CNN's Jeannie Moos has this "bewitching" montage about Christine O'Donnell's "I am not a witch" comment. If you have to deny you're a witch, sweetie, you've lost the battle. The question is, are you a good witch or a baaaad witch? Meanwhile, a political opponent has no doubts about Nancy Pelosi. He's depicting her as The Wicked Witch of the West.
Now, what I think is really interesting is the gender of the people who are getting tagged with the "witch" appellation. Notice that they're not men. And they're not of one political party. They run the gamut, but they're all perceived as powerful in some way and they've done something unacceptable in the eyes of some part of the electorate. They've stepped out of the shadows and dared to assert themselves. They've taken a stand. Apparently this behavior is considered unfeminine, so they are tagged with the word that rhymes with another word that assertive women are often called. What do some opponents do when these women seem to be too powerful? They label them "witches." They claim, or at least intimate, slyly, that they have supernatural, unnatural powers. Whether they believe this claim, or expect us to believe it, I think this suggestion is ugly and mean.
If we don't like what Christine O'Donnell, or Sarah Palin, or Nancy Pelosi stands for, let's confront their platforms and their work on a rational basis. Let's leave the name calling on the playground, with the little kids. They still haven't outgrown it. But one would think they have time on their side. We are adults. Let's act like it. (Or I'll just have to get out my eye of newt and come after some of you).
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