The Essay

A Message to the Democratic Party from a Member of the Weaker Sex

Is a juvenile game of dick-sizing the best that American politics has to offer?

After California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger referred to California Democrats as “girlie men” the Democratic Party apparently hit the panic button. “The Democratic National Convention appears to be making a concerted effort to project symbols of masculine toughness,” Jarrett Murphy commented in “Dems ‘Fight’ With ‘Strong’ Words,” an article featured on CBS Online.

In the current political environment, it’s simply insulting to be feminine. "When Democratic men emerge, they're portrayed as too feminine," said Richard Goldstein, a writer for the Village Voice. “The Democrats are trying to counter that."

One can’t help to wonder what these feminine attributes might include—aside from the obvious inference of weakness—might they not also include charity, compassion and openness as well as the ability to listen, communicate and problem solve without maiming, bombing and mass-murdering?

But perhaps that’s to take it too far. The new strong men of the Democratic Party instead choose to fight for America by beginning with a defensive campaign. They’re going into battle for Americans while playing to the tune of the Republicans and ignoring the social contributions of those who comprise half the electorate.

Although I am only a member of the weaker sex, I humbly suggest that the Democrats forward this message; the current administration failed to do its job. With the largest defense budget in the world, they failed to defend us. They were party to the greatest communications failure in the history of our country. They lied to us about the Weapons of Mass Destruction. They disgraced our country by presenting forged documents to the United Nations. The Bush administration continues to snub those who, in the name of the American people, demand accountability. They entrenched the nation in an imperialist war, turned nightmare, while handing over no-bid contracts to corporate friends. With the cost of war and the additional cost of those contracts, the budget surplus turned deficit. The Bush administration might well go down as the most criminal and inept administration in American history.

I say that with “strengths” such as these, perhaps both the Republican and the Democratic Party could use a few of these “girlie men” in charge. Girlie men might, in fact, be just the ticket.

So far, though, the Democrats promise progress while giving us more of the same. It’s more important, apparently, for them to have the appearance of strength rather than to actually possess it. Let’s not forget that what angered Schwarzenegger so about those “girlie” California Democrats was their support of two bills: one which would prohibit schools from contracting with private companies and another which would allow employees to sue employers when their labor rights were violated.

So when Kerry and Edwards blaze down the campaign trail with speeches peppered with such “masculine” words as strength and tough, let’s not forget what those California girlie men, along with all their unsung girlie men brethren, stand for.
--Marissa Merker