On the subject of the Republican Party and the anti-choice movement, Digby saidbest:
So let’s not fool ourselves. It’s not about children. It’s about women. And that means it is simply more conservative resistance to the long march of progress this country has made toward equal rights for all its citizens. The same philosophy that fought tooth and nail against every advance made to ensure that this is truly a free country by denying equal rights to all its citizens also animates those who argue that the rights of the fetus are paramount. It’s just another way of ensuring that the rights of women aren’t.
And once you recognize that you realize that there is no way to fudge this or work around the edges. Every time you forget that you create the rhetorical space for the other side to make their argument more explicit —- which is now happening in all its full frontal glory on the Supreme Court of the United States. Women are either free citizens or they’re not.
I remember talking with Vernon Ferrier prior to the 2000 election, and being shocked at his insistence that George W. Bush would slowly but surely turn back the clock on women’s rights. I wrongly assumed that the law was settled, even we as a society were not. But after the past six plus years, it’s clear that is the goal of his policy. And because of that I now know there is no other way to see this battle: “Women are either free citizens or they’re not.”
On the subject of Digby revealing her identity, Michael Shaw saidbest:
Not only have our gender assumptions been tested and exposed; and not only has the blogosphere gained another influential women; and not only has a blow been struck against the stereotyping of strength (and tone, and written voice); but clearly, nobody can read Digby again without the now verifiable confirmation that she speaks to, and for, all of us.
Admittedly, I was surprised at first, in retrospect I should have known, but in the end it makes no difference to me. She was one of the first bloggers to really grab my attention, challenge my assumptions, and push my understanding of the world. None of that will change, if anything it will only intensify. Digby is an absolute must-read each and every day, and I sincerely hope that her voice continues to resonate on the left and soon reverberates across the entire political spectrum. We should be so lucky…