Tag: shelly mandell

Feminists campaign with Palin in Nevada; media covers clothes budget

Ok, I am trying to figure this out.
Yesterday five prominent Democrat feminists campaigned with Sarah Palin in Henderson, NV.

Palin was joined on stage by five women who endorsed her candidacy, including two members of the Democratic National Platform Committee, two leaders of chapters of the National Organization of Women, and a former editor of Ms. Magazine [Elaine Lafferty].
Lynn Rothschild, a Democratic National Platform Committee member and prominent supporter of Sen. Clinton, had endorsed the McCain-Palin ticket in September, but had not appeared publicly with Palin. Prameela Bartholomeusz also served on the Democratic Platform Committee..
Palin was also joined by Linda Klinge, the current vice president of the Oregon Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Shelly Mandell, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women, also appeared in Henderson, and had previously endorsed Palin at a public rally in Carson, CA earlier this month.

This event was the subject of 20 some articles, mostly on the blogs of reporters covering the campaign.
However, Sarah Palin’s clothes budget garnered major network coverage, an Associated Press article, and all told over 90 articles that I found in a quick search.
And let Peggy Noonan, engage in elitist dismissals of Sarah Palin and the media are all ears (more than 90 articles, I quit counting).

Democratic Platform Committee member stumps for McCain in PA, MI

This October 7th article in the (Wilkes-Barre) Times-Leader follows up Shelly Mandell’s endorsement of McCain-Palin.

Dem group backing McCain
Prominent Hillary Clinton supporter helps open Democrats for McCain headquarters in Scranton.
BILL O ’ BOYLE
SCRANTON – A major supporter of Hillary Clinton and member of the Democratic National Committee’s
Platform Committee, on Monday said the Democratic Party has nominated “the worst candidate” while
Republicans have nominated the best.
Lynn Forester de Rothschild helped open the Democrats for McCain headquarters on Main Avenue in West Scranton. About 30 supporters turned out to welcome de Rothschild and speak out for the Republican ticket.

Although I read the about the de Rothchild endorsement of McCain, I didn’t post about it at the time. What surprised me was this statement:

One organization – PUMA, which stands for Party Unity My Ass – has more than 5 million members across the country, she said. Jamie Brazil, a longtime friend of the Clintons and the Rodham family, is serving as national director of Citizens for McCain. Brazil accompanied de Rothschild on her Scranton visit.

Five. Million. Members.
Despite the size of this group and these high profile Clinton-Democratic defections, today’s Wall Street Journal minimizes this movement, even as it briefly mentions de Rothschild.
de Rothschild also spoke to veterans in Fenton, MI regarding her support for McCain. What is striking to me is where de Rothschild is going. These are small venues and small media markets, which indicates to me that her support is sincere and strong.

Shelly Mandell, head of LA chapter of National Organization for Women endorses McCain-Palin

Imagine Jim Dobson or Rick Warren endorsing Barack Obama. Imagine the headlines and news stories which would derive from such an endorsement.
Now imagine a major Democratic operative, who is heads one of the largest chapters of the National Organization for Women endorsing John McCain and Sarah Palin, primarily due to Sarah Palin’s place on the ticket.
Both would be big news, right?
One would think either scenario would be reported widely. However, when Ms. Shelly Mandell endorsed Sarah Palin in Carson CA, on Saturday October 4, it was not reported widely. Thus far, the stunning news has garnered one story that I can find in the mainstream press (two if you include Greta Van Susteren’s blog post).
The news that has been of interest to mainstream reporters is Palin’s comments about Barack Obama and William Ayers, and her quote of Madelyn Albright. You would think an endorsement from a major feminist leader would get a sentence or two.
You can watch the speech by Ms. Mandell here:

Mandell says she disagrees with Palin on some issues, probably life, but she believes Palin cares about fairness to women and will shake things up in Washington. Mandell is a former supporter of Hillary Clinton.
Why would mainstream media not report this?
UPDATE: Because I did not have the proper spelling of Ms. Mandell’s name, I missed some references, including this one in the LA Times blog. However, the only reporting I can find on this story is the MSNBC post and the local Southern California press. More interest has been given to Sarah Palin’s slight misquote of Madeleine Albright.