Lindsey v. Women

The thing about the tantrums we saw last week, both from Brett Kavanaugh and Lindsey Graham, was that they both sounded like men who had been spending way too much time with the "president."  It makes sense, doesn't it, that if he can get away with it, they can too.  And they did.

Women like Susan Collins, who pretend to be pro-women, are really throwbacks, as are any republican women who will tolerate and make excuses for raging men, and minimize the assaults on women.  I guess because she is a women, successful in the republican party, she knew to keep her head down, study the notes she was given, and act like she was taking the high road.

The double-talk we heard last week may have taken us by surprise, but shouldn't have.  It was the same double-talk we heard during the Clarence Thomas hearing.  The woman was confused; the woman allowed herself to be put in that position; the woman waited until she had something to gain (?!) by coming forward when she did; while we sympathize with the woman, we don't believe her.  The man is having his reputation destroyed; his family and career are being harmed; his sincerity cannot be doubted.  Lies excused, attacks rationalized.

Why wouldn't Kavanaugh stick it out?  He had powerful and loud men on his side.  Donald Trump has insulted every-damn-body in the world, and knows that they will stand by him as long as he has power to wield.  And, like Clarence Thomas in 1991, Kavanaugh ends up not having his family and career destroyed:  he ends up with a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.

And then there is Lindsey.  He has been taken for a ride -- and not just on the golf course -- more than once by Trump.  But he has what Trump preys on:  ambition.  So he has been strung along since November of 2016, at first tentatively throwing his support, and then with more fervor, no, fever.  What we witnessed from Graham last week was nothing short of hysteria.  He was indeed crazed.

Like Kavanaugh, he had been spending a lot of time listening to presidential rants and invective, to the point where reason was a distant memory, calm was no longer even in the repertoire.

So it was no surprise that after Graham's rant, women -- and good men -- across the country rose up with outrage.  We need to do something NOW, and the passion and determination is NOW.

I was not surprised to receive an email during that time from the South Carolina Democratic Party.  What did surprise me was that they were promoting past chair and bombast Jaime Harrison as their choice to oppose Lindsey Graham in 2020.

First of all, I have heard Harrison speak just a few times, including a couple of appearances on Rachel Maddow before the 2016 SC primaries.  I may be wrong, but it seems that whatever question he is asked, Harrison will respond with a long-winded replay of who he is and how he got here.  Harrison's success as chair can only be summed up by the Democrats' losses in local, state and national government during his reign.

That said, the most important thing about where the party stands today is that they are not RIGHT NOW promoting a woman to run against Lindsey Graham in 2020.  With the successes of women running for office across the country, with the rage and determination that resulted from the mockery of a Senate Supreme Court nomination hearing, it never occurred to our state party that Graham's assault was an invitation.

Had the situation been reversed -- and I am happy to say that wouldn't have ever happened -- but if it had -- by the end of the tirade, there would have been meetings and "bindersful of women" to parade in front of the electorate; fund raising emails promising the revenge of victimized women would have gone out in minutes.

While republicans disdain women, they know how to use us.  That is why we had a Nikki Haley as governor, but we can't seem to promote and elect a Democratic woman governor.  It pains me to say it, but they will use Nikki all the way to the presidency, and she will be happy to be used.

We do have fantastic women on the political stage in South Carolina.  While the party might jump on board when they smell success, they don't put their money or their mouth into finding and promoting women that are right here for the running.

We don't just have smart and motivated women, we have organizations right here in South Carolina that will help.

Right off the top, we have South Carolina Democratic Women's Council, and local chapters, including Charleston County Democratic Women.  I wish I could say women were well represented on the Democratic Party websites, but you have to look hard to find them.  If you want to hook up with the Women's Council or CCDW, your best bet is to look on Facebook.

Then there are the women's action networks that have grown HUGE since 2016.  WREN -- Women's Rights and Empowerment Network -- is fighting for women's issues across the state, from wage equality to healthcare to empowering women to seek leadership roles in business and, yes, politics.  Emerge America opened its doors in South Carolina in 2017.   I can't speak highly enough about the work they are doing to encourage and train women to run for political office.  Thinking you can do a better job than the jackasses now in office?  Get in touch with Emerge SC.  Want to help women who have decided to run?  Contact Emerge SC.

And of course we have great groups here in South Carolina like Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the American Association of University Women, both of which can be counted on to promote women in government as well as women's issues in healthcare and education.

Then there are all the women right here, right now, that we should be persuading to take on Lindsey Graham.  Just a few names come to mind; I'm sure we can put our heads together and think of lots more:

SC Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter from Orangeburg 

Linda Ketner, who in 2008 nearly defeated 4-term incumbent Henry Brown for US Congress District 1 

Margie Bright Matthews, SC state Senator for District 45

State Senator Mia McLeod from Richmond County, 

So, here we are.  Do we jump up and down and wave our hands so that our Democratic Party will listen to us?  Do we -- both women and men -- insist on being represented equally in government and especially in the Democratic Party?

And most important TODAY, after Lindsey Graham invited us to step up and challenge him, do we find a woman who will fight for us, so that a misogynist like Lindsey will not be holding down that seat and voting against our interests in Congress after 2020?

Write, call, email your state and local Democratic Party.  They won't take this step unless it is absolutely clear we will accept no less.  Spread the word on Facebook, at home, at work, community meetings.

Finding and supporting a woman to step up and take on Lindsey Graham for Senate in 2020 needs to start now.  And it should really be a no-brainer.

It is time for Lindsey to go.  And he seems to agree.

"I hope the American people can see through this sham."

What to Do about the Women

In South Carolina, women don't fare very well.  Whether it is health care, employment, violence, education, reproductive rights... you know what I mean.  And in spite of all the anti-abortion verbiage about protecting women, pregnant women, babies and children remain vulnerable.

On Thursday, September 1, Charleston County Democratic Women will hold its first meeting after the summer hiatus.  The featured speaker will be Jane Perdue of the Center for Women, founded in 1990, and which mission is "Dedicated to empowering and enriching women in their private and public lives."

The end goal is to increase the presence of women professionally and in elected office.  But to get there, so many things have to change.  Our daughters need to be healthy, well-fed and well educated.  They need to live in homes and walk through neighborhoods that are safe.  As they grow older, they need to have the same opportunities for higher education, employment and economic growth as men, and all those criteria need to cut across race as well.

In South Carolina, preterm birth rate is 4th highest in the nation; while the infant mortality rate has declined, there is a dramatic racial divide.  With the state's continued refusal to expand Medicaid, women and children continue to experience the harmful results.  Last year, attacks on Planned Parenthood threatened to shut down a valuable source of women's health care.  Control of our reproductive health means control of emotional and economic well-being.  South Carolina ranks #1 in violence against women.  We are still debating whether or not to allow our schools to provide medically accurate sex education to students.

What all the above means is that here in South Carolina, girls and women are faced with constant hurdles to living a good life.

The Center for Women addresses each of these issues with education and advocacy.

The year of our first woman president should be the year we move the girls and women of South Carolina into the 21st century.

Please go to the Charleston County Democratic Women Facebook page and say you will attend this important meeting on Thursday, September 1, at the Holiday Inn.  Men are welcome, because what improves the lives of women improves all our lives.  Registration is at 6, the buffet dinner is $20.00.  And please take the opportunity to become a member.

I look forward to seeing you there.  

Young Democratic Women Speaking Out

The most important question Democrats should be asking these days is not "How do we get young people out to vote?"  The question we should be asking is, "What issues concern you and what should your representatives be doing to address those issues?"

Well meaning politicians on the Democratic side are so intent on telling voters what they will do for them, they forget to ask if what they want to do is in fact what we want.  And especially so for young voters.  This is a shame, because it turns out they have a lot to say.

On Thursday, March 3, Charleston County Democratic Women will host three young women from our community, who will address just that issue.  It promises to be a great meeting, and I hope to see you there.

Let’s Hear It!

From Our Future

March 3, 2016 * 6:00 PM

Holiday Inn Riverview

Savannah Frierson - Author and Administrative Assistant at the Avery Research Center, Ali Titus - Program Officer at the Coastal Community Foundation, and Monica Tanouye - Communications and Diversity Officer at the Coastal Community Foundation will talk about their perceptions of the political process, what they hope to see in the future and the ways they believe we can successfully work together for positive change in our community.

Join us to learn and add to the discussion in the Q&A following their presentations.

Please RSVP to janleonard08@gmail.com

We encourage the participation of young Democrats in our meetings and the political process in our county, state and nation. We enjoy hosting our young members or members-to-be.

If you are a young adult or student of any age in search of a sponsor for the buffet dinner, please contact Jan Leonard (janleonard08@gmail.com) by March 1, 2016, for more information.

Charleston's Democratic Women

As you may know, Charleston County Democratic Women has been around a long time, fighting for the rights of all South Carolinians.  They are working to make us more aware of the ongoing battles at the Statehouse for women's rights as well as healthcare, education, a living wage and the right to live free of racism and gun violence.  Membership and donations support like-minded candidates, so that we can change the pathetic record of rabid right-wing radicalism in our legislature.

The next meeting of CCDW is this Thursday, February 4, at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Riverview.  The featured speaker is Will Moredock, author and columnist.  Will has been reporting on the weird, wacky and often offensive twists and turns of our state government for well over a decade.  His latest book is a collection of articles from 2002 to 2012 entitled Living in Fear: Race, Politics and the Republican Party in South Carolina.

Will has spoken passionately for women's rights, and is an advocate for reproductive rights, which, since the secretly recorded and heavily edited Planned Parenthood video, are even more under attack by state and federal legislators than they had been in previous years.  Our state legislature currently has twenty or more bills pending that would curb the rights of women to pursue legal abortions in South Carolina, and even restrict the ability to donate fetal tissue to research.

But the attack is not just against women.  It is against African Americans, the LGBT community, college students, workers.  Families, children, the poor, all are under fire from a legislature with the mantra of no taxes.  Small government is cited in denying Medicaid to the uninsured but doesn't apply at all when it is women's right to medical privacy that is being considered.  Bad state government is the reason South Carolina ranks 45th in financial security.

CCDW is planning on keeping us all informed about what is going on in Columbia, and in spearheading some grass roots actions in order to fight all those bad bills, and promote the good ones.

I hope you will be there on Thursday.  We can fight the insanity if we work together.

CCDW

Charleston County Democratic Women

February Meeting

Thursday, February 4, 6:00 PM to Socialize

Program Starts at 6:30!

Holiday Inn Riverview in Charleston

Optional Buffet Dinner is $20

Our Featured Speaker will be Charleston Author

Will Moredock

Living in Fear is a selection of his writings with a focus on the way that racial fear has shaped the politics and culture of our state. Also included in this collection is Will’s 7,000 word essay on the origin and future of these fears.

A South Carolina native and Charleston resident, Will is a veteran journalist with stints at The State Newspaper in Columbia and Creative and Loafing in Charlotte. From 2002 till 2012, he wrote a weekly column on South Carolina politics and culture for Charleston City Paper.

His work has appeared in newspapers around the country including the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and Charlotte Observer. He is also the author Banana Republic Revisited: 75 Years of Madness, Mayhem and Minigolf in Myrtle Beach and The Storm – A Story for Children.