UPDATE- New Agenda: Stop Calling Palin a MILF

The freshly-minted women's group "The New Agenda" has come out swinging against sexist attacks on Sarah Palin. From a press release:

"We cannot and will not sit idly by while another qualified candidate goes through what Senator Hillary Clinton had to endure. Issues are fair game. Sexist treatment is no longer fair game," said Amy Siskind, a co-founder of The New Agenda.

..."Our members were outraged that within 24 hours of Governor Palin's historic candidacy she was dismissed as "tokenism," she was referred to as a "MILF" (mother I'd like to f*uck), and chuckling male commentators said:" The only thing she didn't say was who needs some pie I baked this morning?" added Siskind.

I am privileged to count several New Agenda founders as friends, including Amy, but an equal number of my friends are New Agenda skeptics. More on New Agenda later.

I reached out to New Agenda for a specific MILF reference, and I'm waiting to hear back. If you google Sarah Palin and MILF, you get a lot of bloggy lad-mag chatter, a reference in a UK Times opinion piece, and the T-shirts pictured above. The vendor has not returned my request for comment.

While I applaud New Agenda for coming to Sarah's defense, the skeptic in me wonders about 3 things: If the MILF remark is restricted to under-the-radar blogs and flea-market T-shirts, why are they amplifying it in a press release? And why have none of my friends at New Agenda said "Boo!" about John McCain's identification for women of AILFs (Apes I'd Like to F*ck), or how Chelsea Clinton is not a TILF (Teen...etc.)? Finally, when will New Agenda come to Michelle Obama's defense?

Update: The T-shirt vendor responds at the end of the story.

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Update: Charles Zhang, the person selling the Sarah Palin "MILF" shirts, returned the following response to me, via email:

1. What do you say to people who think your Sarah Palin MILF shirts are misogynist or sexist?

We think Sarah Palin is a very accomplished public servant. She is also quite beautiful. "McCain MILF" is definitely more marketable than "McCain Smart Woman." The word "MILF" has been commonly used in the younger generation ever since the American Pie movie. "MILF" is used more in the sense of recognizing one's beauty and wanting something that we can't have. It should not been taken literally or as a misogynist phrase. Powerful women such as Palin, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi are well respected by Men, any outward disapproval of their sucesses is just jelously.

2. How have your sales been?

Our sales have been doing quite well.

3. What are you doing with the proceeds from the shirts? Buy books for college. College textbooks cost easily more than $1,000 a year!

We have decided to take down our two shirts which Palin's picture in it. Can you please that that picture off your blog or replace it with and different picture?

Here is the full text of New Agenda's press release:

THE NEW AGENDA to Serve as Watch Dog for Women Candidates

The New Agenda (www.thenewagenda.net), a non-partisan women's rights advocacy group with men and women members nationwide, recognizes the history making selection of Governor Sarah Palin as Senator John McCain's running mate. As Governor Palin hits the campaign trail, The New Agenda members will serve as watch dogs monitoring news coverage and statements by political pundits, campaign surrogates and other commentators for any sexist bias.

"We cannot and will not sit idly by while another qualified candidate goes through what Senator Hillary Clinton had to endure. Issues are fair game. Sexist treatment is no longer fair game," said Amy Siskind, a co-founder of The New Agenda.

The New Agenda members are monitoring the airwaves, blogs, and print reports for derogatory language, misogynist attacks, and denigrating statements. The New Agenda will respond swiftly against any perpetrators of such attacks.

"Our members were outraged that within 24 hours of Governor Palin's historic candidacy she was dismissed as "tokenism," she was referred to as a "MILF" (mother I'd like to f*uck), and chuckling male commentators said:" The only thing she didn't say was who needs some pie I baked this morning?" added Siskind.

The New Agenda members are committed to promoting women's leadership and ensuring that women candidates are treated with the respect they deserve. We are confident that the media, the campaigns, and campaign surrogates can turn this historic election into one we can look back on with pride.

New Agenda is shopping a list of "asks" to both campaigns, and calls itself nonpartisan. Since the organization is made up in part of leaders and former leaders of the Just Say No Deal coalition, many skeptics think that nonpartisanship is simply a pose, and that the group is really an anti-Obama front.

I think the answer is more complicated than that. This is a group of 30 "A-type" women with a spectrum of political beliefs. I personally know one New Agenda founder who is an Obama supporter, and many of them plan to vote for Obama in November.

I do think that highlighting the MILF comment is an attempt to paint Palin as a victim, unless I see a reference to it in the legitimate US newsmedia. Whether this is a warning shot to that legit media, or an attempt by some in the group to help Palin, is a bit of an open question.

Either way, I agree. Stop calling Sarah Palin a MILF, because no matter who hears it, be they randy low-information voters or fed-up feminists, it will only distract them from the fact that John McCain and Sarah Palin couldn't govern their way out of a paper bag.

Update: One such skeptic, Christina Cedeno from Yes to Democracy, had this to say:

While the MILF comment is unfortunate, until I see it referenced in the mainstream media, I'll take it with a grain of salt.

As for Sarah Palin, the pundits haven't named one accomplishment, Sarah Palin herself hasn't named one accomplishment, that would merit the position of the vice presidency.

Considering the historic candidacy of Hillary Clinton, contrasted with Palin's complete lack of accomplishment, if Palin's selection isn't tokenism, I don't know what is.

Update: Amy Siskind kindly sent me the MILF reference. It was from Bill Maher. As crass as I find it, I stand by what I said earlier. Maher is not a legit pundit, and he won't be until he decides wheter he wants to be that, or a comic. He trades in provocation and contrarianism. Here's the video:




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