An Open Letter to Hillary from Marcia A. Pappas
September 3, 2008 by Will Bower
Dear Senator Clinton:
You gave a fabulous, eloquent, and dynamic speech at the Democratic Convention. It brought tears to the eyes of the millions of women who worked so hard for you. One phrase in your powerhouse delivery rings on in my ears. In your call for us to back Obama you asked: “Were you in this campaign just for me or were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?”
For some people your question was a turning point. I was one of those people. And I need to answer you, not just because you are my wonderful Senator from New York, but because I want to give you the answer I know many are thinking, but lack the forum to express. You see, my dear Senator, I too sometimes have the occasion to speak for the invisible. In my capacity as President of New York State National Organization for Women, I often speak for the millions of women who are denied reproductive healthcare. I speak for the women who are beaten and abused by their partners, and whom no one believes. I speak for the women who lose their children when corrupt judges award custody to the abusers. I also sometimes speak for the millions of women who feel discrimination in the workplace, and for victims of rape and trafficking.
Then, on a micro scale, I even campaigned for and won a contentious race, backed by supporters who believe I’m a person who speaks truth without fear. I was the person they trusted would work for justice in the lives of women and all oppressed people.
So I know what you wanted to hear, Senator. You wanted to hear people in loud unison declare: “No, we were not just in it for you, Hillary; we were in it for the invisible.”But for me, the only answer can be: “Yes, Senator, I was in it for YOU, precisely because YOU were in it for those people who feel invisible, and because YOU were the candidate who saw clearly that over fifty percent of the population was being ignored.”
Who are those people? Why they are the poor, the hungry, the underinsured, i.e. women and their children. YOU are the person who addressed the issues of that fifty-plus percent. YOU are the person who worked her entire life for that fifty-plus percent. YOU are the person who, in the face of rife opposition and ridicule, stood firm in favor of health care for the invisible. YOU are the person with a proven record on Emergency Contraception for all women, because YOU understand that without reproductive freedom, women are held hostage to unwanted pregnancies. And it is YOU who has proven, over and over, that you can deliver for the invisible.
YOU were the candidate whose followers felt they knew so well, they could call her by her first name. Little girls yelled “Hillary” because they knew their future was in your hands. Single mothers saw hope for the future, knowing that their struggle would lessen under your leadership. Older women came out in the wintry Iowa Caucuses to finally vote for the first truly possible woman president. They looked into your heart, into your eyes, into your soul, and saw something different. And those of us, who traveled around the country, working for your campaign, watched you emerge as a new kind of politician. We saw YOU.
Today, your popularity endures, bigger perhaps than even you imagined. Why? Because YOU represent the invisible. YOU persist as our symbol of hope, justice and equality. Please don’t be afraid of it. Please embrace it. YOU inspired us, brought us to tears, made us laugh, and made us finally feel that we were not voting for the lesser of two evils. There are eighteen million people out here who are, like me, not ashamed, like me, to say: “Yes Hillary I was in it for YOU.”
Marcia A. Pappas
President
NOW NYS
NewYorkStateNOW@aol.com
Identity politics at its worst. That woman should be ashamed.
Do you not see the hypocrisy of voting for a woman who does not believe in women’s rights?
Can people really be this dumb?
Oh, right. They voted for Bush twice.
jwl6 - why don’t you troll somewhere else where people actually care what you have to say, like MSNBC.
I work at Fox Noise, actually.
By the way, I actually made a point. You just resorted to name-calling.
Typical.
“We know that Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is a longstanding opponent of women’s rights, and NOW PAC will actively work to prevent him from succeeding George W. Bush in the White House. At the same time, we will mobilize to support and elect women’s rights supporters at every level of government in November.”
http://www.now.org/press/08-08/08-23.html
“Sen. John McCain’s choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is a cynical effort to appeal to disappointed Hillary Clinton voters and get them to vote, ultimately, against their own self-interest.
Gov. Palin may be the second woman vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, but she is not the right woman. Sadly, she is a woman who opposes women’s rights, just like John McCain.”
http://www.now.org/press/08-08/08-29.html
Trolling was an action not a noun, again with the passive agressive behavior. You really do have serious issues. That of course is a description.
I like to step back on most situations. Where can we do the most to support Hillary Clinton? Secretary of State is the most powerful position in the world. How many peace treaties will Condolezza Rice be remembered for? How many wars did she negotiate to end during her terms? She failed women and her self in so many ways following the Bush ideals.
I see Hillary Clinton as the next Secretary of State! She has the skills the Rice does not. I want to see Hillary become the most powerful woman in the world!
To do that we must support the democartic party - it is the only way to get Hillary to the top … the very top!
Which is why having only a “majority” of the states with the right to choose is not enough. Ahem, majority as GrandPUMA defined herself.
So, I agree with jw. I believe that a woman has the right to choose, and should have that right in all 50 states, not just “25+1.” Hillary believes this, as well. I would never jeopardize that by electing McCain/Palin.
C’mon, Sparky. Admit you’re Karl Rove. Or a 12 year old kid.
Your friggin’ name is Sparky, for cryin’ out loud. Are you the 6th Palin kid?
That’s verb, by the way. Not action.
I’m actually Pro-Choice. Sarah Palin is Pro-Life. That’s what makes America great, we have the right to express our opinions, not just what any government says.
Hillary and McCain respect eachother’s opinion.
Wow! so women are really going to support Obama rather than a women? UNREAL!!!!
Hey, even Hillary talked about women rights being HUMAN rights. There is so much more than abortion. I have been a member of NOW, I have worked for years on the ERA (which by the way was started by the Republicans). But I happen to be pro-life. This simply means that I choose life over terminating a pregnancy. Sorry, girls, there is nothing wrong with this. So much more needs to be done for women besides JUST abortion issues.
If Palin doesn’t win, you do realize that a woman will NOT be given a third chance to be VP. We will be poison. It has already been proven that the DNC prefers color to woman, so you can bet your bottom dollar that Hillary won’t be able to win in 2012 either. HEY, the DNC just screwed women, but you women want to go back and support the party that took us back to the 1800’s? Go figure!!!
Well, go support Obama. Me, I am going with McCain/Palin. I would have voted for McCain anyway, and the fact that his ego allows for a woman on the ticket gives me more hope in breaking the glass ceiling. Obama couldn’t even allow Hillary to be on the ticket. Oh how soon we forget.
And NO, I don’t support Hillary or Gloria going up against another woman. It’s time to think Country before Party.
Go McCain/Palin! I am woman…HEAR ME ROAR!
The biggest mistake in decades of the Democratic Party was to push for Obama. Instead of trying to be so very politically correct going for the “overinflated” balloon Obama, the party should have gone for experience and the likewise politically correct choice, Hillary.
Hillary would have won the democrats a landslide victory and without doubt stayed in power for 8 years. If Obama still was a favourite after Hillary’s 8 years, then it would have been his turn, hopefully a bit more mature and experienced.
Had the Democratic Party used their brains a bit longer than their nose, had they been just the slightest tactical, as I have mentioned above, they could easily been in power for 12 years.
So, Hillary said today that Obama is HER candidate, and “no way no how no McCain, No Palin.” Funny, that’s not here anywhere?
Renshaw - you are losing your mind. You keep posting the same comment on three or four different topics. You are losing your edge.
Take a break - put the kool-aid down and breath - see doesn’t that make you feel better.
I think I have already explained why Hillary has been put in the corner “like a good little Democrat” and told what to do by the Messiah - it’s called her livelihood.
Seriously - no slowly , very slowley- now let go and put that addictive kool-aid down…
Gosh darn spelling - slowly - meant to spell slowly.
I am starting to care for you Renshaw - why don’t you step out of the dark little box that you are in and peer over the edge and see the whole world for what it really is and not what they have been brainwashing you with.
For pete’s sake - just how long have they been forcing that kool-aid down your throat - it must be worst than a herion addiction.
juliej wrote:
“Wow! so women are really going to support Obama rather than a women[sic]? UNREAL!!!!”
Shouldn’t you be supporting the Green Party this year? After all, they have TWO women on their ticket. I can’t believe that, as a woman, you are really going to support McCain/Palin rather than TWO women.
UNREAL!!!
As for the rest of your post, to me it just sounded like “blah, blah, blah, ERA, blah, blah, blah, sorry girls, blah, blah, blah, NOW, blah, blah, blah, choose life, blah, blah, blah, bottom dollar, blah, blah, blah ROAR!
Frankly, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
McCain respects women. I trust McCain a patriot instead of a corruptive liar BO.
Hold on, your guy!!! I am a woman and will not support BO. I refuse to reward DNC and BO.
Right to vote - it’s more like he is a perpetual liar, racist and as a typical Muslim raised person, does not look at women on the same level as himself.
Did you ever see pictures of the way he looked at Hillary when she had her back turned to him, it was pure evil! - In my opinion.
I am a Republican that has found your site. I GET IT! I wondered how Dems could be so excited about Hillary running, but I get it now with Sarah Palin. A woman needs to break the glass ceiling. Even as a Republican I don’t agree on her abortion stance (I’m pro choice) and the whole huntin’ fishin’ killin’ thing doesn’t really get me going, but I think that she is a real person who loves her country will put it above anything else. I think John McCain showed his true class by taking a chance and putting her on the ticket. I found Hillary’s treatment by the media sexist (how many pant suits comments did we have to endure), and O-bad-man didn’t choose Hillary as his running mate because he didn’t want to be upstaged (it’s that simple ladies). No class! If Sarah doesn’t run for president in 2012, I could see myself voting for Hillary. It’s time for a woman in the white house! Good luck to you P.U.M.A.S.s!
If you really want to see Senator Obama’s attitude about Hillary, check out the U-Tube video under Obama in Raleigh. Listen to the crowd when he uses his middle finger to ’scratch’ his face, brushes something (dandruff?) of his nice empty suit and reaches down to clean s*** off his shoes.