Sarah Palin: I, Feminist

Sarah Palin’s address last month at an anti-choice breakfast caused a huge ruckus for her liberal use of the word “feminist.” (Interesting who didn’t seem to notice.)  Folks everywhere questioned this claim, but I think Meghan Daum hit the nail on the head here  in pointing out that Ms. P. is well within her rights. Think what you will of her politics, you gotta hand it to the lady; she’s galvanized support from an enormously disenfranchised lot–conservative women. And I have no doubt that she is scheming and manipulative enough to maintain her franchise despite the many missteps still to come. (Just in case you forgot this little NSFW gem: [video:

425×344]) But I don’t, ultimately, see her as a real threat. (Disclaimer: I was shocked by Bush’s  second election; disclaimer two: I was not living in the U.S. at the time; disclaimer three: yes, the title of this post is in reference to Claudius, the much-underestimated Roman emperor.) So let’s forget about Palin for the moment; she’s a numnut quitter. My bigger concern is the woman she’s paved the way for, Carly Fiorina, erstwhile CEO of Hewlett Packard and breast cancer survivor. Fiorina is so smart and so well-spoken, hell, I kinda want to vote for her. No one would try and deny her Feminist card, yet Fiorina is as anti-choice as they come. Even if based on my own logic I have to support the thinking that it’s possible to be an anti-choice feminist, the reality is horrifying. To my ears, nothing says subjugation like enforced pregnancy. If Palin and Fiorina continue on herding their flocks however, this may well become the norm.