Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Republican senators' criticism of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice over her initial account of the deadly Sept. 11 attack in Libya smacks of sexism and racism, a dozen female members of the House said Friday. Dozen House Women Defend Rice over Libya Comments:
In unusually personal terms, the Democratic women lashed out at Sens. John McCain and [his puppet boy] Lindsey Graham who earlier this week called Rice unqualified and untrustworthy and promised to scuttle her nomination if President Barack Obama nominates her to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"All of the things they have disliked about things that have gone on in the administration, they have never called a male unqualified, not bright, not trustworthy," said Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, the next chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. "There is a clear sexism and racism that goes with these comments being made by unfortunately Sen. McCain and others."
At a Capitol Hill news conference, the female lawmakers, the majority of them African American like Rice, suggested that the Republicans are bitter about Obama's re-election and taking it out on U.N. ambassador.
"To batter this woman because they don't feel they have the ability to batter President Obama is something we the women are not going to stand by and watch," said Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis. "Their feckless and reckless speculation is unworthy of their offices as senators."
The Democratic women directed particular ire against McCain, who said Rice was "not being very bright" in her comments. The women pointed out that Rice was a Rhodes scholar who graduated tops in her Stanford University class whereas McCain was in the bottom of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy.
In fact, the only reason John McCain ever attended the Naval Academy is because he was "legacy" pick: he received special treatment because his father and grandfather were admirals in the Navy. He thus deprived a far more qualified and deserving candidate an appointment to the Naval Academy. Johnny failed to achieve the rank of admiral because of his record of being a complete fuck-up in the Navy. He only got as far as he did because of nepotism.
McCain, who was attending the Halifax International Security Forum, was questioned about the lawmakers' criticism. "I think they are entitled to their opinions," he said.
A spokesman for [McCain's puppet boy] Graham had no immediate reaction to the remarks.
In a separate appearance after a briefing on Libya, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the growing criticism of Rice "is almost as if the attempt is to assassinate her character."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., rejected McCain's call for a special committee to allow him to engage in scandal mongering to try to remain relevant in the Senate, saying the ongoing investigations by House and Senate committees are sufficient and should be allowed to proceed.
"The elections are over; it is time to put an end to the partisan politicization of national security and begin working together to strengthen our efforts to dismantle and destroy the terrorist networks that threaten us," Reid wrote in a letter to McCain.
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CIA acting director Mike Morell has told congressional committees this week that Rice was relying on an initial intelligence assessment that eventually proved incorrect. Former CIA Director David Petraeus told congressional committees Friday that Rice's comments "reflected the best intelligence at the time that could be released publicly," according to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a lawmaker who attended the session.
The female House members argued that Rice would have no motivation to mislead the American people.
The Democratic women also contrasted McCain and Graham's criticism with their defense of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had warned of weapons of mass destruction in pressing for war in Iraq that killed more than 4,400 Americans. No weapons of mass destruction were found.
"It's interesting to me that we're not discussing another Rice who went before all of the Sunday talk shows some years ago," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
The Democratic women demanded that McCain and Graham retract their criticism.
"It is a shame that anytime something goes wrong, they pick on women and minorities," Fudge said.
Said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.: "We will not allow a brilliant public servant's record to be mugged to cut off her consideration to be secretary of state."
But it's not just the Neocon war mongers in the Senate upset over Willard "Mittens" Romney losing the election so they can't get their "four more wars!" on that John McCain advocated for at the GOP convention who are engaging in scapegoating Susan Rice.
John McCain's base, the pathetic loser Beltway media villagers who worship him, like Dana Milbank of the Neocon Washington Post, are also engaging in scapegoating Rice because creating an echo chamber for GOP talking points ala FAUX News is what the pathetic loser Beltway media villagers do. Kathleen Geier at the Political Animal blog writes, Democratic women defend Susan Rice, call out her critics’ sexism, racism, and mediocrity:
It’s not just conservative lawmakers who been going after Rice; the Villagers clearly have the knives out for her as well. Villager-in-good-standing Dana Millbank has impugned Rice’s allegedly “tarnished resume” and apparently finds her behavior most unladylike (though the euphemism he prefers to use is “undiplomatic”). Among Rice’s sins, according to Millbank, is this:
Back when she was an assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration, she appalled colleagues by flipping her middle finger at Richard Holbrooke during a meeting with senior staff at the State Department, according to witnesses. Colleagues talk of shouting matches and insults.
Oh noes! Bring out the smelling salts! This stuff is especially odd coming from Millbank, known for writing nauseating fanboy drivel about Rahm Emanuel, a man not exactly famous for his dainty language or decorous approach to politics. [And a quick middle finger salute.]
Another of Rice’s sins, according to Dana Millbank, is “insulting” Hillary Clinton, during Hillary’s campaign for president. Here is his sole example of Rice’s “insulting” behavior, in its entirety:
Rice condemned Clinton’s Iraq and Iran positions, asking for an “explanation of how and why she got those critical judgments wrong.”
But hey, I guess the man who unapologetically called Clinton a bitch knows from insults!
That McCain, Graham, Millbank, and other known antifeminists have been going after Rice in such clearly gendered ways has been infuriating. That’s why I appreciated President Obama’s strong words in support of Rice earlier this week. (I also his appreciated him showing his rarely seen “bring it on” side. More like this, please!)
All of which explains why it has been so gratifying to see Democratic women coming to Rice’s defense.
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It’s maddening that this country is more or less run by old, white, out of touch, sexist, racist men like McCain and Mitt Romney, whose accomplishments, intellectual and otherwise, are dubious, and who would reaped enormous unearned benefits from the wealth and connections they were born into. And yet these same people, rather than being humble about their own modest abilities and respectful of others who have accomplished so much in the world despite facing far more formidable obstacles, have the unmitigated call to question their credentials. The right does this time and again.
Women and nonwhites in the public eye constantly have their qualifications and competencies questioned in ways that those of white men never are. No matter how glittering a person’s resume is, how dazzling their accomplishments are, if a prominent person is nonwhite and/or female, he or she is treated as an unqualified usurper. Moreover, they are treated this way not just by the wingnut fringe, but by such icons of the GOP establishment as John McCain. We see this in, for example, the obsessive attempts by those on the right to get Barack Obama to release his college transcript, their bizarre assertions that Bill Ayers wrote Obama’s books, and their ludicrous belief that Obama can’t put a coherent sentence together without a teleprompter. We also saw it, all too clearly, in the disgustingly racist, sexist treatment many on the right dished out to Sonia Sotomayor.
The G.O.P. just suffered an overwhelming presidential defeat, in large part because they have repeatedly made it loud and clear to women and nonwhites that we are less than, that we are not welcome in their America. And yet, in spite of the devastating rejection they just received by the American electorate, they just can’t help themselves. They cluelessly go on their merry way, blithely insulting huge swathes of America, and denying the competency and legitimacy of some of the most accomplished people in America, simply because they possess the wrong genitals and/or skin color. Awesome way to talk yourselves ever more deeply into irrelevancy, dudes! These guys can’t exit the stage soon enough, as far as I’m concerned.
Amen! Well said.
"Feckless and reckless"-- love it.
Great smackdown.
Posted by: Pamela | November 18, 2012 at 07:56 AM