1950 Called: It Wants Its Sexist Feminists Back

Think that headline is an oxymoron? It should be, but unfortunately in today’s age of warped feminism, it isn’t.

Enter Sarah Palin as John McCain’s veep pick. McCain’s announcement of Palin last Friday was a historic moment, and as such stole much of the media spotlight from coverage of Barack Obama’s own historic speech the previous night.

My angst in all of the hoopla of the last week is not only the venom spewed at Palin based different aspects of her womanhood - but more importantly, on different aspects of her motherhood.

The attacks on Palin have been as relentless and disappointing.

Yesterday alone, three front-page stories from the NY Times featured articles mentioning the teenage pregnancy of Bristol Palin, Palin’s 17 year old daughter. Female reporters helped write two of those stories.

Both the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun featured blistering articles written by women about the GOPs female pick.

These women apparently can’t look beyond their hatred for the right to even consider a “fair and balanced” perspective on a very important issue in American politics – not to mention her story.

For example, Taylor Marsh called the pick desperate, while the Baltimore Sun said Palin was “in over her head,” and that her …

“personal story is very compelling, but it reads more like a movie pitch than a resume for national leadership.”

The Washington Post points out that all these family “distractions” would keep Palin from doing her job…

This would inevitably be an enormous distraction for a new vice president (or president) in a time of global turmoil.

Seriously?

Look, whether or not we start out from the assumption that a mother’s role is different from a father’s, it is nonetheless not ours to judge.

As a mom of a young child whose needs are greater than most his age, I know the personal challenges of raising children and I cannot imagine how tough it will be to raise a child with the special needs of down’s syndrome – but I can’t make that decision for Palin.

That is what we call freedom, liberty and individual responsibility.

How do we know Palin’s husband isn’t more involved? Mr. Moms are possible. In fact, I know a few.

The fact is that women are tougher on other women in this election cycle than in any I have witnessed. I don’t care whether it is academia, the corporate world or politics, we just love to hate on one another.

To belie Palin’s mothering abilities because she’s a working mom should fly as an insult to women, regardless of what side you support.

After all, feminist propaganda for decades has sold us the concept that the working mom can have it all. And by this definition Palin is the archetype of feminism.

But sexist feminists don’t want certain women to “have it all,” particularly if they happen to oppose abortion and big government.

Palin shouldn’t be attacked for the personal choices of her relatives and her children. She shouldn’t be criticized for being a working mother. If she’s going to be attacked for anything, it should be based on her record.

Sadly, if Palin were a man, her parenting wouldn’t be an issue. For example, is Joe Biden being criticized for not staying home with his two sons after he was widowed? Of course not.

Yes, Palin is more conservative on social issues than many independents may like, but she is a strong fiscal conservative. She’s anti-big government. She’s taken a stand against big oil. She’s taken a stand against corruption and gone against the grain of good ol’ boy politics.

Put simply, there is a lot to like about this woman.

But there is a lot to dislike as well. Palin’s anti-gay stances and her support for drilling in Alaska’s last frontier are both tough pills for me to swallow as an individual voter, but I plan on incorporating the good with the bad and making a decision that best fits all of my beliefs.

And that’s what everyone needs to do.

It’s time to move on to the questions that are important and meaningful this election cycle. Lets get on with the debates, lets get on with hammering out the issues and let’s start asking questions that really matter, not questions designed solely to bring people down.

For the record, I’m not a feminist.

I’m a mother who wants to see fair and equal treatment for male and female politicians. In fact, my mothering views may be a little 1950s-ish - hell, let’s be honest, I’m probably like circa 1800s when it comes to viewpoints on the role of mothers, but it is not in my best interest, nor yours, to make parenting decisions for other people.

In fact, I’d say that’s un-American.

Nancy Mace is president of The Mace Group, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. She is also the author of “In the Company of Men,” (Simon and Schuster, 2001) based on her experiences as the first woman to graduate from The Citadel.