via- NYTimes.com, where Anna Holmes and Rebbecca Traister make a good case that while the Left has good reason to be outraged by Sarah Palin’s nonsense, they should also be critical of  “their own failings as much as Ms. Palin’s ascension. Since the 2008 election, progressive leaders have done little to address the obvious national appetite for female leadership. And despite (or because of) their continuing obsession with Ms. Palin, they have done nothing to stop an anti-choice, pro-abstinence, socialist-bashing Tea Party enthusiast from becoming the 21st century symbol of American women in politics.”

This article has been discussed widely on other feminist blogs — I’d like to address some comments made by Amanda Marcotte at Double X:

“Liberals can’t be fed a fantasy woman because we don’t even agree on what our fantasy is. Many liberals are openly uneasy with feminism, lured by conservative arguments about how women having too much freedom would mean the end of sexual fun for men but the beginning of a sea of dishes and nagging. Many male liberals, particularly in positions of power, are openly made uncomfortable by feminist demands, even when they agree intellectually that women should have rights. (Witness the way that Democratic men in Congress erupted into childish giggling when asked by their female colleagues to listen to a presentation on the economic value of contraception subsidies.)  Even when liberal men can manage not to squirm, many still have a tendency to dismiss “women’s issues” as second-tier concerns, as if half the population were a narrow special interest group, like people who want ferret-owning to be legal in New York City.”

Uh, yes that’s exactly the problem — progressive men tend not to take women’s issues seriously and can be quite sexist when discussing women (see Melissa McEwan’s excellent coverage of sexism in the 2008 presidential campaign.  As ‘Liss likes to say, if you’re not a feminist, you’re not progressive, you’re  fauxgressive).

So, yes we need a progressive version of Palin who isn’t afraid to use the “f-word” (feminism) in public and will stand up for other women — ’cause the menz sure as hell aren’t doing it for us — see this hilarious satire from Name It, Change It:

In Your Face