My Heart Belongs to Hillary.

(Warning: offensively liberal/biased post)

The elections this year have me really fired up, as anyone who has spent any time with me in the last month or so knows. Whenever anyone tries to compare Clinton and Obama, I generally run the other way. I'm not one to easily shy away from debate, but I've found that all too often, a discussion of the differences between Obama and Clinton quickly turns into a Hillary-hating session unless everyone present is a Clinton supporter.

In my experiences, the most benign of Clinton opponents all to frequently say that they "just don't like her," and they can't really say why. The most vehement Hillary-haters frequently level their attacks against her as a person, and yet when I listen to any of them I always feel very threatened, not as a Clinton supporter but as a woman. I will not accuse everyone who opposes Clinton of being a sexist, and indeed, I think that the worst Hillary haters give all Clinton opponents an undeserved bad name because of the sexist way in which they frame the battle. Even so, my sister forwarded me an article this morning that really does get at the heart of this battle: America faults Hillary Clinton for her womanhood in a way that we would never EVER consider faulting Barrack Obama for his race.

Watching Senator Obama give a speech at his results-watching party last night, I found myself very drawn to him. He would make a great candidate, and part of me wonders if someone like Clinton, who inspires so much intense and irrational hatred in so many because of her gender (even if they don't admit it), is a weaker candidate than Obama because she is polarizing in a way that McCain isn't. But as soon as I voice that concern, I double my resolve for Clinton. I hate that I find myself doubting a strong woman who is a MORE than qualified candidate for the sole reason that others hate her for being the strong woman that I admire. And I will be more than happy to support Obama if he is the democratic candidate. However, before the Democrats pick their candidate, I cannot and will not support any candidate other than Clinton unless he acknowledges the damage that Hillary opponents do to women everywhere and unless he can promise me that despite running against her, he is taking an active stand against those Hillary-haters, and the ideologies they represent.

(For reference, HRC = Hillary Rodham Clinton, BO = Barrack Obama)

"Goodbye To All That (#2)" by Robin Morgan

Goodbye to the double standard . . .
When a sexist idiot screamed “Iron my shirt!” at HRC, it was considered amusing; if a racist idiot shouted “Shine my shoes!” at BO, it would’ve inspired hours of airtime and pages of newsprint analyzing our national dishonor.

Goodbye to the toxic viciousness . . .
Carl Bernstein's disgust at Hillary’s “thick ankles.” Nixon-trickster Roger Stone’s new Hillary-hating 527 group, “Citizens United Not Timid” (check the capital letters). John McCain answering “How do we beat the bitch?" with “Excellent question!” Would he have dared reply similarly to “How do we beat the black bastard?” For shame.

Goodbye to the HRC nutcracker with metal spikes between splayed thighs. If it was a tap-dancing blackface doll, we would be righteously outraged—and they would not be selling it in airports. Shame.

Goodbye to the most intimately violent T-shirts in election history, including one with the murderous slogan “If Only Hillary had married O.J. Instead!” Shame.

Goodbye to the sick, malicious idea that this is funny. This is not “Clinton hating,” not “Hillary hating.” This is sociopathic woman-hating. If it were about Jews, we would recognize it instantly as anti-Semitic propaganda; if about race, as KKK poison. Hell, PETA would go ballistic if such vomitous spew were directed at animals. Where is our sense of outrage—as citizens, voters, Americans?

Goodbye to a campaign where he has to pass as white (which whites—especially wealthy ones—adore), while she has to pass as male (which both men and women demanded of her, and then found unforgivable).

Goodbye, goodbye to blaming anything Bill Clinton does on Hillary (even including his womanizing like the Kennedy guys—though unlike them, he got reported on). Let’s get real. If he hadn’t campaigned strongly for her everyone would cluck over what that meant. Enough of Bill and Teddy Kennedy locking their alpha male horns while Hillary pays for it.

Goodbye to some women letting history pass by while wringing their hands, because Hillary isn’t as “likeable” as they’ve been warned they must be, or because she didn’t leave him, couldn’t “control” him, kept her family together and raised a smart, sane daughter. (Think of the blame if Chelsea had ever acted in the alcoholic, neurotic manner of the Bush twins!) Goodbye to some women pouting because she didn’t bake cookies or she did, sniping because she learned the rules and then bent or broke them. Grow the hell up. She is not running for Ms.-perfect-pure-queen-icon of the feminist movement. She’s running to be president of the United States.