MOMocrats

John McCain, Crazy Like a Fox

As you've seen from LawyerMama's post, the John McCain campaign is, in political parlance, "reaching out" to a variety of progressive bloggers to participate in McCain's weekly conference calls.  I even got to ask a question on his bipartisanship proposal, getting him to acknowledge that he would appoint Democrats to his administration if elected.

Confused about how a true blue PunditMom and MOMocrat can dip her currently unpedicured toes into red waters?  As my husband likes to say, it's good to know the enemy!

Wait, isn't it a problem to talk with your enemies in McCain's book?  Sorry, I digress.

My point in writing some more about our invitation to talk with Senator McCain is this -- I know they aren't doing this in hopes of convincing people like me to vote Republican in the fall.  I'm sure they've done their research and know that's never going to happen.

They're casting for bigger fish.

Go Read It: Misogyny I Won't Miss

Race and gender have gotten a lot of play in this presidential contest, but in different ways.

Plenty of outlets have discussed the inappropriateness of taking race into consideration when choosing our next president, as well as how the candidates are covered by the media.  Many haven't quite had the same qualms about playing the gender card.

In today's Washington Post, Marie Cocco in her article Misogyny I Won't Miss, gives a round-up of the more blatant examples of gender bias in the press, some that she feels even border on outright hatred. of women. 

The worst example of all?  Surprisingly, it's not the Hillary nutcracker.

Cocco feels the worst of all has been the virtual silence of the DNC and the Democratic leadership to the running anti-woman commentary against Hillary Clinton.  Next time guys, step up and speak out against all forms of bias, OK?

Thanks, Marie.

Go Read It: Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause

You seldom--almost never--hear about racist incidents targeting the various Obama state or local headquarters. But they happen. And it's been a real education for the hard-working and dedicated volunteers of all races who do the on-the-ground work of ringing doorbells and making calls to voters on behalf of the Obama campaign.

For those local and regional campaign staffers, it's been an eye-opening experience to see and hear just what your fellow Americans feel emboldened to say about our possible first president who happens to be biracial African/European American. And of course, what won't get said, but just hangs in the air as "a funny feeling."

The White House Project's Marie Wilson on Clinton Remaining in the Race

The White House Project is a nonpartisan organization that "aims to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors, up to the U.S. presidency. By filling the leadership pipeline with a richly diverse, critical mass of women, we make American institutions, businesses and government truly representative." I've been a supporter of their mission for several years now, and I'm impressed by how they have grown and the work they do.

Their blog, "Change Everything", includes their thoughts and activities, and this week's post by their founder, Marie Wilson, cuts to the heart of the issue on why Hillary Clinton is still in the race. "An Army of Women" explains (paraphrasing Eric Boehlart of Media Matters) that "numerous [recent] precendents exist for nominees to continue to duke it out until party conventions: Reagan and Ford; Kennedy and Carter; Hart and Mondale." Wilson writes of cultural fears of "feminist fury."

If Obama Jumps the Gun, Does He Really Think That Will Play Well With Hillary Supporters?

I'm not going to dispute the fact that things are not looking good for Hillary Clinton, but until someone bows out or someone has the requisite number of delegates, there's no Democratic nominee.

Apparently Barack Obama doesn't care. 

A variety of stories are reporting that regardless of where things stand on May 20, Obama is planning on proclaiming that he is the Democratic nominee.

At that point, after the Oregon primary, most anticipate that Obama will have won the majority of PLEDGED delegates.  But he will NOT have won the majority of ALL delegates -- odds are many super-delegates will still be uncommitted plus the Democratic National Committee doesn't meet until May 31 to start trying to unravel the mess that is Florida and Michigan.

Uh, dude, there's still a process in this country.  Even if something looks or smells inevitable, you still have to wait until the everyone gets to vote and the process is finished, unless you can convince Hillary to drop out.  And you'd have to be a tad delusional to think that's going to happen any time soon.

You can't be the winner just because you say so.  That's why we have the process in the first place. John Adams and his pals fought a revolution so that no one could "proclaim" to be entitled to any office or political position.

As a country, we don't like people who just take things.  You have to stand in line and wait your turn here in America.  And do you really think that all the Hillary Clinton supporters you're going to need in the fall are really going to appreciate you just announcing that you've won, when the game ain't over?

We know from the media reports that you're not really a patient guy and that you're getting bored with the process.

In Ten Suggestions for Barack Obama, Point number 10 is, "Win This Thing.  Just Win It.  I Don't Care How."  I am totally on board with that at this point.  As a friend said the other day, I'd rather see a rock in the White House before I would vote for John McCain.  But please don't piss off us Hillary supporters by planning your own coronation before the process is finished.

That's just bad form.

After Joanne is done thinking about how the Democrats can just come together and beat John McCain, you can find her ruminating on the political world at PunditMom.

Been there, done that, dude.

Wolf Blitzer's latest query to CNN viewers: "What should I ask Barack Obama?"

Hey Wolf, maybe you could start here.

Just sayin'.

George McGovern Calls on Hillary Clinton to Get Out of Race

MSNBC just aired a telephone interview with former Senator and former Presidential candidate George McGovern in which he announced that he believes Hillary Clinton should step down from the presidential race.

McGovern endorsed Hillary back in November, saying, "I think that if we can elect her president, she'll be a greater president even than her brilliant husband."

McGovern isn't a superdelegate, but has been a long-time supporter of both Clintons.

It's Not All Bad News This Morning for Hillary Clinton Fans

So maybe the fat lady isn't singing quite yet, but I know she's warming up in the wings somewhere after last night's squeaker in Indiana.

But for those of you looking for the silver lining to this cloud that hangs over Hillary Clinton's campaign, long-time women's activist Gloria Feldt, who blogs at HeartFeldt Politics, has a few words at Mothers of Intention that might make you feel a little better.

For political women, the fight doesn't end here -- it's just the beginning.

You can find Joanne crunching the superdelegate numbers over at her place, PunditMom.

MOMocrats WTF of the Day: Where Are the Top Women Pundits?

Why do we MOMocrats do what we do?

Why did I start PunditMom two years ago?

This post from Feminist Law Professors -- really, it's just a photograph -- says it all:

Ladies, start your engines, I mean, blogs!

Joanne will be kicking her punditry into fifth gear here, and at her place, PunditMom. (Pundit being the operative word here).

NC NAACP Files With FBI, Department of Justice to Investigate Possible Voter Suppression

I've been following this story as it bubbled up from DailyKos (this diary in particular discusses the evidence for a cover-up of either wrongdoing or extreme incompetence) and Talking Points Memo. The story has been evolving on NPR (here and here) and was briefly alluded to in the Washington Post today.

At issue? A non-profit organization, Women's Voices, Women's Votes, designed to facilitate voter registration among unmarried women, was the source of illegal "robo-calls" that appeared to deliver erroneous information to African American voters and others in advance of the North Carolina Democratic Party primary. They've also contacted potential voters with registration packets that weren't well-timed to either the voter registration efforts for the primaries or the upcoming general election in November, 2008.