Don't Be A Woman, "Fat," And Have A Political Opinion

Tip for Meghan: Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.

I've got to say that I read her blogging about Coulter last week, then read bits of a couple other of her postings, so when I saw that she was going to be on Maddow's show I was prepared not to consider wasting a second of my time watching.  Sweet jeebus, when god created the word, "jejune," he was thinking of dear Meghan.

I mean, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with being young AND an airhead, but I'll get my political analysis elsewhere, thank you very much.

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by: Pollyanna @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 15:49:41 PM CDT

Yeah, that Pollyanna

While I agree with Meghan that her weight should have nothing to do with her political analysis, I found her to be sadly lacking in serious thought.  If she weren't the daughter of John McCain, no one would care what she thinks about politics.  

I also was skeptical when she said she had friends who were extremely liberal and other friends who were extremely conservative (though she hates extremes, so she says), and they all 'got along'.  I can tell you, if I had a friend who was friends with, say, Rush Limbaugh, I would not 'get along' with Rush--and I would have real problems with our mutual friend being friends with him.  I am, by far, not an extreme lefty--OK, check that. Some people would think I was extreme, but I am not Randi Rhodes extreme, or even as far left as David Sirota.

I was not happy that Rachel interviewed Meghan because I feared it was going to be navel-gazing fluff.  As Pollyanna said, there's nothing inherently wrong with being airheaded and young, but I don't necessarily think it needs to be broadcast on a national television show.

P.S.  Pam, I think you're an attractive woman, so don't let the naysayers get you down.  You know that any strong woman, especially one of color is going to be slammed for her looks because it's the easiest way to attack a woman.

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by: asiangrrl @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 17:37:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Crap.

There should be a comma after that in my title--right before Pollyanna.  Sorry.

In addition, the weight thing is a way of controlling women.  If we focus on how fat we are, we may not notice that there's still a lot of work to be done for social justice.

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by: asiangrrl @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 17:39:33 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

that reminds me about "feedback" on my first CNN appearance

Mike Rogers wrote a post on BlogActive about one of my CNN appearances (just before I had to have my gall bladder removed), and here are a couple of the intelligent comments that certainly relate to your post's topic:

I like Pam, I just wish we had a prittier face representing liberals. looks sell, sorry
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 01.02.08 - 2:13 pm

I cant believe the talking progressive heads dont go on diets and loose some weight so we can get more people to like us. PUT DOWN THE BIG MAC STEP AWAY FROM THE MAC AND CHEESE JUST SAY NO TO DEEP FRIED FOODS!!!!
Pam is BIG | Email | Homepage | 01.16.08 - 3:32 pm

Excellent. You just have to click and move on.

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by: Pam Spaulding @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:06:03 PM CDT

Oh Pam, I think you are so cute!

That picture of you on the plaque that Peter LaBarbera presented you with is so adorable I don't see how anyone could  dislike you unless they were batshit insane. Oh. Right....

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by: anastasia P @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 18:19:25 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Pam! Yikes! What doofuses!

Being attacked for how you look is nothing like the kind of shit I've gotten on-line--even on Salon--writing anything Holocaust-related.  It brings out the total nutjobs who spout venom like: there was no Holocaust; if there was, shut up about it already (stop "whining"); other peoples have had it worse (fill in the blank); and on and on.  It's very distressing to see bigotry and ignorance rise up at a moment's notice like that.

By the way, you look wise and beautiful to me, and have an awesome smile.  Keep representing us!  

"In order to maintain an untenable position, you have to be actively ignorant."  The Colbert Report

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by: Lev Raphael @ Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 14:05:18 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

an important lesson for meghan mccain

that for her commonly-held belief that there's "an extreme on both parties", there is no actual left counterpart to republican extremism.  there's not ONE counterpart to the hateful, cruel, selfish, truth-challenged pundits like ann coulter, rush limbaugh, and laura ingraham, or to the likes of the fascist, xtian theocrats and their neocon bedfellows.  not one.  

it's time that "moderates" like meghan--who is gorgeous, btw--learn that valuable lesson.    

The gays stole my lunch money

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by: matt in mpls @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:14:40 PM CDT

Sure there is a "lefty" version of Limbaugh & Company...

...Randi Rhodes is the example I can think of off the top of my head.

~~~~~
~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

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by: Autumn Sandeen @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:22:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I don't agree

and this has long bothered me. Although Randi can be a little over-the-top emotional and even occasionally veer into conspiracy territory I never (when she was on the air here) heard her launch ad hominem attacks based on falsehoods, nor did I ever hear her rant on and on about something that was just completely untrue. Yet that is what the Limbaughs, Becks, Coulters, O'Reillys etc do all the time. This has long bothered me, this whole atttitude of how we shouldn't listen to extremists on either the left or right. Problem is that the right-wing extremists engage in nonstop fabricated personal attacks, while the supposed left-wing "ranters" (Michael Moore and Al Franken are always mentioned) seldom say anything that they don't back up.

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by: anastasia P @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 18:27:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

But

you always hear disparaging remarks about Moore's weight from the right.

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by: Donica @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 18:53:57 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

She calls Ann Coulter a "tranny"

She disparages trans people like me in her choice of epithet to toss at Coulter.

As far as I'm concerned, Rhodes is as bad with the Coulter/tranny remarks as Limbaugh is with his Obama the Magic Negro parody.

~~~~~
~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

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by: Autumn Sandeen @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 20:53:00 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I do understand your concern about that word

On the other hand, I've been known to insult political enemies by calling them names that I know will offend them, not because I think badly of the folks identified by that name.

I don't know Randi Rhodes, so I won't defend her use of the word "tranny", but she may be perfectly fine with transsexual people and use the word "tranny" to describe Coulter because she knows the word would offend her.

As I said, I might do the same, but I would only say it directly to the person I intended to offend, not in a venue where the object of my derision would be likely to never know I said it.

I guess that means, I'm not so much offended that Randi would use that word to attack Coulter as I am that she said it on the radio instead of face-to-face to Coulter. My problem is that I'd be afraid a transsexual person would hear me on the radio and take it literally that I had a problem with transsexual people.

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -- John F. Kennedy (inspired by Dante's Inferno)

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by: oldbrit @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 23:47:50 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sorry, but epic fail

Using people's identities as an insult isn't justifiable -- whether said publicly or face-to-face, and regardless if "some of my best friends are [insert epithet here]."

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by: LenaD @ Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 01:42:00 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

So it would be okay...

...for Randi Rhodes, or one of her progressive talk show peers, to use pejoratives like the n-word, the c-word, the other-f-word, or to use other terminology in a way that's intentionally defamatory or dismissive -- such as negro, wetback, dyke, she-male or chick -- in political discussions as long as she uses the terms to the people's faces that she's insulting? That's what I see as the logical extension to your argument.

I could not agree with you less on using epithets, pejoratives, and intentionally defamatory terminology in political dialog. Especially a term like tranny -- a term often used as a defamatory and dismissive term that relates to my community identity.

I'm with Lena on this -- it's just not justifiable. Rhodes' repeatedly calling Ann Coulter a tranny on her broadcast not only insults Coulter, but in the process of using that term to insult Coulter, Rhodes is also defamatorily and dismissively insulting all gender variant people.

~~~~~
~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

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by: Autumn Sandeen @ Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 09:14:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Barbie Birthday?

This explains why I keep seeing the Barbie stuff on my TV.  She's pretty popular, but has anybody ever seen her face in burnt toast....

Jesus in Your Buttcrack
http://thetimchannel.com/?p=398

Enjoy.

Mom always told me I was special and I believed her.

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by: timtimes @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:17:58 PM CDT

Just waiting for Ingram to have the guts

to sling crap at Limbaugh for being fat.  I'll wait, no rush Laura...

I am of two minds when it comes to noting people's weight.  I think it is fair game when it comes to moralistic charlatans like Rick Warren to point out that they need to look to their own sins of gluttony before commenting on  "sins" of others.  But for all others, who aren't going for the Finger Pointing gold in the Moral Olympics, using someone's weight as if it were a fair way to discredit their p.o.v. is pathetic, weak and disgusting.

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Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:32:06 PM CDT

I will go on to add that

everyone should be aware that being overweight is not always a matter of just indulging in too much of the wrong foods and too little exercise.  There are physical and psychological reasons for some people.  And so please don't take my "sin of gluttony" comment above to mean that I think all overweight people are gluttons.  I most certainly don't.  

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by: Lurleen @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:34:55 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

There's the thing

I know that folks who have been fat their entire lives can start over. Pete was a year ahead of me (middle and high schools) and one of the smartest, nicest people you could ever meet. He was tall and huge; easily the biggest kid in school.

I was thrilled to read this story a few years ago...  

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by: Louise @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:48:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

3 for 3!

So, I guess I gotta shut up, huh?

Ingraham is subhuman scum. But we already knew that.

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by: Louise @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:38:34 PM CDT

There's not enough room ....

on this blog and my blogs combined for what I'd really like to say ... I'll keep it short and polite (gag me with a spoon !!)

I'm a Moderate Republican who, yes, voted for Obama as over the years I've become tired of the (bite my tongue) Conservatives and religous wackos which have taken over the party.

Anyone who has read my blog "Just Shoot Me Now!" knows how I feel about the bleach blonde Nazi Coulter.

As far as Laura Ingraham goes, when she first went on the air years ago I liked her. But as often happens there are some folks who can't handle "succcess and fame" and the old head becomes so big that they float into a room.

Both of these gals could stand putting some weight on their anorexic frames and they both should consider facial plastic surgery when compared to Meghan McCain.

My state of Connecticut has had to apologize for the birthing of Bush in our state, we also have to apologize for the hatching of Ingraham.

What amazes me, people read their books, listen to their rhetoric will glee and think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread.

But then again, a lot of people read Mein Kampf too.

Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. - Edward R Murrow

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by: Lyndon @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:39:36 PM CDT

Their real problem is neither their weight

nor their faces, but rather their absence of compassion and decency. Maybe you wouldn't think they needed plastic surgery if they wore kinder expressions. As my mom used to say, "The only makeup a pretty girl needs is a little red lipstick and a smile." I look better in a mauvey pink lipstick (red's a trifle harsh for my angular features) but the idea's a good one.

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by: anastasia P @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 18:22:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I will sling some at Ingraham for wearing skirts that are too short.

I thought the photo of 8 young male pundits and Laura, on the NYT Sunday Magazine cover about a jillion years ago when no-one had heard of any of them, was hilarious. Eight guys in conservative suits appropriate for court appearances (most were lawyers) - and Laura in a leopard-print miniskirt that barely covered her ass. All my professional life I have avoided wearing tight or short clothing because I wanted to appear dignified (and I have a decent curvy figure and ideal BMI, so it isn't fear of being shamed). Now Laura would not get away with wearing clubbing gear before some old-fashioned judges - clubbing gear is for the clueless traffic-court defendants.

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by: NancyP @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:45:22 PM CDT

If you've participated on any website or blog

and are a woman and have an opposite opinion to a right winger, they will call you fat and ugly, whether they know what you look like or not. And they usually can't spell either word when they do it. For some reason, attacking a woman's looks or perceived looks, or just GUESSING at her looks to attack them is the way it's done by that side. Nobody should take it seriously. For what it's worth, I can't see what Ingraham is talking about, since Meghan McCain is WAY prettier than her anyday.

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by: Donica @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 17:25:22 PM CDT

Cross-posting

Autumn, I'm posting this in Melissa's daily blogaround over at Shakesville. Well done.

This reminds me of the male pigs I work with who change the channel from MSNBC to Fox when Rachel's show comes on because they "don't wanna look at some ugly dyke." Add "lesbian" and "transgender" to the list of things women can't be if they are to have an opinion. Actually, the headline could just read, "Don't Be A Woman And Have An Opinion." Because, as we all know, women are just here for the objectifying pleasure of straight men.

Personally, I think Rachel is gorgeous. Her smile, her gigglesnort, her eyes, and especially her brain are HAWT!! I'd go on a date with her over Meghan McCain any day.

God save ornery old queens! - kevinchi

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by: Keori @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 17:59:02 PM CDT

Weird about Rachel

because all the websites that have stories about her and reader comments after the story contain a rather large selection by men who are GA GA for her. So I don't know why the media is so "confused" by her looks. The viewers seem to get her just fine.

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by: Donica @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 18:51:59 PM CDT

BTW

An amazing grouping of "quick hits" this weekend, Autumn- brava!  

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by: Louise @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 19:45:21 PM CDT

You're welcome. :)

I have a lot of fun reading articles on the interwebs.

Latest find I'm about to Quick Hit - LA Times piece about Bob Dylan's Outhouse - http://tinyurl.com/cfv7va

~~~~~
~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

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by: Autumn Sandeen @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 21:12:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

LOL!

What IS it with "you people and restrooms"...

Off to read. You rock, hon!

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by: Louise @ Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 05:12:33 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

We can only hope

That Republicans have a big fight over fat and rip each other to shreds.

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -- John F. Kennedy (inspired by Dante's Inferno)

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by: oldbrit @ Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 23:33:49 PM CDT

Meghan is not fat

She's a size 8.  During her heyday, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14, and largely regarded as the most beautiful woman in America.

But even if Meghan were morbidly obese, calling her opinions into question because of her weight is just a nasty way of forfeiting the argument.  Because Ingraham can't win on the arguments, she'll attack the messenger, and if a woman with opinions is over a size 2 these days, just go for the weight issue.  If she's fat and/or "ugly," she's beneath contempt and we don't have to worry about a damn thing she says.

I was actually surprised at how well Meghan McCain acquitted herself on Rachel's show.  Yes, she's young, and she's a pretty girl.  She does have a slight "Valley Girl" lilt to her voice, but all those issues aside, she does have a reasoned point of view, and she's correct that someone within the GOP needs to initiate a conversation that attempts to reconcile the more moderate wing of the party with the whackos we like to call "the base."

Finally, I was thrilled when Meghan declined to offer any economic analysis on the basis that she finds the current crisis confusing.  Instead, she stated that she tries not to have public opinions about things that she doesn't fully understand.  Would that all would-be pundits would do the same!  It would have been very easy for her to memorize the made-for-easy-digestion talking points of the right and just spew them all over Rachel's desk, and the fact that she refrained from that simple act increased my admiration for her ten-fold.

"There are two kinds of people in this world -- the kind who separate the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't."  -- Gloria Steinem

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by: red7eric @ Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 09:58:15 AM CDT