Feminist backlash 'in a "terribly sexist" fashion'

Betsy Newmark fisks feminist anti-Palinite and New Republic editor Michelle Cottle's article. It's a great study in the pretzel logic of identity politics, along with the message that Dems are only interested in feminism that toes its party line.

A sampling from Cottle:

And, just like that, the strong, proud, fearless, gender-transcendent Hillary morphed into a disrespected, mistreated victim. Grievance feminism came roaring back with a vengeance. Clinton's supporters increasingly went from praising her gender-neutral success to celebrating her triumph over a male-dominated system and decrying the patriarchal forces still aligned against her. Obama wasn't just beating Clinton; he was behaving, as Hillary surrogate Geraldine Ferraro charged, in a "terribly sexist" fashion. Party bigwigs, we were told, were pushing Clinton to bow out in a way that they would never pressure a man.

Hey, gals - especially you old-school feminists I identify with - you can't have it be about gender and not about gender. If Hillary's advancement is good for feminism, so is Sarah Palin's.

Ultimately, feminism among its current practitioners is simply contra-genderism with an agenda. Stick with good ideas, and supporting women with good ideas, or choose to champion women's accomplishments - all women's accomplishments.