Working Mothers Against 'Supermom' Palin

New Republic: Why Sarah Palin's Image Does Not Advance The Cause Of Working Women

(The New Republic)  This story was written by Katherine Marsh.

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The day of the Sarah Palin announcement, I called the small cadre of senior female writers and editors who work at The New Republic to see if any of them wanted to write a piece about their reaction. Not surprisingly, the women of TNR had a lot to say. But it was also the eve of a holiday weekend, and, with seven small children and one full-time staffer among the four of us, we had to scramble to find the time. Sarah Palins we are not. Central to the narrative that the McCain campaign is selling about Palin is that, in addition to being the reformist governor of Alaska, she's a supermom, too. During his announcement, McCain referred to Palin as a "devoted wife and mother of five," while Palin, who began her speech by introducing her children, referred to herself variously as "just your average hockey mom in Alaska," "the team mom," and "the mother of one of those troops" (her son Track heads to Iraq this month). And she does all that mothering in addition to running a state.

Stories of Palin's working-mom feats abound: She gave birth to her daughter and was back at work the very next day! She flew to a Texas meeting of governors while eight months pregnant with her son, laboring on the plane home! She brought her newborn with her to the office, reportedly nursing through a meeting! How can you feminists not love her? the GOP seems to say. OK, so there's that little thing about Roe v. Wade, but, surely, Palin proves women can have it all. And she makes it seem so achievable. You just do it. As Palin recently explained to People magazine, "What I've had to do, though, is in the middle of the night, put down the BlackBerries and pick up the breast pump. Do a couple of things different and still get it all done."

It's a distinctly Republican vision of feminism: If you can't do it all, you're just not working hard enough. And, if you want more societal or governmental support, Palin's ideology has a word for that: whining. That's how she described Hillary Clinton's reaction to sexism on the campaign trail (that is, before Clinton became her personal hero), advising her in a Newsweek interview to "work harder."

But the reason most of us are not Sarah Palins has nothing to do with lack of effort or of desire. We also want it all. It's just that we have less to work with. Palin not only has the type of office (namely, her own) where you can bring your daughter to work more than one day a year; she has a large and supportive family network (her husband is currently devoting himself full-time to the kids) and plenty of financial resources. The deepest insult is that Palin's brand of up-by-your-bootstraps feminism allows the McCain campaign to appear to support working moms--plus hockey moms, team moms, soldiers' moms--while rejecting the policies that would actually make their lives better.

There are several attacks that have been leveled at Palin for running as a working mom that are flat-out unfair. Chief among them is that Palin's career prevents her from being a good mother. Shortly after her selection, John Roberts at CNN questioned whether Palin should be out on the campaign trail with a special-needs four-month-old. This line of attack only became more frenzied with the news that Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

This is the sort of judgmental mommy-war nonsense that would never be directed at a male politician: No one seriously thought Al Gore should have stayed home and stopped saving Planet Earth when his son was nabbed breaking the speed limit last year in a drug-laced Prius.

Equally unfair are criticisms of Palin for politicizing her role as working mom. While it's true that Hillary Clinton did not make being a mother a big part of her campaign, Joe Biden highlighted his working-dad role in Denver with son Beau speaking movingly of Biden as an "incredible father" who would "travel to and from Washington four hours a day" on the train "to be there to put us to bed, to be there when we woke from a bad dream, to make us breakfast." Sure, Palin's talk of being a hockey mom of five is politically expedient. But so is Biden's tale of being an "Amtrak dad."

The one legitimate criticism that hasn't really been out there yet--but that should be--is that, in turning herself into Everywoman, Palin is significantly misrepresenting most every woman. The underlying point of the Biden story is that he made sacrifices--bowing out of the public ceremony for his oath of office when his kids were in the hospital, forgoing evening events in Washington--to be a parent first. In contrast, Palin's parenting story is not about sacrifice or even the struggle for balance but about blithely doing it all. This vision of parenting is not only unrealistic--it devalues the job. Whether you work or stay at home, parenting is an exhausting around-the-clock juggling act; the list of people I have to thank for giving me the emotional energy and time just to write this article reads like an Oscar acceptance speech. Once the difficulty and sacrifice of the job have been elided, the basis for policy solutions is seriously undermined.

And these solutions are sorely needed. Over 70 percent of mothers with children under the age of 18 work. Yet women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men (on average, the families of working women lose nearly $10, 000 a year because of the earnings gap). Affordable child care is largely unavailable: In 2004, a single parent with average earnings spent about 37 percent of the family's after-tax income on center-based child care. This is an incredible financial burden, particularly for the 30 percent of working families headed by single mothers. And, with rising gas and food prices, the strain has only gotten worse.

Palin, by contrast, has a six-figure salary and an incredible support system--a husband with flexible jobs rather than a competing career, a close-knit community, and a host of nearby grandparents, aunts, and uncles to lend a hand on the domestic front. Palin freely admits to these advantages but offers no solutions for the majority of women who don't have them.

Palin is staunchly pro-life, but, beyond this very public position, she has a slender record on issues that affect working moms. She is a member of Feminists for Life, an anti-abortion group that also advocates for equal pay for women, for part-time and telecommuting situations for working moms, and against domestic violence. (The group supported Biden's Violence Against Women Act.) Presumably Palin shares these views. But, despite all her emphasis on being a working mom and breaking the glass ceiling, in her debut and acceptance speeches Palin never once mentioned her support for any of these issues or the legislation designed to address them. And she said nary a word about affordable child care. Her record on this issue is even more discouraging: Though it's true she did declare May 9 Child-Care Provider Appreciation Day, she also line-item vetoed the funding for a vocational residential facility that included a child care center for students, as well as the funds for breast-feeding pumps, among other supplies, for a Women, Infants, and Children program for poor women.

This is, of course, precisely the Republican Party line. The 2008 Republican Party platform advocates more part-time and flexible jobs for working parents but contains not a single mention of affordable child care or equal pay. And McCain's record on issues that affect working moms is on the same sorry page as his party's--he skipped a vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (which helps ensure women get equal pay); he opposed expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which covers uninsured children, to include their parents; and he has consistently opposed not only abortion rights but family-planning legislation, even for low-income women.

By running as a spunky can-do Republican-style feminist mom who meets challenges head-on instead of whining about them, Palin may appeal to some working mothers, as the GOP intends. But it's more likely that a different demographic will find this winsome: anti-feminist men. Tarring anyone who struggles as a whiner is a common GOP tactic--from African Americans (Rush Limbaugh on Michelle Obama's undergraduate thesis on race: "It's a full whine") to the poor (Michael Savage on welfare recipients: "these couch-warming leeches ... have the nerve to whine") to, well, just about everyone (Phil Gramm: "We have sort of become a nation of whiners").

There is, however, an upside to Palin's presence, an important reminder to working moms: Feminism is not just about having the opportunity to do it all. It's also about having the support to do as much as you can. This is why, in the end, feminism needs to be tied to not just an identity, but to an ideology that encourages that support. Sarah Palin's free-market feminism fails that mission on almost every count, diminishing the trade-offs and sacrifices that haunt working moms--even a couple of the TNR variety juggling over a holiday weekend to put their frustrations into words.

[aster6]

ITGrammy
No problem:)

[caldwellptr]

McCain will say and do anything to become President of the United States ....

and We will believe Him.

[itgranny]

Aster, my appologies. After rereading your post, i did misread it. Sorry

[pgeorge_27]

Thank you for writing this article! Being a single working mom for many years (children now grown), she in no way represents the common majority of working moms.

[itgranny]

I''m not only worried about palin''s lack of experience, but palin experience. That hockey rink in her hometown, going ahead and building it on this piece of land who''s ownership was in dispute and a small town that now has to pay for the goof she led. The airplane that she said was too expensive that she sold at a loss. Flying (think airplane pressure) home after having broke her water was an escapade that put that cute baby (downs or not) in jepardy. Troopergate. There''s quite a few other questionable things too.

There''s a lot of these incidences that are coming out that suggest her leadership skills tend to get people into trouble. The american people have enough trouble right now. We don''t need any more!

[smurfcrusher]

VERY interesting article, especially if you read between the lines.

Please be sure to congratulate Bristol after she bears her second child.

[xlib]

barbjc-I''m a pro choice conservative but I am against partial birth abortion. I feel it is barbaric. That being said, your comment about "pro lifers etc,etc" and making a blanket statement that they "scream about day care for single moms" kind of misses the mark.
In fact, pro lifers and right wingers in general do NOT begrudge someone trying to better themselves when in a tight spot, i e, single mom. What we do resent is a person, white, black, black and white person who has child after child with multiple partners. Can you tell us how, on any level, that is a good thing for the mom or children????"
THAT''S WHAT WE DON''T LIKE!!!!

[aster6]

iTgrammy you really should read my post again. I did get over it. I dont give a rats patootie if a women is in office or not, I just want to get over all of it,This whole thing is rediculas , they all act like a bunch of kindergardners. All of these pols need to grow up and think about the country not thier petty gripes, male versis female , black versis white. Who cares?? We need a grown up in office,not all this nonsense about electing a woman, black man, or old ***. That is what needs to be gotten over!
I want to know what they are going to do if elected and then hold their feet to the fire to make sure that they do it not just talk about it. Palin has a record of firing anyone who doesnt agree with her , that is her solution, That just wont fly in washington so John needs a better running mate.

[xlib]

So, the general lib consensus is that Palin will get in as VP and single handedly overturn rov wade. Guess that''s it in a nutshell.

[xlib]

Wow, you people are really running scared. Day after day if nothing but Palin bashing. Do you people realize there is a campaign going on and you focus on the VP candidate?? My God, talk about fear.
You libs, you supposed feminists, you who scramed how women can do anything, yada, yada, yada.
You know what you hypocrites, you approve of a woman using everything but her UTERUS!!!!
Keep it up, you''re making fools of yourselves.
Now, let''s hear from your chosen one and his stammering, uh, uhm, answers to off the cuff questions.

[cattlekate]

You know what - I wonder whether Tina Fey''ll try this core-Dem line of attack tonight on SNL . . . parody Palin in the Oval Office with a barfing baby draped over her shoulder while Putin''s on a conference call or whatever.

Ought to be interesting!
Posted by SamTheTVCat at 04:44 PM : Sep 13, 2008

You mean like SNL skewers everyone? Were you concerned about their Bill and Hillary skits?

Hopefully you saw the Tina Fey/Amy Pohler cold-open on last night''s SNL. It was hard to believe it was Tina Fey and not Mrs. Palin.

[itgranny]

astor6: get over it!

I would have been perfectly happy if Hillary had won the nomination but I didn''t support her because i felt she and Bill and her advisors were running a nasty campaign. That''s the very thing I''m trying to escape from the repubs.

I wanted Edwards to win and was disappointed when he backed out but time and more information has me thankful he didn''t.

Right now I''m again pretty disappointed because I''m not seeing and hearing any of the strong women democrats speaking out against Palin, Hillary included. Is Hillary going to keep quiet and let the republicans win so she''s got a better chance at the race in 2012? If so, she should be ashamed to let her lust for power come before her country.

If you are wanting a women to lead come hill or highwater, vote for McCain/Palin and watch what we''ve struggled for all these years go down the drain.

Like I say, get over it.

[aster6]

I am so sick of this whole nonsense I think we should have an election do over. Hillary was not the best choice for VP and Obama knew it. There would have been yrs of he said she said competition in the White House along with a bit of who''s Bill chasing now?
Sarah Palin is not a good choice either, there will be yrs of who is the real President? Palin or McCain
With this womans record/attitude of just fire them all, wont work in DC. You cant just fire the Senate or the House, Supreme court and replace them with people who agree with you, you actually have to be able to work with people that you might not like. She will be a nightmare and nothing will get done at all.

[aster6]

I am so sick of this whole nonsense I think we should have an election do over. Hillary was not the best choice for VP and Obama knew it. There would have been yrs of he said she said competition in the White House along with a bit of who''s Bill chasing now?
Sarah Palin is not a good choice either, there will be yrs of who is the real President? Palin or McCain
With this womans record/attitude of just fire them all, wont work in DC. You cant just fire the Senate or the House, Supreme court and replace them with people who agree with you, you actually have to be able to work with people that you might not like. She will be a nightmare and nothing will get done at all.

[sparks224]

I''m going to vote for her because I think she''s pretty.

[ds2oo8]

A great site I recommend about Palin is here -

http://dailysource.org/palin

It has in-depth links to hundreds of articles about Palin including many from newspapers and TV stations in Alaska. It has lots of rare footage, including her telling the %u201808 convention of the Alaskan Independence Party, whose aim is to give Alaska a vote on seceding from the U.S., to %u201Ckeep up the good work%u201D - and her complaining four months ago that Hillary Clinton was whining about %u201Csexist%u201D media coverage.

The site is non-partisan and its%u2019 editors and volunteers include an Emmy-award winning CNN reporter, the former operating editor of the Christian Science Monitor%u2019s web site, the former head of NPRs News Blog and the Executive Director of the Online News Association -

http://dailysource.org/about/team

They have compiled an amazing amount of info on Palin. I recommend reading it.

[eggy1620]

Sarah better be careful. In that photo of Cindy holding Trig, she looks like she is thinking, how much Vicodin could I get for this kid?

[sparks224]

Why don''t you list all of Obama%u2019s Qualifications and list Sarah Palin%u2019s qualifications and take a good look.
Posted by dmw1167

OK , let%u2019s do that.

Obama:
Eight years as an Illinois state Senator.
A United States senator from Illinois since January 2004.

Palin:
Mayor of a town of 9000 people.
Governor of Alaska for the last 19 months.

You%u2019re right, there%u2019s no comparison.

[barbjc1]

mswolfestock, I totally agree, the right to lifers are never around if a young woman needs daycare to she can either go to school or get a job. All they do is scream. I am pro-choice but that does not mean necessarily pro-abortion. In today medical technology, no woman needs to get pregnant if she is protecting against it. However, I do believe in abortion in incest and rape. However, incest pregnancies are probably the most concealed in this nation.

[barbjc1]

Sarah Palin is able to do it all because she and her husband are pardners in their marriage. That includes child care and she works on his commercial fishing boat. I would be willing to wager that those of you griping the most are the ones with a husband or significant other that doesn''t help a lick with anything.