Over the past two weeks, Nancy Pelosi and whether or not she needs to step down has been dominating the news circuit...much to my chagrin. I would much rather like to hear about the economy, or the two wars we are fighting.
Republicans claim that Speaker Pelosi is a hypocrite, that she knew about torture, and that she is a fool for taking on the untouchable Central Intelligence Agency. Democrats claim that this is really a smoke screen devised by Republicans to take the spotlight off their intiation of and complicity with torturing people who may or may not have had criminal intent toward the United States and her people. I agree with this last sentiment. The issue is not what little or lot Nancy Pelosi knew at the time, but that torture is wrong. All who need to be prosecuted should be by Eric Holder and the Justice Department.
Yet, I see another problem within the GOP that is not being addressed. Among the other hate-filled diatribes being spewed at the audience from the lips of Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Hannity, and Beck is the hidden divisive rhetoric of gender discrimination and even misogony. People could argue that the GOP is fair to women, with Ann Coulter and Sarah Palin being two of their most vocal representatives. However, let us not forget that the Cult of True Womanhood, one of the most repressive social movements for women, was perpetuated mainly by middle class, White women of New England.
It seems that many neocons/Republicans take issue with Pelosi's gender. In fact, former Vice President Dick Cheney has been quoted by several venues implying that had he been in the House of Representatives, they would not be marching to the beat of a woman's drum. Let us not forget the many, many terrible jokes about "nut-busting" at Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's expense. Many conservative men and women criticized former President Bill Clinton for letting his wife run the show. The worst joke I've heard was both racist and misogynist, "Bill Clinton was America's first Black president because he just laid back and let his woman do everything..." So many people circulated that joke that I've lost its originator. I never criticized Bill Clinton for acknowledging the fact that his wife was just as intelligent, strong, educated, and capable as himself. Being born a XX instead of XY does not water down intellectual abilities. Why would I? Why would anybody criticize a man for respecting his wife?
Now, I am waiting on the new jokes about Michelle Obama. After eight years of Laura Bush's quiet style of leadership (I respect that as well. Mrs. Bush, a former librarian, really cared about education and was satisfied with a type of quiet strength), I'm pretty sure conservative speaker boxes are anxious to discredit President Obama. So far, he has been a formidable opponent, tackling his opponents from all angles. I think Michelle, just like Secretary of State Clinton, is strong enough to keep going without allowing conservative talk boxes to slow her down. But for now, I'll be waiting.
