WTF Michelle? Her “tone”?

Ok, first it was Barack who said he didn’t see any problem making suckers out of Hillary’s supporters but *his* supporters would just let the rest of us go to hell if Hillary is nominated.

Now, it’s his wife, Michelle. She “has to think about her policies… her tone” and that will help determine whether she would work for her if she is the nominee. Just watch for yourself:

Michelle, 16 years ago, Hillary Clinton made a boo-boo. The demographics still favored housewives who didn’t work outside the home. We were in the midst of the Mommy Wars, which are still going on today but not as viciously. And there was very professional Hillary Clinton, private lawyer and first lady of Arkansas, answering some dumb-ass question about why she decided to have a professional life and she said something to the effect: “Well, I guess I could have just baked cookies and had teas but I decided to have a professional career.”

Well, you’d have thought she just ate a live infant on TV after plunging its dagger into its still beating heart and draining the blood from the tot. Cookie bakers and tea drinkers across the nation were enraged. Stay-at-homes and full-times nearly came to blows. It was an international incident. But she recovered, went through 16 years of hell and started the SCHIP program.

Now, YOU come along, Michelle. What have you done in the past 16 years? You’ve been the wife of a senator for 3 years and you’ve had a job. But were you ever expected to serve as the first lady of a state for 8 years? Were you ever first lady of a country for eight years? Were you ever a Senator yourself for 8 years? Well, Michelle?

Where the f%^& do you get off telling us whether you approve of Hillary’s “tone”? And why does that trump whoever is going to be the next Supreme Court nominee? What a arrogant and selfish thing to say, Michelle. You and Barack need an attitude adjustment. We’re not talking about a popularity contest here. This is about running the country. And if you and Barack can’t get on board in driving the Republicans out, you need to stay in Illinois.

Oh, make no mistake. We KNOW why you were chosen to deliver this message. Because Barack can’t anymore. The “tone” remark would look sexist coming from his mouth. But not yours?

How stupid do you think we are Michelle?

Update: We need solidarity going into the fall election. If this selfishness bothers you, drop Obama a line and ask that Michelle make amends to the rest of us who have put up with enough Republican rule.

Ladies, don’t be nervous

I don’t think I have to tell any women reading this blog about how the blogosphere, even the lefty side, is dominated by men. DailyKos and Firedoglake are exceptions when it comes to editorial power, but most commenters are still guys. And DailyKos has been infiltrated by a large number of what seems like particularly nasty, young, hostile hooligans with testosterone poisoning. They’re mean and intimidating so a lot of women don’t post or comment. They just lurk because it’s safer.

But here’s the deal, if you let these idiots intimidate you, *they* control the discourse. Republicans are very good at ‘perception management’, that is, warping the observer’s perception of reality. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if a lot of the recent hooliganism was driven by Republicans who very much want Obama to win and will find a way to shut up opposing voices. You don’t have to be paranoid to buy into this notion. You just have to think like Karl Rove. What would *he* do to make sure the pro-Clinton activists look like red headed stepchildren and chip away at their foothold in the blogosphere?

So, here’s my message to you: Whether they are genuine Obama supporters or just posing as them, they don’t like you or your message. But they are only pixels on a screen. They cannot hurt you. They can say nasty, hurtful things. They can attack your self image. They can gang up on you and try to make you shut up. But they can’t actually shut you up if you don’t let them. What are they going to do, those little black dots, “nibble your bum”? Oh, sure, they can trollstorm you off DailyKos. So, find another place to blog. Be like water, find the path of least resistance. Get in their face. When they tell you to shut up, tell them, “Make me”. And keep it light. Because one of the great things about posting on a blog is that you actually have the time to think of a snappy and devastating, self-esteem levelling response. If you ever wanted to tell some big jerk off with a witty rejoinder, now’s your chance.

Friends, if you want to vote for a woman because she’s the best qualified candidate AND she’s a woman, don’t let anyone talk you out of it. It’s your right to identify with the hardest working, most intelligent candidate of the bunch. And when you’re in the privacy of the voting booth, you have the right to make history. Ain’t nobody’s business if you do. And if that’s not incentive enough, just think about how the media pundits’ and wingers’ heads will explode on Tuesday night. *That* alone will be totally worth it.

With that in mind, ghost2 has helped me assemble some links from around the web that might inspire and empower you to get back in there and fight harder:

• Goodbye to All That #2 – By Robin Morgan
• The Obama Messiah Watch – I hear he can also walk on water and exorcise demons
• The Trouble with Obama– Journalist Steve Rhodes describes resisting the tsunami.
• A Compilation of eriposte’s Greatest Hits– tasty!
• Hillary Clinton:Too much of a Clinton Democrat? -by Markos Moulitsas. He’s spot on about some things and just completely wrong about others.
• The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pantsuit– Me, in a former life.
• Response to a Kossack: Krugman is right– By Jim Bow who knows a thing or two about health insurance.

Musings on Monday

• Where is NYC going to get ticker tape? Do they even *have* tickers any more? I thought that’s what RSS feeds and Blackberries were for.
• Opposite Day on NPR this morning was celebrated by Mara Liason. She interviewed Republican strategists and pollsters who say that if we give Clinton the nomination, she will lose against McCain. Oh, and Hillary also galvanizes support among Democrats. Gee, Mara, you make that sound like a *bad* thing. Anyway, the Republicans are certainly pulling out all of the stops to get Obama the nomination with the Tar Baby routine. “No, No, Please don’t throw us in the briar patch with Obama! He will *crush* us with independents. They LOVE him. We’d much rather run against Clinton. She’d be a piece of cake to beat.” Also loved the woman said that she would only vote for Clinton if she were running against Osama bin Laden. Well, they are Republicans, after all. No one ever said they could think logically.
• It seems that there are hordes of Obamaphiles standing on the streetcorners in New York City, harrassing people walking by with chants and general rowdiness. It’s really turning voters off. So, GOOD WORK, guys! Keep it up! Can I get you some coffee and donuts? Maybe a lozenge to keep your throat lubricated? We don’t want you to get hoarse. Just stay out there and give it your all. Don’t hold back. We’re counting on you to win this for us.