Why Every Woman At DU Should Be Supporting Carol Mosely Braun

[Cheswick2.0]

I have heard all the arguments about her not being able to win. I don't care. No matter who the nominee is in November, all of us should be supporting this woman NOW. She is brainy, liberal and well spoken. Supporting her is not going to give bush the victory, she is not going to run as a third party spoiler if she doesn't get the nomination. Her supporters aren't going to jump if she doesn't get the nomination and I will bet that whoever gets it, if it isn't her, will get her support. So why, as women, are we not giving her our time and our money?

When exactly is the time going to be right for a woman to run and be taken seriously? What woman candidate is every going to be "electable"? The answers to those questions are NEVER and NEVER if we are to listen to the majority of the men in the party (inclding most of the men here at DU). As partisan a democrat as I am, the party is not doing enough to support the political careers of women.

I am listening to Mosely-Braun and she is the only one telling the truth about a major problem; women make up the majority of poor people, not just here but all over the world.

A year from now I will teaching in public school, I can't wait! I hear all the time about the lousy job the schools are doing educating children. Bullcrap, the problem is not the schools and the problem is not the lousy parents, the problem is that too many women are raising children in poverty and they need better jobs and better lives so they can do better for their kids.

Mosely-Braun she is not just a woman's issue candidate. Everything she said during the debate made sense. Everything she said I agreed with. Why is she not "electable"? Well the answer is: "because the guys say so" and we beleive it. And they are always going to say the same until we force them to say differently.

Would it be so bad to support this woman and force the boys club to respond to the BIGGEST CONSTITUENCY in the party?

If you are liberal, you may be supporting Kucinich. I have said that I would work with Sharpton if he came here to register voters and get the minority community involved.

Some of the rest of you like Dean or Clark etc..... that is fine and one of those people will probably be the nominee next year. But for now, as women, and men who support feminism, why are we not supporting this wonderful woman being in the race? We talk the talk here at DU, but we don't walk the walk. We don't really believe we deserve a good liberal feminist candidate....not yet, not this time, not this person.

When are we going to wise up and realize that nothing has ever been handed to us because we waited nicely, like "Ladies", for our turn?

[Gloria]

1. Carol made the most important statement of the whole 9/4 debate

near the end...

When she talked about "the generational issue"---Carville believes this is the "big issue" for 2004--the idea that Bush has trashed the belief that Americans should try to leave the next generation in better shape than the previous one.

I've just completed an article on the Democratic message that will be up at Buzzflash either later this week or early next week.... I point out that so far, Carol is the ONLY candidate to even mention the "big issue."

She is an excellent debater and frankly, I think she's as worth as any of the others.....

[catzies]

2. If I were to be a "single-issue" person, this would be it.

HALF THE POPULATION DESERVES HALF THE REPRESENTATION.

Period. :)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=282200

[tinanator]

3. I think you are talking about

A likely Kucinich VP.

[tjdee]

4. Maybe she could win another senate seat?

Rightly or wrongly, whomever the first woman/minority to run seriously for the president will have to be twice as good as any white man.

Braun, like Sharpton, is not the best person to take up that mantle IMO. Plus, Braun smiles too much, and I don't know how I feel about that (yes, that is my very serious criticism).

That said, she is indeed everything you say. She is very well spoken, calm, and as liberal as I am. I like her very, very much.

on edit:
I think she is a great presence and addition to the field--but when you say "support her", do you mean as in, she's my candidate? That's what I took it as...of course I support her right to run, and I'm very proud of her contribution.

[Cheswick2.0]

6. I disagree, that is exactly the point

you have allowed yourself to buy the false notion that there is something flawed about her. The fact is that she is human and imperfect like all the rest of the candidates and so far, she may be twice as good but I think she is an improvement over all of them.

[tjdee]

23. I don't think she's flawed at all.

I think that a woman, in order to have a chance at the presidency, needs to do a lot better than a senate seat and an ambassadorship she got after she lost her senate seat. (Hillary Clinton is an exception, I think she could very well be the first female president if she wanted to).

If Moseley Braun were a man, it'd be different. But then, even Edwards isn't taken seriously by many DUers.

[SharonAnn]

44. Cheswick, you're absolutely right!

eom

[Classical_Liberal]

5. I like Mosely Braun alot

and I often wonder why she engenders such hostility with the party elites.

[Cheswick2.0]

9. I worked on a Major campaign in 2002

My experience is that men just don't want to give up the reigns. It is as simple as that.

[alcuno]

7. She is my former senator and she got beat by Fitzgerald.

I can't remember the scandal, but it had something to do with her wrongfully using campaign money (I think). Sorry, but we can do better.

[maxanne]

12. Nigeria

that whole business in Nigeria.

http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/democrats2004/braun.html

[Cheswick2.0]

15. and you totally missed the point

She was never guilty of a damn thing except losing a dirty political race. If she had been one of the boys club they would have protected her against the charges and the whole thing would have been shrugged.

Please don't use that "we" can do better stuff with me. The whole point is "we" will always be told "we" can do better.

[Terwilliger]

16. better in...this field of candidates?

or better in terms of female candidates?

[userdave2061]

8. Why did she lose her senate seat?

What was up with that?

[Cheswick2.0]

17. hey userdave

WTF does that have to do with anything I just posted?

[Creideiki]

52. She has close ties to several African leaders

That in combination with the Republicans in Illinois hitting their high water mark was enough to get her labeled as un-American. She could conceivably win the Senate race next year if she ran, but the Chicago Tribune really, really hates her. Her media coverage would likely be the worst ever.

[gottaB]

56. Sen. Kennedey has close ties to Austrian fascists

Braun's media coverage is already the worst ever.

Look at it this way, having pilloried her and mocked her and given her the silent treatment, they won't be the first to admit they were wrong, but they may be the first to tire of it.

As Braun gathers support, she will get better press.

[NJCher]

10. agreed

I would feel very comfortable about her as president. She raises the big issues that no one else has and furthermore, shows a grasp on the problems that no one else has shown.

Wouldn't it be something to pair her with another female candidate, say a Hillary Clinton, and have two women running at this critical time in our history? Things are such a damn mess that I have to think a lot of people would go for it.

There was an analysis of her candidacy on NPR the other day and one of the points made is that she hasn't raised any serious money. This led the person making the remark to conclude she was running for other reasons, such as being considered for a cabinet position or other important job when the Dem candidate wins. Another point made was that she lost her election and this is not the strongest point in favor of a candidate. (wanted to ask this commentator about Ashcroft!) Regardless, I agree that all women should put their support behind her. It doesn't, as you say, take away anything and it can only show there is strong, organized female support whose positions demand representation.


Cher

[Cheswick2.0]

18. exactly Cher, thank you

She may not be the first woman President of the USA, (though I think she would be a great one)but unless we, as women, support her we will never force our party to take us seriously for the top spot.

[Chovexani]

11. Why don't I support her?

>So why, as women, are we not giving her our time and our money?

Because people who can't even keep a senate seat are not presidental material, I could care less what set of gonads they have.

I agree with you about the need for a woman presidental candidate, and the need to support one, but I am not for supporting a <insert race/gender/ethnicity/etc here> candidate for the sake of having a <insert race/gender/ethnicity/etc here> person in office.

I am not saying she doesn't have a lot of good ideas, I supported her senate runs and I would love to see her as VP or in the cabinet. But I simply don't feel she's qualified, so I support Dean, plain and simple. To me it comes down to who's best for the job, period. She's not, and neither are damn near most of the people running for the Dem ticket (apologies to supporters of other candidates, everyone is entitled to their opinions). Good ideas alone do not a candidate make, sorry.

--Chovexani

On Edit: Posts like this are why I think 99% of identity politics are horseshit. Yes, she's a brainy woman with a lot of good ideas, but guess what? You could say that about pretty much everyone running, but I think a lot of them have no business in the race (and not just Braun, I feel the same way about Edwards and Kucinich). You are perfectly within your rights to advocate for Braun as your choice of candidate, just like those of us who support Dean or Kerry or Kucinich or whoever also have the right ot advocate for our chosen candidates. But when you start spouting stuff like "DU women HAVE to support my candidate" etc that's bullshit, I'm sorry, it just is. Everyone has different opinions, and some of us aren't lockstep believers in identity politics.

[E_Zapata]

13. This is the conundrum:

First, I applauded Ms. Braun during the dem primary debate in New Mexico when she brought in the issue of raising the financial security of women as one of the ways to reinvigorate the economy.

"white women make .76 on the male dollar; black women make .67 on the male dollar; and latinas make .50 on the male dollar." Yet women are heading up families alone at unprecedented rates.

But, Braun is not going to win the nomination. I am surprised she is still in the race. I am happy she is in the race now but do not expect her to get to January.

My support has to go to a current front runner in order to prevent another front runner from getting the nomination. It has to.

But after Braun talked about this issue in the debate, I thought it would be ingenious and justified to create an executive cabinet position for women's issues. It's about time! Women are more than half the entire population.

For instance, on the AFL-CIO site, they have numerous sections based on oppressed classes. And not ONE devoted for WOMEN exclusively.

Thank you for this post. It is imperative that we make Women's Issues a top priority.

[Cheswick2.0]

20. here is a proposal

support your candidate and support Carol being in the race too. Vote for whoever he is and send money to Mosely-Braun.

[KoKo]

14. I know......she's so classy and if you listen she can make a complicated

problem understandable and give a proposal for a solution without "double-talking." Probably why she was picked to be an Ambassador......She has great skills that way.

I think if she had a powerful mentor or backer she could have gone farther. Sadly she doesn't. But, I hope our new Dem administration will find a top spot for her. She's lovely and gracious......Classy.......and the kind of person we need for our new Administration..

[Chovexani]

21. I totally agree

I would love to see her in a top cabinet level position, like Sec. of State or Labor, etc. I feel that way about a lot of the candidates, actually--most of them I wouldn't support for Pres. but would love to see them working in positions of power in a Dem admin (I'm a Dean person).

[EX-CONservative]

31. She'd be a great Secretary of State!

I'd like to see Carol Moseley-Braun at State then in 4 or 8 years go national.

She has to have a bigger profile to get up into presidential material and Secretary of State can do that.

At this time, she has the label of defeated Senator. She needs another high profile job or the media will continue to say "defeated former senator Carol Moseley-Braun..."

Regardless of race or gender, when one is defeated at an office and seeks a higher office, it's almost impossible to do.

The last person to lose a Senate race and go on to become president was a man named Abraham Lincoln.

If she had won in 1998, she'd have a higer profile, a current record to go on and more access to media coverage and cash for the campaign.

She should run again for the Senate this year. Should she win, she can run in 2008 (God forbid Chimp wins! :puke:) or 2012.

[Shanty Oilish]

19. I found her more impressive than the others in the debate

But I'm not the average voter, whose Fearless Leader has always been a white male.

[Cheswick2.0]

22. I am a white female and frankly

I am sick to death of the pasty white guy candidates. I am ready for a real democracy where the majority of the population is equally represented.

You have a good point. What I hate is the resignation with which all of us accept that reality.

[spooky3]

25. White males as a group

disproportionately supported Bush in the last election; white females preferred Gore. (Obviously this doesn't account for every individual's preferences, so I do not mean to be a bigot here; I'm just referring to group averages.)
Such results have led pundits such as Eleanor Clift to propose that the first woman elected will probably be a Republican, since she would be much less threatening than a Democratic woman. In other words, our society is still too sexist and racist to accept it. I'm oversimplifying but that's the main gist of Clift's argument.

I agree that the first woman and/or African American or black elected will have to be twice as qualified.

[Booster]

26. I also like Braun, but.....

now is not her time to be President. Her talents would probably lie in a diplomatic field, which we really could use right now, so I really hope the next Dem President recognizes this and gives her a cabinet post where she can do this country some good. She's classy, warm, and I love that smile, but we have to be realists right now and not throw away a single vote in 2004 - it's just too important.

[Cheswick2.0]

30. ARRRRRRRRRRG, again with the missed point

it will never be her time. If you a woman, it will never be your time. It will never be my time.

But supporting her now, helping to keep her in the race will not take anything away from the eventual nominee (if it is not her). Frankly I think a yellowdog would beat bush in 2004, but that is not the point either.

[Iverson]

50. the argument from unripe time

From Francis X. Cornford's 1908 essay "Microcosmographia Academica," this argument is a principle of inaction, that we should not undertake an admittedly right action, because the time at which that action will be right is not yet ripe. Alas, time has a way of going rotten before it ripens.

In other words, I am solidly in your corner, but as a known Green, my endorsement helps you little.

[pansypoo53219]

24. PUH leeze

isn't it enough that women basically put that handsome Warren G. Harding in the white house?
No, I will NOT throw my vote away even IF SHE IS A GOOD CANDIDATE.
I wouldn't vote for Nadar, so why her. This chick is gonna vote for the best man up there, that will send the chimp back to texass.

[redeye]

27. Women didn't out Harding in the white house

Disillusionment with progressivism, the media, and the GOP elites did.

[Cheswick2.0]

29. shush

jeesh, way to miss the point. LOL

[Larkspur]

28. She hasn't shown me the criteria that I'm looking for in a President

While I'm inspired by her intelligence, eloquence, and wit at the debates, Braun's campaigning is terrible.

She also lost her senate seat due to Rovian smear job. How is she going to handle Rove's tactics should a miracle happen and she wins the nomination?

Howard Dean won 5 relections bids as governor, the last one was his toughest, yet he won it with a majority. He took a state with a $60 million deficit and got it to produce surpluses, including this year. Vermont had the lowest bond rating in New England. By the time he left, it was the highest in New England. While balancing the budget and reducing Vermont's debt by a quarter, he was able to provide health care for all kids, most of whom use it.

Dr. Howard Dean served on the board of Northern New England Planned Parenthood. As governor, he appointed more women to positions of leadership than any of his peers in other states. As a Presidential candidate, he has risked his chances to win the Presidency by denouncing the Partial Birth Abortion bill as a rightwing tactic to undermine all legal forms of abortion. On the campaign trail, Howard Dean advocates using the power of the Presidency to help empower women in developing countries because they are more likely to produce peaceful middle class societies.

No, I'll stick with a pro-feminst man, Howard Dean, for my Presidential candidate.

[Cheswick2.0]

32. Howard Dean , just another over privileged white guy

:shrug:

He would have to be brain dead not to support those positions.

He's okay, but he's way to conservative for me.

[Booster]

35. Cheswick.....

what exactly IS your point?????? Are you saying send her money, or talk her up to my friends to vote for her????? I DO support her running, but, dammit, I'm not wealthy and sending a couple of hundred dollars to each candidate gets a little steep in this household. If you have a lot of money, be my guest and support all of them, but I just can't.

[Larkspur]

49. At least he used his "priviledge" to help women

Sometimes a "woman's" man is needed to help improve opportunities for women.

It was a man, granted an African American man, who helped Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a white woman, get the women's suffrage resolution passed in the 1848 Women's Rights Convention. Stanton was opposed, oddly by women. Lucretia Mott thought that the women's suffrage resolution would make the Convention look ridiculous. Fredrick Douglas, who called himself a "woman's" man, agreed with Stanton and his eloquence swayed the opponents of women's suffrage resolution to pass it.

Douglas's spirit lives on in all men, white or colored, who support women's rights and in helping expand opportunites for leadership for women.

[fabius]

33. Every man too!

I'd like to send her some money after her performance in the debate. I think some others are stronger candidates right now but my heart is with Braun and Kucinich and Sharpton.

Braun and Kucinich need to develop their resumes a little more before they will be front-runners (2012 possibly), maybe some nice Cabinet posts? Edwards is also promising for a future run, I don't think he's going to make it this time.

Braun is arguably the best debater of the bunch.

[Cheswick2.0]

42. Send send

no matter what, having her at the debates talking about single payer healthcare and poverty, the division between rich and poor, can only help.

[Castilleja]

34. You know, every time I hear her speak

I like her very much. She is very well spoken with good ideas.

[ulysses]

36. Ches, I have to say

that I'm liking you more and more...:)

[Cheswick2.0]

41. what a nice thing to say

thank you. :-)

[Terwilliger]

37. not being a woman...I was an early Braun supporter

I thought of her as the most credible and progressive of the 9, but I was really mad at Kucinich over the flag desecration thing, and I went back to him. However, I would hope that she is a choice for veep, and that she should throw her weight behind the most progressive campaign once we get to the primaries.

[Cheswick2.0]

40. Thanks, I really like Dennis, but as a life long feminist

I think this is the time I decide if NOW and Emilies list and all these organizations I contribute to mean anything to me.

Whoever gets the eventual nomination will get my support. Until then, what the heck am I doing if I do not support a fine woman candidate in the primaries?

[Terwilliger]

51. feminists have come out in support of Kucinich

for whatever that's worth

http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/feminists_4_kucinich/

I think it may be a bit early to hope that a black woman could run and gain any acceptance. Sad as it is, it is the way things are. Hell, I don't think that Dennis will be the party nominee, but he's the best progressive chance at the moment. I hope CMB continues her pursuit of the presidency down the road if she so chooses to follow that.

[catzies]

54. That's why I do what I do too, Cheswick!

I wear this t-shirt proudly when I work at outreach events:

[Cheswick2.0]

38. Here ya go

http://www.carolforpresident.com/content.php?page=home

[robbedvoter]

39. She speaks well - clarity. Policy maker. But Clark's my guy

He's just head and shoulders above them all - intellectually. I got spoiled by Clinton this way - I guess.

[Kahuna]

47. I want Braun to be Clark's domestic policy advisor if he runs....

She's liberal, but she comes across as moderate. She's great. I'm sure that if we take win back the WH, CMB will have a part in the new administration. She rocks!

[waggawagga]

43. Call Me a Sheeple But...

...I think of presidential primaries as a test of job skills. If you can't mobilize a base, raise money, and take bold stands on issues you don't have the skills to be president. Kerry and Dean have done this. Clark might do this. All of the other candidates, though, have essentially failed this test.

[Terwilliger]

53. so, who ever opens the purse gets the most credit?

Kerry has all his own money. Dean has thousands of net activists, and is the choice of the media (apparently). Clark could probably raise a LOT of money from DLC types who want to win and perceive Clark as the best chance.

Essentially, if you don't have the backing of the moneyed elites in the party, then you don't have any support. You get no support, and you're "not mobilizing your base" :eyes:

[Ellen Forradalom]

45. Just what I like, a political-correctness competition

You win.

I like all the candidates, and happen to like Dean a bit more than the rest. Allow me to choose my candidate and I'll let you choose yours.

[Cheswick2.0]

46. kick

because I can

[gottaB]

48. Cheswick,

:yourock:

[Mairead]

55. I really *hate* this being true, but she's too 'centrist' for me

I would have loved to support her! I don't really care about the guys' criticism of her going to talk with Abacha (as though guys don't cozy up to dictators, right, what a laugh!), and I don't care much -perhaps because I don't really understand it- about the old money scandal that seems to have cost her reelection. I'd be fine with her as DK's VP or in the Cabinet. But I can't bring myself to support her for President when there are people who fit better for me on the issues. It's the same reason Hilary Clinton, Diane Feinstein, and Mary Landreau will never get my vote...though Carol is nowhere near that far right, of course.

I wish she were more truly centrist rather than 'centrist'.