Liberal feminists in New York are lashing out at longtime ally Ted Kennedy, accusing him of the “ultimate betrayal.”
The New York chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) asserts Senator Kennedy’s (D-Massachusetts) endorsement of presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) “has really hit women hard.” In a statement, NOW’s New York affiliate rebukes the liberal lion of the Senate for joining what they call “the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton.”
According to Allison Kasic of the conservative group Independent Women’s Forum, it would be an understatement to say the feminist tirade against Kennedy was an overreaction. “To me it plays into everything that’s wrong about identity politics. You know, this idea that anyone that’s not supporting Hillary Clinton must hate women … that’s a serious charge,” notes Kasic. “And if you look at their statement, they don’t seem to back it up …. so that’s my real problem with the statement that they put out.”
NOW’s national office, which has endorsed Clinton, chose to take a less angry tone. According to a statement by NOW president Kim Gandy, the organization “has enormous respect and admiration” for Senator Kennedy.
Kasic says if people want to vote for Hillary Clinton, it should be because they think she would do the best job as president — not simply because she is a woman.
