Sex, Violence and the Female Voter

http://www.truth-out.org/froma-harrop-sex-violence-and-female-voter64317

Tuesday 19 October 2010

by: Froma Harrop, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

The line between crazy and creepy is not always a dark one. Voters may tolerate eccentric candidates if they have a good line and fairly coherent worldview. Creepiness is something else. Politicians who threaten violence or question the sexual adequacy of their opponents give people -- especially female people -- the crawlies.

The most memorable line in the Nevada senatorial race will be Republican Sharron Angle's telling Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to "man up." While she has a tiny lead in the latest polls, note that women prefer Reid by a 51-33 margin.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is pulling far ahead of his Republican rival for governor, Carl Paladino. This used to be a close race.

Things headed downhill when the real estate developer threatened to "clean out Albany with a baseball bat." He was also found to have been e-mailing pornography -- a woman with a horse, to be specific. And he accused Cuomo of lacking (can I say "cojones"?) something. Polls now have Cuomo leading Paladino by 30-give-or-take points, with an even wider margin among women.

Yes, that includes you, too, female candidates.

It's not that difficult.

and still creepy as all fucking get-out.

Angle's "Man up?" Her suggestion that rape and incest victims "make lemonade?" (???!) O'Donnell's "Put on your man pants" and her "non-denial denial" of suggestions Coombs is gay? And this from a woman who started her public life with a chastity / anti-masturbation group? Paldino's bestiality e-mail, followed right up with his openly gay-hating remarks to the conservative Jewish community?

These people are repressed, angry, and deeply twisted.

They're blowing some scary dog whistles, calling on misogyny and homophobia with a curled lip and twinkle in their eye. This kind of angry, sneering, repressive personality type seems like a pre-req for Tea Party membership, and it's a HUGE red flag. They all remind me, exactly, of the fundie preachers who condemn adultery on Sunday, then inevitably get caught snorting crystal meth off the clavicle of an underaged llama in a Mexican brothel the following Saturday.

These are people who will push the nuclear button for Jesus or march "deviants" into death chambers. It's fun to laugh at their antics, but under no circumstances can we afford to grant them ANY kind of political power.