Monday, October 22, 2007

Pussy-whipped


It is tough sometimes, to stop complaining about the disparity between how Republicans and Democrats are treated by the media.

And I’m not talking about how much press went into the blowjob scandal as opposed to the one where the president lied so he would have a better excuse to send service men and women to their deaths. Let’s look at a more direct comparison.

For instance, W and Bill Clinton both evaded the Vietnam draft. W is beloved by most members of the military, while it was implied many times during Clinton’s tenure that he should excuse himself from ceremonies honoring veterans, because he was not “qualified” (read: “good enough”).

And while Hillary has not yet committed vehicular homicide, (Although can you imagine the massive shooting of media spooge if she did? It would be like every Christmas and and Easter and Fourth of July since the beginning of time all wrapped up in one over at FoxNews.) one can imagine that her treatment by the press would be somewhat different than their treatment of our current first lady, who killed her high school sweetheart while behind the wheel. Although the story is somewhat sad on the surface, its tragic glossy veneer starts to look a little thin when one learns that she was, according to some reports, drinking when it happened, and that her politically-connected family did manage to get her record expunged.

And anyway, what better qualification is there to be First Lady than a drinking problem?

My point is not that we should condemn Laura Bush, but that we perhaps should give others the same benefit of the doubt. After all, Hillary got raked over the coals just for knowing a dead guy.

And so on to Hillary’s latest press problem, which is, as Media Matters has pointed out, that Sarah Baxter at the London Sunday Times, and professional idiot Caitlin Flanagan at The Atlantic have resurrected an old non-story from 2001 and are using it to – surprise, surprise – insinuate that Hillary is a cold-hearted bitch.

Baxter’s article is titled “Ouch! Hillary Clinton’s Softer Image is Clawed Over Dumped Cat.” The story is about how the Clintons allowed Bill’s personal secretary Betty Currie to adopt their cat, Socks, when they moved out of the White House. And the “proof” that Hillary’s image has been damaged? Why, Flanagan’s article, of course.

Don’t you love it when members of the press use an article written by another member of the press as proof that they have tapped into the American zeitgeist, as opposed to performing an act of mutual masturbation?

Baxter says that Socks “allowed ‘chilly’ Hillary Clinton to show a caring, maternal side,” and that therefore Hillary used Socks, and when she was done using Socks, she dumped him on the…you know…hired help. Flanagan says: “In the annals of human evil, off-loading a pet is nowhere near the top of the list. But neither is it dead last, and it is especially galling when said pet had been deployed for years as an all-purpose character reference.”

You know what I say? I say that I don’t remember a single photo op of Hillary knitting little booties for Socks. In fact, I don’t remember any photos of them together at all. If Socks was being employed to soften Hillary’s image, his job performance was about what you’d expect from a cat: indifferent.

In reality, the Clintons got rid of Socks because he tortured their dog, Buddy. And Buddy was Bill’s dog. So why isn’t the re-gifting of Socks being spun as a story of how subservient Hillary is to her man? Why isn’t it being spun as a story of how the Clintons raised a daughter so selfish that she put her preference for college housing above her love for her childhood pet?

Because that wouldn’t fit the media’s favorite wanking-off point: that Hillary is, you know, a bitch.

And I have to admit that it irks me when I see women participate in this kind of stereotype mongering. I mean, why the tired-ass “bitch” angle, ladies? If you wanted to slam Hillary on the issues, there’s more than enough fodder there. But…that might require an actual knowledge, or understanding of the issues, and I’m guessing that’s not so much what we expect from your Sarah Baxters and your Caitlin Flanagans. We expect bitchiness, right gals? Because you’re women. Women writers. Women who have careers outside the home as writers. And we all know what THAT means.

They’re bitches. Ambitious, castrating bitches.

So listen up, catty bitches! If you’re looking for a “animal cruelty” angle involving a presidential candidate, check out this story about how Mr. Latter-Day Saint tied his dog carrier with his dog inside it to the top of his car, and then drove down the freeway while his terrified dog let loose his bowels all over the roof. This story is wide open gals, I’m telling you.

Because for some reason, the press is just not leaping on this one.

I can’t imagine why.

8 comments:

GETkristiLOVE said...

Not to mention how little press Cheney got after shooting his hunting partner for mistaking him for a bird. A bird!

Distributorcap said...

viki

or the minimal amount of press Romney got for the way he treated his dog -- but Ellen, massive amount of (mostly negative) coverage for TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING.

the press is a major part of the problem

dguzman said...

great post, Vikki. reminds me of the time that the four women in my old dept all said they'd NEVER vote for a woman for president, because "she'd be too emotional!" (they also said "we're not ready for a black president!" to which I replied, "who's 'we'? I know I'M ready, so just who are you talking about that's 'not ready'?"

Idiots. It's bad enough that misogynist men rip on women for fun; when women do it too, it's just pathetic and stupid.

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

It's sad they had to go back that many years to find something "bad" about Hillary to write about. I look forward to seeing what childhood trauma of her they'll use to paint her as the bitch next time.

bubbles said...

This is such a hot subject for me!!

I hate it when women won't support one another. I remember when Anita Hill was testifying women all around me were *blaming her* for tolerating the inappropriate remarks she heard Thomas say... yet, if she had destroyed her career by confronting him at the time, they would have said she was stupid, a bitch or a liar. Anyone NOT see the no-win situation there??

Hilary - if she shows any feminine / sensitive side she is either labeled as too soft, or criticized for not being good enough (looking, etc.) When she shoulders all the shit that both men and women so enjoy throwing her way - she's a cold bitch.

Shit, I admire these women for their ability to use their intellect to rise above it all. God bless 'em - I don't know if I could be so strong, so I really, really admire them for enduring the frustration!

As for those women writers - they are either stupid or hypocrites - or both. It's not like women will look back at *them* 50 or 100 years from now with admiration and graditude! Not that they are thinking with that much depth, of course.

Grrrrr.

Moderator said...

Excellent post, again.

As The Onion wisely noted in a recent podcast, the 2008 election most likely will be decided on bullshit.

vikkitikkitavi said...

GKL: I wouldn't say that was a "little" amount of press, but the unexplored angle that got me the most was that there are places where you can go to pay people to take birds, clip their wings, and them put them in the grass right in your path in an enclosed area so that you can be sure they have not one chance in hell of escaping from you.

Talk about fish in a barrell! And he still managed to shoot the wrong thing.

DCap: Yeah, how dare Ellen try to find homes for stray dogs? How dare she?

DGuzman: It's a wonderful paradox about Hillary's "electability" issue that she is described as not feminine enough by the same people who think that a woman is too emotional to be president.

Dr.MVM: She gave her cat to her husband's secretary! I can't believe it's not the biggest political scandal of all time!!!

Bubbles: You are right, of course. And I have no doubt that Caitin Flanagan will be looked upon by history as an entirely insignificant asshole. Sort of like all those 18th century types who wrote pamphlets advising women that if they thought too much, their uterus would fall out.

Grant: Thanks, Grant. I am so not ready for the election. I'm just not ready to get that pissed off every day.

Frank Sirmarco said...

I have a signed picture (paw print) of Socks that I got from Bill Clinton.

I liked that cat!