The Political Whore

Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman, a Hillary Clinton supporter, is outraged at how she feels her candidate and women in general were portrayed in the Democratic presidential primary, and she’s fired off an open letter to Clinton on the subject:

Hillary,

You might remember me. I’m Sandy Freedman and was the mayor of Tampa. We’ve been together on many occasions since 1992 and I’ve been standing with you and for you all these years.

I’m one of the millions of women who are angry. Angry that you are not our nominee and angry that we as women haven’t made much progress since long before we first met. The blatant sexism and bias that we have seen is far more than any of us could have imagined. And, worst of all, was the silence by those who should have been most vocal about it—Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Dean, Kennedy and all of the others who for years have professed that our party stood taller for women than the Republicans. You have been there for us. THEY HAVE FAILED US.

Much has been written and spoken during this campaign about a dialogue on race. Great oratory has been heard and columns have been read. But, nothing about a dialogue on gender—-a far more insidious and covert action taking place in the workplace, on the playground, in the boardrooms and yes, in our political life.
After you have your much deserved rest, you can lead that national dialogue on gender. Not just with speeches, but with forums and town hall meetings around this country. Really listening (which you do so well) and showcasing the problems of bias towards women. Like-minded colleagues (Barbara Mikulski, Dianne Feinstein, Jennifer Granholm, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and so many other) could join with you. Just leave Pelosi, Sebelius, McCaskill , et al. at home They don’t get it.

I believe this could be one of your greatest legacies. You have the spirit, tenacity and grit to capture the nation’s attention. Please consider this idea for Chelsea and for my daughter and granddaughters. And for my sons and grandsons. This is a cycle that just has to be broken.

My fondest good wishes to you and Bill. You both have my greatest respect and admiration.

Warmly,
Sandy Freedman

In a telephone conversation with me this afternoon, Freedman said women are or should be outraged at the kind of things that were directed at Clinton during the campaign — often without any media outrage or censure from Democratic leaders. A McCain supporter asked the Republican, for instance, “How do we beat the bitch?” without much uproar from the Democratic Party or even pundits. A TV commentator quipped that Clinton must be having PMS during one rough stretch of the campaign. The Hartford Courant wrote, “The insults were endless. They criticized her marriage, her daughter, her looks, her clothes, her voice, her laugh and her cry. The superdelegates were no better as they rushed to early endorsements, long before the last American voices were heard.”

“The misogyny is horrible,” Freedman said.

“I know I speak for an awful lot of women. In the last month, men and women have shared those views and there’s anger that she lost but there is an even greater anger at the way she was treated.

“When Howard Dean was here a couple of weeks ago, we had dinner with him, and I got in his face that I was astounded that throughout this whole campaign with all the sexism and all the nasty things that had been written and said at forums … the Democratic hierarchy remained mute, Dean, Pelosi (an Obama supporter), Kennedy who’s always been such a strong supporter of women. Howard Dean has begun speaking out about that now, but it’s a little too late now.

“If anybody had ever used the N-word, the whole world would have come down and rightly so,” Freedman said. “The political cartoons, Pat Oliphant and Luckovich have had a field day, and it’s been sexist attacks. I think that’s why there is so much anger out there, and I think it is going to be very tough to overcome. Obama has got to speak to it, and he hasn’t so far.”

Freedman was mayor in the late 1980s and early ’90s said the media and society’s treatment of women in politics hasn’t changed.

“Its not any different now than it was 30 years ago when I first campaigned,” Freedman said.

Bonus Cut: a good post on Women in the Media and News blog

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