to tear down a house before you can rebuild it. Most feminists think the Democratic Party will treat them differently during the next election. There is no next time. There is only this time. Reinforcing abuse only perpetuates abuse. In any abusive relationship, you have to leave to get respect. Abusers are often charming and apologetic and hold out the hope of better behavior. But there is no then, there is only now.
I am a woman and I am a feminist. To the other feminists out there I ask, “Where is your pride or are you a victim of your own misogyny?”
I am a woman and right now I am ashamed to say, I am a feminist.
Visit my blog: Dr. Lynette Long. Also visit my Caucus Fraud analysis site.






















