Sparks Fly Over Kennedy Endorsement

    Like a lot of us, Marcia Pappas, the NY State NOW president, is teed off with Ted Kennedy for endorsing Barack Obama, and she issued a scathing press release, going up one side of Teddy and down the other.  Hillary took things more in stride,  reaching out to shake Kennedy's hand and even smiling at him last night at the Bush State of the Union Address.   Atta girl, Hillary!  Be a good sport.

    Hard on the heels of Pappas' press release, National NOW issued  a statement of its own about the Kennedy endorsement, more conciliatory in nature:

              Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

January 28, 2008

The National Organization for Women has enormous respect and admiration for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D- Mass.).  For decades Sen. Kennedy has been a friend of NOW, and a leader and fighter for women's civil and reproductive rights, and his record shows that.

Though the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee has proudly endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president, we respect Sen. Kennedy's endorsement.  We continue to encourage women everywhere to express their opinions and exercise their right to vote.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906

     National NOW's Political Action Committee was an early endorser of Hillary, and judging by what's being bandied about in the blogosphere, many  believe that Hillary got that endorsement solely because she was a woman.  Not so.  In point of fact, compared to any of the other presidential candidates, Hillary has far and away the best record on the issues that NOW champions. 

    As one bit of evidence to prove that NOW endorses candidates based on merit rather than gender, let us harken back to the Bill Johnson/Maggie Brooks race for Monroe County Executive in 2003.  Know who Rochester NOW's PAC endorsed in that race?  It warn't the white female candidate.  No, it was the black, male candidate, Bill Johnson.  And, why did Bill Johnson get NOW's endorsement?  For the same reason Hillary did.  It was  his record on women's issues, stupid.

   

Comments

[alberta]

You are correct Linda, women everywhere should be concerned about the attitudes running rampant in this election. If anyone questions a record it is unfair, but it is fair to band together to defeat the most qualified candidate. It just so happens it is a woman. I think Gloria Steinem said it best in her op ed, if Barack had been a woman there would not be a Barack in the race. I am proud to support a woman for president and no one is going to make me ashamed of that. She happens to be the best qualified to get us out of the mess Mr. Bush is leaving us in.