Gloria Steinem needs to shut up

By David Kaiser, Editor

Filed Under Race for White House 2008 on Mar 3 

When people ask me, a moderate with social liberal tendencies, why I’m a Republican, I can point to people like Gloria Steinem and the things she says as a reason why.

Steinem was campaigning for Hillary Clinton yesterday and came up with this spew:

Steinem raised McCain’s Vietnam imprisonment as she sought to highlight an alleged gender-based media bias against Clinton.

“Suppose John McCain had been Joan McCain and Joan McCain had got captured, shot down and been a POW for eight years. [The media would ask], ‘What did you do wrong to get captured? What terrible things did you do while you were there as a captive for eight years?’” Steinem said, to laughter from the audience.

She goes on with:

To the Observer, Steinem insisted that “from George Washington to Jack Kennedy and PT-109 we have behaved as if killing people is a qualification for ruling people.”

Killing people is not a qualification to rule Gloria, but when one of the biggest parts of your job description is “Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces” it can’t hurt to have actual experience in that area.

John McCain does not deserve to be President because he was in the Navy. He doesn’t deserve it because he spent more than five years being tortured as a prisoner of war and anyone that votes for him strictly because of those two bits of his resume isn’t seeing the whole picture.

There is a ton more fodder to rip McCain on, but picking his service to our nation and his suffering at the hands of an enemy is stupidity, pure and simple.

Hey Gloria, instead of ripping the other candidates why don’t you find some positive things to say about the candidate you support?

*crickets*

Comments

  • Keith

    I was just using your opening statement as a platform for an issue that I see often. I tried to word it in a way as to not be directed at you, nor imply it was your singular reason for your votes. However, I understand why you’d want to clarify.

    I specifically wanted to address the disdain people can have towards ideals simply because of the people who support them. You could spout out the meaning of life and people would roll their eyes should you preface it with “It’s like in that Michael Moore movie…” or “Rush Limbaugh touched on the subject…”

    I think Steinem may have had a point initially, but mangled it into a horrible metaphor to get a laugh and sympathy.

  • David Kaiser

    Well, the other reason I tend to support Republican candidates is that I am also a fiscal conservative, and not a fan of big government.

    I’m not totally basing decisions on the company one party or the other keeps, if I did, I don’t know that I’d be a Republican either, given the current administration in the White House.

    I simply value my fiscal views greater than my social views, hence my party allegiance. Trust me, I’ve probably voted for nearly as many Democrats as I have Republicans.

  • Keith

    Disregarding Steinem’s comments, I think it’s a shame that many people’s social decisions are based on the company they want or don’t want to keep. “Gloria Steinam” should not be a reason for voting Republican. You can hate Democrats and still recycle. You can hate Republicans and still own a gun. You can hate PETA and still purchase humanely-treated livestock.

    And you can also vote for a third party who has closer beliefs to yours.

  • http://detriangulation.blogspot.com Jon

    These comments are unfortunate, and they highlight the hypocrisy of Clinton’s “red phone” scare ads. She has no more military experience or executive experience than Obama. On the latter, neither has ever answered the red phone, and the only thing closest to executive experience that Clinton, Obama, OR McCain really have is managing their campaigns; Clinton’s and McCain’s have been horribly mismanaged while Obama’s has been disciplined and virtually flawless. His staff was well chosen and, unlike Clinton and McCain, he hasn’t had to reshuffle it or fire anyone.

    Yet Clinton still runs this “red phone” ad, not on the basis of any notion that she has executive experience, but that she has more experience in general. Nevermind that Obama has considerably more legislative experience than Clinton! She also ran the ad to “preview” the Republican attack line on Obama in the general, thereby making the case that she’s somehow impervious to the same attacks. But the fact is Clinton’s supposed main attribute (which hasn’t sold her too well so far) in the primaries—experience—will be neutralized against McCain. It’s also convenient to claim to be “previewing” Obama’s general election “vulnerability” by appropriating Rovian scare tactics (vote for me or die) that are indistinguishable from Bush’s in ’04. (Recall that hypocritical moment in Ohio last week when Clinton was shouting about Obama’s “Republican-style” healthcare attacks?!)
    It certainly doesn’t add to her questionable commander-in-chief credibility when one of her surrogates belittles military service.

  • Brian H

    I give Steinem credit for being honest enough to say what most liberals truly believe about the US military, “killing people is a qualification for ruling people.”

    Having the ability to allow people to be killed is an obvious qualification to being a liberal.

    THANK YOU Gloria for giving us your own version of the “Straight Talk Express”.

  • Whodat in Texas

    How nice to hear from the old gal! I did not know she was still with us. Hey, this has to help Big Mac with all the Conservatives – especially us old ones who remember the realy old liberals like Gloria.

    I think she should team up with Hanoi Jane for a concert tour. Maybe ol’ Joan Baez culd come sing a few protest songs. Wait a minute, Bill and Hill will be available soon to do the warm-up act!

    Somebody ask Gloria not to burn her bra, however. At this point, that would be a real downer.

    Golly I miss the 60′s!!!!!!!!!

    Whodat was never “liberal”, but they had some great parties with some good stuff, man….

  • Sajjad Ali

    Does Hillary ‘Reject and Denounce’ Gloria’s support?!

  • Troy La Mana

    It’s the last gasps from a FemiNazi. I can’t even hear the noise any longer.