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Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks

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ihateemo
06/14/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
Meghan McCain seems to say a lot of things.

How is she relevant, again?
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That_little_attention_whore
06/14/09

@ihateemo: her father is a senator and failed presidential candidate. that makes her an expert on, like, everything relating to politics and definitely makes her opinion, like, waaaaaaaaay more important than any of ours. duh!
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Jack_Burton
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
I'll say it again: When you make a major point of parading your family around during the campaign and the Convention, and speak about "family values" until you are blue in the face, and literally drag your autistic baby into the debate, YOUR KIDS ARE NOT OFF-LIMITS. YOU, Sarah Palin (and the McCampaign) ARE TO BLAME FOR THEIR BEING TARGETED. Comedians do not respect double-standards, and it is their job to expose, and occasionally exploit them.

John McCain quote, implying that because Palin's child has Autism, that somehow, she is a champion of the rights and interests of the developmentally handicapped. Bullshit - her baby is a bullet-point in a speech, and a shiny object in a hapless dog and pony show with no substance.
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Kali Mama
06/14/09

@Jack_Burton: Also, he has Downs syndrome, not autism. So double score on the disingenuous.
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Triana Orpheus
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
Um, wasn't there just a post about a GOP activist comparing Michelle Obama to a gorilla?
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TurtleWexlerKickedMe
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
I'm telling Meghan McCain to shut up. I AM DOING THIS.
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CecilMcCecil
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
I am so glad you posted this. I do declare that Ms. McCain's feminist outrage is just a tiny tiny bit disengenous.

Which Republican came out last week opining that he was worried for America if Sotomayor had to make a judicial decision when she was on her period?
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labeled
06/13/09

@CecilMcCecil: IMO only, that is the exact same thing that's going on here. We're ignoring the fact that Letterman overstepped on a *feminist* angle because we don't like the targets.

Same exact thing. So basically, everyone should STFU about both, or be bothered by both.
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misspell
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
"Neither I, nor the rest of the country, go to our late-night comics to hear about their personal politics."

Wrong, actually. I loooooved it when Letterman had Bill O'Reilly on there. I wish they did that every night.
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BAngieB
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
When are they gonna let this die? His jokes centered around her formerly pregnant 17 year-old daughter, not realizing it was her 14 year-old daughter who was accompanying her. And the jokes where about the daughter, but about Spitzer and ARod.

Plus, he honestly apologized.
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M est enchantée de vous rencontrer.
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
wouldn't it just be fair to say all politicians' kids are off limits?

the problem is, sarah palin sorta pimped her own family to help get her votes with the whole "hockey mom" thing. while the media did treat bristol somewhat unfairly, she was the one that thrust them in the spotlight instead of making them private.
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clevernamehere
06/13/09

@M est enchantée de vous rencontrer.: Palin was known more for her parenting than any of the other candidates, but I think a lot of that had to do with her gender. If thrusting your kids into the spotlight by having them do events means they are fair game, then Malia and Sasha are fair game too. Every politician makes appearances with their family.
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shananigans aka angerball
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: Not really. Sarah Palin based her whole political campaign around being a "hockey mom". Hilary Clinton is not known exclusively for her parenting and Chelsea chose to be on the campaign trail with her mom. If Sarah Palin is going to force her family into the spotlight as some sort of highlight on her resume then that part of her credentials gets to be questioned like any other.
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: I think that's a good point. Plus republicans worship at the alter of motherhood so it's not like she could afford not to discuss being a mother and expect to get votes.

Also, even though I think he was referring to Bristol, there was no need to bring a politician's kid into it, no matter what their parent has done. That's just basic decency.
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@shananigans aka cookie pants!: I think it also has a lot to do with Sarah Palin being a Republican and Hillary being a democrat and the differing focus & value placed upon traditional roles that each party has.
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shananigans aka angerball
06/13/09

@Ms. Crankypants: True but Sarah Palin obviously played that up for political gain.
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@shananigans aka cookie pants!: for sure
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Bunsen Honeydew
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
I think over time Meghan McCain will realize she doesn't have to have an opinion on everything. She might start sounding smarter when that happens.
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morninggloria
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
If there is a double standard, which I don't really see, then it exists because Republican are more prone to pearl-clutching "WHY, I NEVER!"-isms that comedians seem to love offending.
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heywhat
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
What a minute? Haven't the right made innumerable jokes about Hillary (i.e. she's a lesbian, she's ugly) for years? Now we have to handle female politicians and their children with kid gloves?
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ihateyourescalade
06/13/09

@heywhat: Word. Where's the Sarah Palin nutcracker? Where's the "Citizens United Not Timid" shirt with the picture of Palin on it?
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attilathehoney
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
When Republicans say "there is a double standard" what they really mean is "something bad actually happened to us for once."

Also, I notice she's used both "Democrat Women" and "Democratic politician". Playin' both sides of the semantics debate, I see.
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@attilathehoney: Yep. Republicans excel at the whiner/bully personality.
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clevernamehere
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
Meghan McCain isn't responsible for things her father said when she was 10. She doesn't have to write her own version of Mommy Dearest before she can complain about Letterman's comments.

I don't think there is a double standard at all when it comes to inappropriate discussions of female politicians looks- both liberals and conservatives make way too many comments about what the women on the other side look like. Meghan needs to realize that is the real issue. Letterman was out of line and should be called on it, but the issue isn't where a woman stands on the issues, its her vagina.
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la.donna.pietra
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: She isn't responsible for them (any more than I'm responsible for the occasional racist or inane thing my dad has said over the years), but to not mention that her own dad is guilty of the same behavior is a mite disingenuous. At the very least, it opens up precisely this sort of criticism.
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: She's not responsible for the things he has said but she is responsible for using the tired republican line that they're somehow an oppressed group for who are subject to gross double standards from the "liberal" media. She is claiming there's a double standard, and conveniently ignoring a large body of evidence from her own father's conduct, to that of other prominent republicans, so she can cry republican victim. Her claim is hollow and her complaint about sexism would be better if, as you said, she stuck to the real issue.
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clevernamehere
06/13/09

@la.donna.pietra: If she mentions her dad, then it becomes all about her dad. Calling her dad out should be done at the dinner table like every other family in America, there's no reason for it to turn into a public feud.
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la.donna.pietra
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: Fair 'nuff. Pass the mashed potatoes?
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greengrey
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: But there's no reason for her to claim there's a double standard when her own family is evidence to the contrary.
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@greengrey (raidersofthelostSTAR): Right. It's the double standard thing that de-legitimizes her complaint & puts it into political maneuvering territory. She didn't even have to mention her dad, she could have simply stated that the jokes were in poor taste and sexist & that all politician's kids should be off limits. Period.
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misspell
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: Well, she doesn't really have to mention her dad; she could mention all kinds of Republican politicians and pundits that make misogynistic or sexist remarks. But then it wouldn't be about party politics, and that seems to be more her aim than talking about sexism in general.
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clevernamehere
06/13/09

@Ms. Crankypants: @greengrey (raidersofthelostSTAR): Meghan McCain isn't exactly a seasoned political pundit. She strikes me as someone who is just starting to think about politics and gender issues. I really wouldn't be all the surprised if she wasn't even aware of a lot of the incidents people are mentioning. It is too bad she has a platform for her thoughts before she is really well versed, but I can't hate on her for figuring out her ideas in public.
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greengrey
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: I don't buy the "not a seasoned political pundit" excuse. A lot of us here aren't seasoned political pundits, We just have logic. We know what "double standard" means. She doesn't have an excuse. If you want to talk about an issue in public, research it first, yeah? If she's not educated on the topic, maybe she should keep her mouth shut?

I think she's older than me. But she sounds like I did when I was 14.
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misspell
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: I'm not hating on her at all, but it's sort of strange to me that she's even making statements about this. Just a couple weeks ago, wasn't there the whole "why is everyone letting Meghan McCain make a fool of herself" discussion going on? I know she's not just a tool of the GOP (or at least I hope she's not), but why does anyone think that statements from her are effective?
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clevernamehere
06/13/09

@greengrey (raidersofthelostSTAR): I just can't get that annoyed at her. She hasn't said anything truly vile, she has a pretty minor career in media. I just don't think its that big of a deal.
If Karina Gore was getting a minor amount of press for liberal live journal type musings would be telling her to keep her mouth shut?

@misspell: She's cute and her Dad is famous. Really I think any of the former first daughters/candidate's daughters could get the same amount of press if they looked for it. In a few years I think she'll either evolve into a decent moderate Republican pundit or she'll fall of the political map (she isn't angry enough to go to the super conservative side).
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@clevernamehere: Sorry, but no. She may not be aware of her father's comments over a decade ago, but she is certainly aware of the current media climate and that male republican's say shitty and sexist things about women in the public eye all the time, the commenters on this board of pointed out numerous examples, both more recent & some in the past. So, if she's going to claim a double standard she better make sure there actually is one. She's failing at basic observational & critical thinking skills in this piece. Which, I might add, she wrote, so it's not like it's an off the cuff remark, she thought about it and published it. She needs to think harder.
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YourScreenplaySucks
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
"Would David Letterman ever make such a joke about President Obama's daughters (or for that matter Al Gore's)

No, because they are not perceived as low-class; in the case of the Gore family, quite the opposite. The joke here, that Palin's teenage daughters have a propensity for getting knocked up wherever they go or that Palin has a "slutty" appearance, rests on the perception of Palin's family as being "trailer trash".

Such a joke about Chelsea Clinton or the Obama daughters or Gore daughters simply would not have resonated with the audience given how we view them. If a prominent Democrat's family had the same profile as Palin's, they would've been the target of similar jokes.
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la.donna.pietra
06/13/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: In all fairness, the Clintons were widely seen as poor white trash with delusions of uppityness in the very early stages of Clinton's presidency. I remember a *lot* of jokes about Arkansas, incest, and outhouses from that period.

Then again, I did grow up near Bakersfield.
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ihateyourescalade
06/13/09

@la.donna.pietra: Home of the giant dinosaur statues?
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LipstickLibrarian
06/13/09

@ihateyourescalade: Nope, that's Cabazon, CA. The apatosaurus is now a creationism museum.
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ihateyourescalade
06/13/09

@LipstickLibrarian: I propose a Jezebel convention at that museum!
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la.donna.pietra
06/13/09

@LipstickLibrarian: Buck Owens did have some giant dinosaur statues at his estate, which I suspect are what ihateyourescalade is confusing those with.
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LipstickLibrarian
06/13/09

@la.donna.pietra: Really? Well, I'll be.
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la.donna.pietra
06/13/09

In reply to Meghan McCain Says There's A Double Standard For Republican Women, Avoids Her Father's Nasty Remarks
It is, however, useful to point out how the Clintons dealt with SNL when they aired a nasty skit about Chelsea: Bill Clinton called up Lorne Michaels privately and said, "Hey, I'm the president. I'm fair game. My daughter is a 13-year-old girl, and she isn't. Back off.*" SNL never mentioned Chelsea again while Clinton was in office.

*approximate phrasing
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HuckleberryFriend
06/13/09

@la.donna.pietra: That's pretty cool. And interesting to compare to the whole Palin thing, which has been used for media publicity.
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misspell
06/13/09

@la.donna.pietra: Similar to the way the Obamas quietly told that doll company to please knock off making Sasha and Malia dolls. They didn't feel the need the make a federal case of it. No pun intended.
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Ms. Crankypants
06/13/09

@la.donna.pietra: That's the classy & appropriate way to handle it as opposed to suggesting that Dave is all into statutory rape & should be kept away from children. Hell, even a simple public statement that it was inappropriate, offensive & wrong, would've worked.
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