Sister Suffragette

Listening to McCain, Clinton and Obama speak back-to-back made their differences abundantly clear. Hillary's the best. Is anyone listening? Nope. Hillary's out. They finally managed to give her the hook after demanding for months that she withdraw. Never mind that she won every major contest except for North Carolina since Super Tuesday. Never mind her lead in the popular vote. Never mind the effect of unprecedented, unprincipled action (and lack of action) by the DNC.

Caroline sent me this timely reminder from the Writer’s Almanac:
It was on this day in 1919 that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote, was passed by the United States Congress. The movement for the women's vote had gained momentum under Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, two women who had been born at a time in the 19th century when women had been barred from college and all professions, including the clergy. They couldn't serve on juries or testify in court, sign contracts, keep or invest money, own or inherit property. Above all, they could not vote representatives into office who might have changed these laws.

The national women's movement came out of the movement to abolish slavery.

After the Congress passed the amendment on this day in 1919, it had to be ratified by a majority of state legislatures. The state that tipped the balance was Tennessee and the man who cast the deciding vote was the 24-year-old representative Harry Burn, the youngest man in the state legislature that year. Before the vote, he happened to read his mail, and one of the letters he received was from his mother. It said, "I have been watching to see how you stood but have noticed nothing yet…Don't forget to be a good boy and…vote for suffrage." He did.

I wouldn't concede the race today if I were Hillary, either. On principle.

Found a few interesting sites to fan the flames and sharpen the spears: Clintondems and PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass);

Found old friends speaking plainly amid this political shitstorm;

And find myself angry that nothing seems to change. We're still fighting off the hoary idea that a powerful woman is a bitch.

I'm just catching up now because I placed a mental moratorium on politics during the marathon. While it has often helped me keep my mind occupied during training runs, I didn't want to use up energy in a great internal debate. That's how lathered up I can get over this stuff. On Saturday and Sunday, I avoided the news completely and I have yet to read the rationale behind the DNC's apportioning of delegates in Florida and Michigan. I still don't have a stomach for it.