Insights of a recovering liberal

At the Bredalucion today, I discovered a linked piece "The Wilding of Sarah Palin" that made some very good points while reminding me of the truism that nobody is more enthused about a given cause than a new convert.

While in many instances in agreement, I found portions of the article bore sufficient resemblance to the classic feminist trope that it made my headache as the urge to grasp the author by the shoulders and shake, while declaiming "you have come so far, Grasshopper, but yet remain so far!"

Regardless, I agree with Breda that it should be recommended reading for a number of reasons. The article does provide some valuable insights on how many liberals approach gender, race, and orientation and the view (common to both parties) "they are just fine as long as they are useful" meme regarding a given parties designated body of useful idiots - the ones that party regulars consider "gimme" voters, that they don't have to placate or consider, because it is simply beyond unthinkable to conceive that said stereotype group might go elsewhere or stay home.

The problem I have with the article is where it goes over the top with a fair amount of fluff and emotion where logic will do the job quite nicely. Just as fundamentalists on the right, women/race-based demographic groups/LGBT folks are welcome in the Democratic Party precisely as long as they are not strong, charismatic, or a terribly demanding.

A strong liberal woman, such as Hillary, provides a classic example of this misogyny, as the article in question points out. I have to ask if Jesse Jackson is really representative of the black community of 2009 (as most folks in that community I've run across are not, umm, quite so...vile?) And as a gay man, surely there must be someone better than Barney Frank to act as the LGBT poster boy on Capitol Hill? Barney Frank a simply horrifying figure on the scale of "Mr. Frank, could you PLEASE go be straight, now? Or at least retire?"

Feminism, to my eye, went awry a long time ago when it bought into the whole "designated victim group" mindset and became beholden to a political party. And that error is perpetuated to the extent that feminists flock to the Democratic Party Mammon (just as Christian Fundamentalists flock to the GOP version).

The beliefs that all persons are entitled to equality before the law (meaningful equality, not just lip service), that all persons deserve respect or condemnation based on their individual characteristics (as opposed to membership in one demographic group or another), and such...isn't really restricted to one party, and need not be.

More on this later.