The New York chapter of NOW slams Ted Kennedy.

...this just in from the "Are you freakin' kidding me?" department.

In a sharply critical statement, the New York state chapter of NOW took aim at Kennedy Monday for what it called an "ultimate betrayal," and suggested the Massachusetts Democrat "can't or won't" handle the idea of Clinton becoming President of the United States.

Good grief.

But wait...there is oh so much more.

"Sen. Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard," said the statement. "Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, the Family Leave and Medical Act to name a few."

"And now the greatest betrayal! We are repaid with his abandonment!" the statement continues. "He’s picked the new guy over us. He’s joined the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton."

I've seen less melodramatic hyperbole in a telenovela. But the NY NOW chapter still had more to say.

But the NOW state chapter suggested Monday Kennedy's decision was a larger representation of society’s ongoing disrespect for women's rights.

"This latest move by Kennedy is so telling about the status of and respect for women’s rights, women’s voices, women’s equality, women’s authority and our ability – indeed, our obligation — to promote and earn and deserve and elect, unabashedly, a president that is the first woman after centuries of men who 'know what’s best for us.'"

And I guess Janet Napolitano, Claire McCaskill, Kathleen Sebelius, Oprah Winfrey, Toni Morrison, and Caroline Kennedy are just destroying women's rights. Where are the NY NOW letters condemning them?

One of the glaringly close-minded and just plain wrong assumptions inherent in this bullshit is that any man elected President is going to do nothing to promote women's rights. To the NY NOW chapter, I ask the following questions:

1. Where do you get off determining that all men will simply try to keep your gender down?
2. Where do you get off implying that the only way to promote women's rights is to elect Hillary?

Under the "reasoning" presented by NY NOW, anyone who claims to be supportive of women's rights has to vote for Hillary just because she is a woman. Under the "reasoning" presented by NY NOW, anyone who does not vote for Hillary is misogynistic. And just to show the extent of the stupidity of this position by NY NOW, under the "reasoning" presented by NY NOW, anyone who does not vote for Obama is necessarily a racist.

What NY NOW is basically saying is that "either you are with us or you are against the entire female gender." Gee, I guess that NY NOW just loves George W. Bush the because that is exactly how the Bush administration has operated for the last seven years.

Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama had nothing to do with gender. The endorsements of Janet Napolitano, Claire McCaskill, Kathleen Sebelius, Oprah Winfrey, Toni Morrison, and Caroline Kennedy had nothing to do with gender.

My opposition to Hillary--and in case you, NY NOW, have not noticed, I am far from being alone in this regard--has nothing to do with gender. As I have stated before, I have no problem with a woman being President, and there are plenty of women for whom I could vote to be President.

NY NOW complains that men have too long been allowed to claim that they "know what's best" for women. Apparently NY NOW finds such behavior appalling. Well, guess what? I do, too. And guess what? Throughout this campaign, Hillary--through her own words and actions--has shown that she thinks she is right and everyone else is wrong. That arrogance--not her gender--is what I find appalling. That is the very same arrogance that I have found appalling in the Bush administration. That is the same arrogance I would find appalling in any person, male or female. And it is the same kind of close-minded, utterly stupid arrogance that NY NOW has just exhibited.

FYI: Here's another post addressing this matter. Take note of the comments from another blog.