Sarah Palin Sexism Watch, #24

Because women and gay men are natural allies (of which we are constantly reminded by everyone from hazing frat boy rapists to late-night talk show hosts), as misogyny and homophobia are so inextricably linked, I am even more disappointed when misogyny emanates from a gay man whom I expect to know better; watching the Human Rights Campaign's Joe Solmonese snidely refer to Sarah Palin as "Caribou Barbie" feels like watching a friend get bullied then turn around and punch you in the face because he doesn't know where else to direct his anger.

(And nice job with the ageist jab, too, Joe.)

Hillary Clinton: John McCain claims to be a different kind of Republican, but when you look at his positions on the issues, when you look at his plans for the future, you can see John McCain is just more of the same. He's not a maverick; he's a mimic. Barack Obama is the leader we need to bring the change we need.

Joe Solmonese: Surely a community as powerful as this can take on one old, out-of-touch senator and Caribou Barbie. [cheers and applause]

Suze Orman: I don't want to be a lesbian who is "tolerated." [cheers and applause] It's true. I don't want a vice president who can't even say the word "lesbian" in a speech.

If a prominent conservative had made the same kind of "joke" about a gay male politician, I'd be getting an email from the HRC asking me to write a letter to let that prominent conservative know that homophobia is intolerable. Each and every time I've gotten one of those emails, I've written a letter, because that's what allies do.

Perhaps we should politely let the HRC know that we find their president using misogyny intolerable, too—and would prefer that he be an ally to women.

The most important letters to write are the ones we write to allies, because they are the most inclined to listen. Teaspoons…

[H/T to Shaker Juliemania. Sarah Palin Sexism Watch: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three. We defend Sarah Palin against misogynist smears not because we endorse her or her politics, but because that's how feminism works.]