KABC’s Victory Sessions ~ Stephen Bannon, co-host Amy Siskind & guests talk about this week’s treatment of Sarah Palin in the blogosphere

Sarah Palin [as the Republican nominee] would be the GOP Establishment™ Unemployment Act

~ Amy Siskind

By Gary P. Jackson

Host Steve Bannon

This is a great two hours worth radio with hosts Stephen K Bannon and Amy Siskind. Guests include NY Times columnist Anand Giridharadas, Human Events editor Tony Lee, Real Clear Politics reporter Scott Conroy, Rob Port from Say Anything blog and Sonnie Johnson of Did She Say That.

What’s interesting is Siskind and Giridharadas are democrats, so we get to hear comments on Governor Palin’s speech in Iowa from that perspective. Hint: they were both blown away. Siskind gets it right on many levels. If Sarah Palin runs, she says, it will be the death knell of the Republican Establishment™. In fact, it will be the death knell of the entire Ruling Class, the Establishment™ in both parties.

Tony Lee talks about crony capitalism and how governmental corruption hurts the economy.

And this is just the first hour!

This is worth carving out a block of time to listen.

RuBegonia has the sessions broken down so you can listen to them in digestible bites.

Listen in here.

"Bachmann and Perry Talk Jobs" (credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) - Click image to view WCCO article.

TNA’s Amy Siskind speaks out on The John Williams show, CBS Minnesota, as to why the latest Newsweek cover photo and the weekly magazine’s verbiage on the GOP candidacy of Michele Bachmann are sexist.

Listen here to the full radio interview.

Siskind is also quoted in an article, “Newsweek cover photo of Bachmann stirs controversy,” at the Web site for KHPO, a Phoenix, Arizona TV affiliate of CBS:

The magazine calls her “The Queen of Rage” and used what can be described as a harsh picture of the 6th district congresswoman.

The full title on the cover is: ‘”The Queen of Rage” Michele Bachmann on God, the Tea Party and The Evils of Government.’

Humphrey School of Public Affairs political scientist Larry Jacobs says Bachmann a candidate to reckon with, because she has done well in the polls, she is popular in Iowa and her fundraising is strong. [...]

WCCO hasn’t heard of any reaction so far from Bachmann’s campaign.

Amy Siskind from The New Agenda said the media covers women differently than men and ‘Newsweek’ purposefully used a bad photo. … Read all of the KPHO article.

FYI: The John Williams show is heard weekdays from 9:00 to noon on WCCO Radio, in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

What’s this? Naomi Wolf, author of seminal feminist text The Beauty Myth, and more recently, boys’ club honorary member, seems to be exploring new ideas! We’ve long known that Naomi was a woman of strong passions, and so we heartily welcome her to our side.

She hasn’t always played on our team: after joyously championing the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama over his competitor Senator Hillary Clinton, proclaiming him “Christmas, and New Year’s, and Hanukkah rolled into one,” she was quick to smear The New Agenda as a devious right-wing spoiler organization intended to denigrate Obama.

Actually, that entire interview is an epic comedy of errors, wherein Wolf defends the TNA position that feminism isn’t owned by either side of the aisle, and then backs up her point by accusing the political right of using a fake concern for women for sneaky political ends, and defending Obama as a feminist based on a litany of left-wing policy choices (almost none of which he’s even attempted to follow through on, by the by).

Other highlights from her recent years as a spokesperson of mainstream feminism? A defense of the burqa as personally liberating, a tone-deaf dismissal of the rape charges against Julian Assange, and a proclamation that the feminists have won based on the evidence that First Lady Michelle Obama is now allowed to play “fashion plate, doting mom and demure sex object” without eliciting public outcry. What a victory for women!

But really, I shouldn’t make fun. Because this time, she’s said something that actually makes sense. After a requisite bashing of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann (because obviously you can’t be taken seriously as an intelligent woman without calling other women morons, how would the men know you were on their side?), she takes a moment to appreciate their populist appeal.

Interestingly she defines populism as more Mussolini and less Andrew Jackson, but hey, we’ll take what we can get. Then she implies that wonkiness is a male trait (wait, Naomi, if women don’t value in depth knowledge, why do you care if Palin doesn’t read the New York Times?), and that women are better suited to this charismatic leadership stuff, presumably because it’s all rhetoric and hysteria, best delivered by and for the soccer mom demographic.

At this point, she really lets us have it. Not only is it a misapprehension to think that feminism is a creature of the left (a view that is probably so prevalent, she suggests, because it’s always been left feminists who’ve accomplished the goals of feminism), but *gasp* “feminism is philosophically as much in harmony with conservative, and especially libertarian, values – and in some ways even more so.”

Well, I know an awful lot of Left-leaning feminists (me included) who may have a hard time swallowing that, but I’ll certainly welcome any suggestion that feminism can and should be a big tent, and that policy positions should not form any kind of litmus test. Heck, it’s just nice to have a break from the chorus of voices suggesting that there’s no such thing as a right-wing feminist.

She goes on to suggest that there are a large number of right wing feminists who see conservative values as more in tune with the heart of feminism (which Wolf defines as being about individual choice and freedom). Wow. This is a big move for a woman who once called Palin “FrankenBarbie” and suggested that she was a credulous puppet for more nefarious right-wing forces (oddly, she showed no respect for the rugged individualism or populism of right wing women in this article). Why the change in tune? Maybe she’s genuinely seen the light. Or maybe she’s seen what’s coming, and needs to position herself to stay relevant. My money is on the latter.

But then again, I’ll take what I can get. With women who take a shot at getting elected being attacked with misogyny, regardless if they’re on the right or the left, with hundreds of women being raped every day in the United States alone, with maternal death rates on the rise, we need all the allies we can find.

So, if you’re in earnest, Naomi, we want you on our team. It’s a big big tent. Anyone who wants to support women can join. Even baldly calculating political opportunists.

Join The New Agenda and Paradigm Shift NYC for a night of singing and sisterhood:   Shameless Karaoke!

Bring what ya got in the vocal department and prepare for fun and laughter.  Nothing serious – just blowing off steam and socializing.  We’re hoping for a big turnout from our young and LGBT members!

Get set to hear Nairoby O., Meredith V. and Amy belt it out!

Buy advance tickets here!  Or at the door….

Join The New Agenda and Paradigm Shift NYC for a night of singing and sisterhood:   Shameless Karaoke!

Bring what ya got in the vocal department and prepare for fun and laughter.  Nothing serious – just blowing off steam and socializing.  We’re hoping for a big turnout from our young and LGBT members!

Get set to hear Nairoby O., Meredith V. and Amy belt it out!

Buy advance tickets here!  Or at the door….

WATCH: introducing The Mentor Exchange here (from our May 2011 event, Mentor Up!).

The New Agenda is also proud to announce the newest members to our Board of Directors and Advisory Council:

Board of Directors

Lara Brown Engaging college women not only in the study, but also the practice of American politics is part of what Lara enjoys about being a political science professor…(more)

Advisory Council

Jill Iscol Educator, social and political activist, Jill Iscol, Ed.D, is President of the IF Hummingbird Foundation , a family foundation established in 1989 to support…(more)

Nancy Beang Nancy received the Neuroscience Departments and Programs Distinguished Achievement Award and retired at 55, serving on the Board of the Mautner …(more)

With all this exciting news, it’s time to celebrate!  Join us to belt out a sisterly tune and have some fun:

Shameless Karaoke at Angels & Kings Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 6:00-9:00 PM Angels & Kings: 500 East 11th St. Between Ave A & B Need directions? Tickets $10 — Buy online or at the door Ages 21+ (so bring an ID!) In association with Paradigm Shift NYC

With so many new faces, we want to also take this opportunity to explain how The New Agenda has helped to shape the 2010 election.  And how our organization is improving the lives of women!

It started in the summer of 2008 when Hillary Clinton dropped out.

Memory Lane: our original home page

In an effort to win our votes, Sen John McCain dispatched then-surrogate Carly Fiorina to Amy Siskind’s home for a meeting with the women who would eventually co-found The New Agenda. Carly’s question: How can McCain win over women voters?

A few weeks later, Amy hosted the first meeting of The New Agenda. We decided to focus on the issues that unite women, putting political party and reproductive rights aside. We also decided that gender balance and ending sexism were key.

So we responded to Carly: We want McCain to select a woman VP. Here’s our short-list of five. And yes, Governor Sarah Palin from Alaska was on our list.

We also decided to go after Chris Matthews who had been amongst the most sexist towards Hillary in 2008: This man will never be a senator on our watch! Shortly thereafter, he dropped his senate bid.  A new women’s group of Hillary Clinton supporters was cited.  Our first of what would become many successes at making sexism increasingly unacceptable.

But things were heating up. The media was vicious to Sarah Palin. We felt like we were watching a re-run of what had been done to our heroine, Hillary Clinton. So we spoke out all over the national media. Back in 2008, we were the only women’s group to defend Palin from sexism. We knew even before conclusive studies were published that sexism hurt all women candidates.

Over the next year, The New Agenda would grow in national presence and national voice, becoming a go-to voice for the media. And always, we would continue to speak out against sexism directed at all women, regardless of party.

June 2009: Veronica Hernandez created our logo

In June 2009, we would also start a national dialogue with our first op-ed at The Huffington Post: Sexism Against Conservative Women is Still Sexism. The op-ed was the most read at Huffpost and touched a national nerve. So much so that a conservative dad from California paid to have the op-ed reprinted in a full page ad in the Hollywood Reporter.

Our nation was starting to listen, especially women!

And with President Obama seeming tone-deaf to women, we noticed that the Democratic Party was losing its grip on women.  We also noticed that the definition of ‘women’s issues’ was going through a metamorphosis.  And, for the first time, women were considering voting based on gender.

So we encouraged the most powerful women in the Republican Party to fight for our votes. On April 4, 2010, at The Daily Beast, we wrote an op-ed Time for Palin to Embrace Her Gender.

One week later, Palin did, officially launching her “Mama Grizzlies!”  Palin outdid our expectation endorsing women all over the country.   Putting women first (emphasis added):

And the biggest furor so far has erupted here, with a leader of an anti-abortion group, Georgia Right to Life, accusing Ms. Palin of “endorsing any female Republican candidate that she could find.” Rival candidates complained that Ms. Palin was backing the most liberal Republican in the race.

Which brings us to November 2, 2010. A year when the country voted many Democrats – male and female – out of office. If not for Palin’s Mama Grizzlies and other Republican women running, women would have gone backwards from an already pitifully low 17% representation. Thankfully, we did just fine.

This week as our country looks back on election day, there is a growing realization.  Alarm bells are ringing that women’s groups must operate in a non-partisan way.  It’s truly the only way for women to advance.

And most importantly, with the disappearing gender gap,  now BOTH parties will need to fight for women’s votes! What does that mean?  It means you can expect the parties to become increasingly aware of gender balance and inclusion of women’s issues (still evolving) in their platforms.  WOMEN WILL NO LONGER BE IGNORED OR TAKEN FOR GRANTED!!!

We invite you to join us at The New Agenda as we make history.  Become a member. Volunteer your time. Follow us at Facebook.  Read our blog.  Check out our national media presence.

We’re just getting warmed up!

Join our national movement to improve the lives of women and girls.

For Hillary loyalists who want to come to our May 6th event to see old faces but can’t pay full boat, email us at editor@thenewagenda.net to make arrangements!

Here’s a couple of things that you might not know about Lis:

Lis wrote a book released in February 2007 titled The 51% Minority: How Women are Still Not Equal and What You Can Do About it:

Women make up 51% of the American population, yet still aren’t treated equally to men in areas that matter most. In this provocative new book, Lis Wiehl, one of the country’s top federal prosecutors, reveals the legal and social inequalities women must face in their daily lives–and provides a “Tool Box” for dealing with a variety of issues. From boardroom to courtroom, from pregnancy to contraception, from unequal pay to domestic violence, women are more often than not handed the short end of the stick.

And, Lis took on Mark Rudov, the sexist pig that said made comments during the Democratic Primary about how Hillary Clinton’s “nagging voice” would lose her the male voters. Lis, in her researched and prosecutorial style sticks up for Hillary and lets him know that his facts are just plain wrong:

So please join Lis as she moderates our distinguished panel including:

Jane Randel, Liz Claiborne Inc.
Casey Corcoran, Boston Public Health Commission
Janet DiFiore, Westchester District Attorney

Click on the link below for updates:

I have been blessed with six beautiful grandchildren with another one on the way in March. I have four soon to be five granddaughters as I hold my youngest one in my arms this holiday season.

I have several wishes for all my granddaughters.  My first wish is for them to be judged as individuals and not as girls.  I hope they can walk into a Science or Math class and feel confident.  I hope that no one tells them that they are girls and can’t do Math or Science.  I wish that all teachers instill a confidence in them so that they want to learn.

My second wish is that people take them serious for who they are and not be condescending or patronizing because they are girls.  I hope that their accompliments will not result in people telling them they get points because they are girls or because they are African American or both.

My third wish is that in their lifetime women would support each other and even if they disagree to do so without destroying each other.

My Fourth and most important wish for them is that they never become victims of sexual assault or that they never have to endure physical abuse by husbands or boyfriends and if they are hit that they leave him.

My oldest granddaughter and youngest daughter are 13 and 14 and beginning to look at the opposite sex My wish for them is that with sexulility comes a lot of responsibility and should be taken serious.  I want them to know that regardless what everyone says “everyone is not having sex” and that it is ok if they want to wait.

My last wish is for all women all over the world.  That wish is for all of us to see a woman elected President Of the United States.  Once we break this hardest highest ceiling then there is nothing we can do.  Will this solve all our problems? No but it would be a large step.

I want to wish everyone Happy Holiday!