playing the "gender" card ...

[Irvine511]

so, all you conservatives out there who huff and puff and get upset whenever Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson have the gall to suggest that, yes, race might play a role in American life and how we view reality and perhaps had something to do with the Hurricane Katrina (lack of) response, is the below tantamount to playing the "gender" card and crying sexism?

or is it okay because it's a Republican doing it?

Laura Bush says sexism possible in Miers criticism By Tabassum Zakaria
Tue Oct 11, 8:47 AM ET



COVINGTON, Louisiana (Reuters) - First lady Laura Bush joined her husband in defending his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday and said it was possible some critics were being sexist in their opposition to Harriet Miers.

"That's possible, I think that's possible," Mrs. Bush said when asked on NBC's "Today Show" whether criticism that Miers lacked intellectual heft were sexist in nature. She said Miers' accomplishments as a lawyer were a role model to young women.

A week after President George W. Bush nominated Miers for a lifetime appointment to the highest U.S. court, he remained on the defensive against conservative critics within his own Republican Party.

They say Bush missed a chance to pick an experienced judge with clear-cut conservative credentials who would firmly move the court to the right on such social issues as abortion, gay rights and church-state separation.

"Just because she hasn't served on the bench, doesn't mean that she can't be a great Supreme Court judge," said Bush, whose job approval ratings have sagged below 40 percent for the first time ever in recent polls.

Although some conservatives have supported the nomination, others have suggested Bush withdraw it and submit a new name, an appeal the president rejected last week.

Mrs. Bush, who had publicly supported the nomination of a woman to the high court, noted that Miers had been president of the Texas Bar Association.

"I know Harriet well, I know how accomplished she is, I know how many times she's broken the glass ceiling herself. She is a role model for young women around our country," she said.

Some conservatives have also accused Bush of cronyism for nominating a White House insider to the court. They have expressed fears that since not much is known about Miers' views, she could end up being a liberal along the lines of David Souter, who was put on the court by the president's father, former President George Bush.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051011/pl_nm/usa_court_bush_dc

 

[pax]

I don't buy this at all. I'd have exactly the same problems with Miers if she were a man, and I suspect that even the rightiest of the right who are up in arms about her would be the same way.

Their arguments, and I guess mine as well, are that if Bush really was keen on nominating a woman, there are far more qualified women out there...or at least women with more substantial paper trails.

I still hate to rush to judgment on Miers. I'm sure she's a good lawyer and I'd even be willing to concede that she seems like a decent human being. There's just no evidence to suggest that she's an especially gifted and talented legal mind, able to spend the rest of her life wisely and carefully interpreting the Constitution.

 

[deep]

and they were just bashing "the white male" when they questioned the cronism in the M. Wood FEMA appointment.

 

[nbcrusader]

I don't see the correlation between the criticism and Miers gender.


But it is interesting to see the GOP toss the gender card back at the Dems.

 

[Irvine511]

I don't see the correlation between the criticism and Miers gender.

"That's possible, I think that's possible," Mrs. Bush said when asked on NBC's "Today Show" whether criticism that Miers lacked intellectual heft were sexist in nature. She said Miers' accomplishments as a lawyer were a role model to young women.




spoken by a very popular woman, Mrs. Bush, on a show that has an vastly female audience.

also, during TS and GMA is when Bush chose to announce his selection of Miers.

But it is interesting to see the GOP toss the gender card back at the Dems.

oh, i see, so they're just playing them at their own game?

how shrewd ...

 

[melon]

But it is interesting to see the GOP toss the gender card back at the Dems.

Except it's not the Democrats who are opposing her nomination. It's fellow Republicans.

Melon

 

[deep]

Some conservatives have also accused Bush of cronyism for nominating a White House insider to the court.

What the hell does it mean when the President says

"I know her heart."?

is this guy just a blathering idiot?

 

[verte76]

I don't watch TV news so maybe I've missed something. But I think alot of the criticism of Miers is because she does not have a background of being a judge, plus she's a woman who was Bush's counselor. Any time highly qualified judges are out there and the President does this he's going to catch flak. I'm not surprised that they're coming from his own party.

 

[Irvine511]

What the hell does it mean when the President says

"I know her heart."?

is this guy just a blathering idiot?

it means he's a clairvoyant cardiologist.

it also means he's full of shit.

 

[Carek1230]

They did a great parody skit of this on SNL last w/e. The author of this article is as inarticulate as the Bushes....or the Shrubbery as I refer to them.....the President can PICK his nose but he would CHOOSE a nominee (a good journalist knows the list of words to never use which includes get and pick).

And yes, I would agree he is full of shit.

 

[nbcrusader]

it means he's a clairvoyant cardiologist.

it also means he's full of shit.

Or an honest expression about a long-time friend.

But, then you can get him with the crony label!

 

[Irvine511]

Or an honest expression about a long-time friend.

But, then you can get him with the crony label!

he says this garbage all the time.

remember when he looked into putin's eyes and saw his soul?

sorry, but such statements are not fit for public discourse.

 

[Dreadsox]

I stopped reading at huff and puff.....Sorry....

 

[Dreadsox]

I don't buy this at all. I'd have exactly the same problems with Miers if she were a man, and I suspect that even the rightiest of the right who are up in arms about her would be the same way.

Their arguments, and I guess mine as well, are that if Bush really was keen on nominating a woman, there are far more qualified women out there...or at least women with more substantial paper trails.

I still hate to rush to judgment on Miers. I'm sure she's a good lawyer and I'd even be willing to concede that she seems like a decent human being. There's just no evidence to suggest that she's an especially gifted and talented legal mind, able to spend the rest of her life wisely and carefully interpreting the Constitution.

I stopped reading after this response...I am betting it goes down hill.

I like the nomination because it is an unusual nomination.

I like this nomination because it is pissing off the conservative base.

I like this nomination because it is pissing off the left.

ummmm......hopefully you stopped reading before now!!!!!!

 

[nbcrusader]

he says this garbage all the time.

remember when he looked into putin's eyes and saw his soul?

sorry, but such statements are not fit for public discourse.

You're kidding, right? "Not fit for public discourse"??

You might not agree with the statement. You might not understand the statement. But to deem it "unfit" surprises me.
Yet, this is FYM.

 

[deep]

I stopped reading after this response...I am betting it goes down hill.

I like the nomination because it is an unusual nomination.

I like this nomination because it is pissing off the conservative base.

I like this nomination because it is pissing off the left.

ummmm......hopefully you stopped reading before now!!!!!!

so, by this same line of reasoning

you did not like the Roberts nomination.



hopefully you are still reading

i think you know my heart by now.

 

[Dreadsox]

Roberts did not matter.....this is the swing vote....and....I am enjoying the chaos.

 

[melon]

I stopped reading after this response...I am betting it goes down hill.

I like the nomination because it is an unusual nomination.

I like this nomination because it is pissing off the conservative base.

I like this nomination because it is pissing off the left.

ummmm......hopefully you stopped reading before now!!!!!!

The moral of the last 8 years is that anybody could run this country, because we have probably the least qualified people in American history running the show.

Melon

 

[Irvine511]

You're kidding, right? "Not fit for public discourse"??

You might not agree with the statement. You might not understand the statement. But to deem it "unfit" surprises me.
Yet, this is FYM.

it's simply idiotic. that's why it's not fit for public discourse.

"i know her heart"?

what, the fuck, does he mean by that?

NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he means NOTHING!!!!!

is that on her resume? "George Bush knows mah heart!"

it's meaningless.

 

[Irvine511]

I stopped reading at huff and puff.....Sorry....

dread, you threw a fit when people suggested that race might have had something to do with the lack of FEMA response, and accused Democrats and African-American leaders of playing the race card.

which is an argument that can be made. fair enough.

however, when the Republicans turn around and use precisely the same "strategy" in order to start to color her pending confirmation process with the patina of sexism, that the old white male meanies are going to beat up on this little lady.

where's the equal amount of outrage?

 

[Dreadsox]

dread, you threw a fit when people suggested that race might have had something to do with the lack of FEMA response, and accused Democrats and African-American leaders of playing the race card.

which is an argument that can be made. fair enough.

however, when the Republicans turn around and use precisely the same "strategy" in order to start to color her pending confirmation process with the patina of sexism, that the old white male meanies are going to beat up on this little lady.

where's the equal amount of outrage?

If you feel that you are respectfully putting a question to me because of my stance on FEMA, then I would have continued to read. However, if my position is all "huff and puff" or however you worded it, I am not going to give it a response. If it is "huff and puff" and that is your characterization of things that I believe to be true then why would you give two shits about how I feel about this?

If you honestly want to hear my position, I will give it. But the tone of the opening line would lead me to think otherwise.

I do not think she is the real nominee. I think it was done to stir the pot, to prepare for the fight for the real nominee. What has everyone been screaming about? QUALIFICATIONS.

The real nominee will have qualifications. And then what will the argument be? Where will public opinion be if he nominates a highly qualified judge?

He is shaping the debate, and the players are taking the bait.

There is my opinion....and it is not about sexism....

 

[pax]

I do not think she is the real nominee. I think it was done to stir the pot, to prepare for the fight for the real nominee. What has everyone been screaming about? QUALIFICATIONS.

The real nominee will have qualifications. And then what will the argument be? Where will public opinion be if he nominates a highly qualified judge?

He is shaping the debate, and the players are taking the bait.

There is my opinion....and it is not about sexism....

I beat you to the punch on that theory, Dread.

 

[pax]

Originally posted by me 10-03-2005 03:55 PM -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Um.

Has anyone considered the fact that this could be a decoy?

Nominate someone (a woman, no less) whose qualifications are an x quantity, if not especially scary, and get the Dems all riled up over having a candidate with no proven track record.

Rescind the candidtae and put up someone with a nice, long, thorough paper trail...that of a hard-line right-winger.

Brilliant, really.

My opinion is that the Dems should cut their losses.

 

[Irvine511]

If you feel that you are respectfully putting a question to me because of my stance on FEMA, then I would have continued to read. However, if my position is all "huff and puff" or however you worded it, I am not going to give it a response. If it is "huff and puff" and that is your characterization of things that I believe to be true then why would you give two shits about how I feel about this?

There is my opinion....and it is not about sexism....

i think you're misunderstanding the question. but, first, you were not the only person who objected to charges of racism in the FEMA fiasco in the post-Katrina debacle. so, while i certainly had you in mind, this thread was not directly pointed at you. while you might disagree with the characterization of "huff and puff," i think, particularly given other pot-stirring threads that tend to revolve around Sharpton and Jessee Jackson, it isn't an out-of-line characterization. perhaps its inaccurate to apply to your specific posts, but i don't think it was inaccurate in general.

the question i am posing is not about Miers' qualifications. but, rather, the Bush Administration's defense of her qualifications, spearheaded by Laura Bush, by calling out the "sexism card" in the way that some people accuse African-Americans of pulling out the "race card."

is this defense equivalent to the "race card"?
is it okay to do because Republicans are doing it?

etc., etc.

 

[Irvine511]

I beat you to the punch on that theory, Dread.

but it's the right wing who are screaming about qualifications, not the Dems.

 

[nbcrusader]

but it's the right wing who are screaming about qualifications, not the Dems.

I thought the right was upset that Miers didn't have a clear right-wing paper trail.

 

[nbcrusader]

it's simply idiotic. that's why it's not fit for public discourse.

"i know her heart"?

what, the fuck, does he mean by that?

NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he means NOTHING!!!!!

is that on her resume? "George Bush knows mah heart!"

it's meaningless.

So, if you don't understand was GWB means, it means "nothing" and is "idiotic"??

 

[Dreadsox]

I beat you to the punch on that theory, Dread.

yes, but....they will be guiding the adjenda towards QUALIFICATIONS.....

and the next candidate will be MORE than qualified......

It is brilliant.

 

[Dreadsox]

I think the sexism charges on the part of the administration is equal bullshit......

Why would you think I would not think it bullshit? You have known me long enough I would think, to know that I am not that partisan that I would not speak out when I smell it.

But, I believe your mantra of NEPOTISM is on par with the QUALIFICATIONS....and I believe that the media manipulation by this administration is such that you and I may be educated enough to know the Democrats are not screaming qualifications, but the average JOE on the street is not....and therin lies the problem....

I cannot possibly believe that the people in this administration would have done something so horribly stupid without a purpose. Time will prove me wrong.....

 

[BVS]

and the next candidate will be MORE than qualified......

Of course they will, first of all that's not hard, plus GW more than likely won't be making the nomination.