katherine harris Sure Looks Old - Turkey Neck & All

[Dinger]

I was flipping through the channels this morning, and she was on Faux. Boy, she had some seriously screwed up plastic surgery! Her neck wasn't hidden, and sheesh! That skin was hanging there like a curtain! Damn, she lookedlike shit! Maybe that's why jebbie dumped her - too old!

[cali]

1. Ah, yes.

Nothing like starting off my day with a seriously sexist post. Make me gag. Why not think before posting such shit?

[hlthe2b]

8. Ditto...

Even if the subject is Harris, the OP's equating her worth as nothing more than age and looks is beyond disgusting. I am left wondering if he has thrown away his now "worthless" Mom, now that she is aging and no longer worthy....:shrug:

[bmbmd]

20. If she is running on her "sex appeal"

by assuming various provacative poses, then posts about her looks are fair game.

[Dora]

39. That's a weak dodge of the issue.

Male politicans are constantly puffing out their chests and engaging in uber-masculine activities as part of their campaign strategy. Attacking these men by calling them ugly or dickless or trollish or impotent or ____ ... well, it fails to address any of the relevant issues. And it's ineffective. That's why you don't see it happening.

Katharine Harris is a criminal, she's on the losing side of a losing game, and she deserves all the karma she has coming to her, of this I have no doubt.

Posts like the OP are sexist. No way around it. And it's not "fair game."

[bmbmd]

42. Why is that a "dodge"?

I agree that it is weak-but Congressman Harris is the one providing the cheese shots. She campaigned on sex appeal, and the OP rsponded with his opinion. You are right-she is corrupt and she is losing, and this is not a relevant issue. Nevertheless, the OP is well within his rights to respond to her campaign.

[Dora]

46. The OP gets it, later in this thread....

But I'll try explaining it.

Calling any candidate ugly doesn't address their fitness for office, and it's primarily the female candidates that are judged on their appearances with mockery and disdain.

Yes, the OP is within his rights to respond to her campaign, but the OP actually responds to her looks. And this is what Katherine Harris is hoping for - that she'll attract voters based on her looks. This "liberal" response to her strategy (calling her ugly) is exactly what she's hoping for. She can respond by saying her detractors are incapable of criticizing her on her merits, so we resort to name-calling. Therefore, because we're not criticizing her ability to do the job, she's a capable candidate.

Certainly, we can make fun of her behavior. There are all kinds of things we can call her that are behavior-based. Preening, vacuous, shallow, ineffective... the list goes on.

When she's targeted because of her neck skin, all who are concerned with our own worrisome wattles are targeted too.

[bmbmd]

54. I get "it" too, but politics is an ugly business.

She puts a premium on her physical appearance, ergo it is a campaign issue. "Vote for me-I'm sexy" seems to be her raisson de etre. If she hadn't made a big deal out of it, no one would have said a word. And-why is this a 'liberal" response? Fight fire with fire, I say-their guys sure made hay with "the White House dog" and Janet Reno's illegitimate love child "Bubba's" weight problem and Gerald nadler's bariatric surgery. Ms. Harris deserves to be ridiculed and embarrassed in every possible way, because she is a charicature of what politics has become.

[Dora]

56. We disagree.

There is such a thing as the golden rule, moral high ground, etc., yada yada. Yawn, I know. So tiresome.

That's the "liberal" response because that's how we "liberals" are responding here on DU. See the OP for an example. You might also notice that, later in this thread, the OP understands the resistance to his post.

If some people aren't capable of criticizing a candidate on her merits, then that's intellectually lazy. I'd give a "gut feeling" more credence in an argument than name-calling.

Have a good, happy day!

[wicket]

14. Thank-you

:applause:

[myrna minx]

28. Thank you. n/t

:eyes:

[ronnykmarshall]

31. But saying Bush looks like hell ....

and has a bad hair dye job ISN'T sexist?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I'm Just Happy She Has Zero Chance Of Being My Senator

eom

[tocqueville]

3. how she looks is completely irrelevant

what's "interesting" is what she does and what she says.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. She's Finished Politically,,,

No need to trash her looks though she's not my cup of tea...

[survivor999]

27. Agree.

Looks are irrelevant.

[achtung_circus]

4. Some part

are newer than others. In a lot of ways she's stock, with OEM parts. But there are a couple of after-market upgrades.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Do I Have To See These Images Before Breakfast?

I won't be seeing her at all after November 7th...

[Jack from Charlotte]

32. I'm seeing a couple of JUCO transfers...........

to the frontcourt, to use an old basketball term.

[TheFarseer]

7. Oh come on, she's not so bad

looking that is - of course she's a horrible wingnut. We wouldn't like it if they were saying Cantwell or Granholm were ugly.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. TY....

I have a problem with lookism though I am guilty of it myself sometimes...

[wake.up.america]

10. How she looks is immaterial. How she behaves is what counts.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. If They Said Granholm Was Ugly I'd Think They Were On Crack

[michreject]

16. She needs to stop getting a hair-cut

for about two years.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. She Looks Fine To Me...

If I carry on anymore about her looks I'll be guilty of objectifying her which would be unfair to such an obviously bright woman.

[michreject]

24. I prefer long hair

IMO it looks nicer.

[iamahaingttta]

11. So what?

You're gonna look old and fugly someday too.

You should mock her for her insanity (easy enough to do) not for her looks!

[RebelOne]

15. My feelings exactly.

I am so sick of some on these forums dissing people's looks because they don't agree with the other political views.

[npincus]

22. right-o!

[dipsydoodle]

13. She's what's commonly known as

a paper bag job - over her head that is. Maybe she'd be better off in CA - silicon valley.

[Saturday]

17. Harris paid a lot of money to look the way she does.

I think she wants us to notice.

ETA There are a couple threads on here dissing how Bush looks. Why no outrage on them?

[jhuth at work]

19. I think she looks just great!

[jmowreader]

64. That's an image that will never leave me...

I have just the job for Katherine Harris after she gets run out of office.

She needs to be photographed in the makeup she wore while she was Secretary of State, and that picture printed on the bottom of every children's mattress set made in America.

"No, honey, there are no monsters under the bed. The picture of Katherine Harris scared them away."

[Tinksrival]

21. Kathrine Harris is bat-shit crazy!

Have you heard the latest from the sex kitten turned Jesus servant. (Yea, right!)

Katherine Harris turns to God in bid to unseat frontrunner U.S. Sen. Nelson

By William E. Gibson
Washington Bureau Chief

snip>>>>>>>


To Jewish leaders and voters in Palm Beach County, Harris, of Sarasota, emphasized her stout support for Israel and her belief that Jews are "the chosen people." At a gathering in Fort Lauderdale of the Christian Family Coalition, a statewide faith-based group, she focused on her own religious calling and how she overcame a loathing of politics to advance a conservative agenda.


"I had always thought `poli' means `many,' and `tics' means `blood sucking insects,'" she said. "So I barely understood why the separation of church and state is so bad.

"My challenge to the churches is true engagement, or to any people of faith, because we are called."

[Tinksrival]

23. Forgot the link

If anyone is interested in the rest of her ramblings...

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-areligionoct16,0,960510.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

[ronnykmarshall]

34. Cue the "coo-coo" clock !!

Homegirl is #1 loco!!!

[StellaBlue]

33. WHEN did she say that?!?!?!

About ticks??? Because that's EXACTLY what Kinky Friedman said in the "debate" last week!

:wow:

[wordpix]

58. hold the barf bag, I'm gonna be sick

[mondo joe]

25. Giving all new meaning to the term Turkey Breast

[undeterred]

26. really unbelievably sexist comment, Dinger

:nuke:

Her actions matter, her looks do not. Should Helen Thomas be assessed by her neck too?

[Dinger]

36. Point Well Taken. I Apologize

One of those trigger happy posts I am known for from time to time. Helen is gorgeous!

[undeterred]

51. S'ok...

Ya gotta be more careful in GD, where no perceived insult goes unpunished!

[asthmaticeog]

38. Helen Thomas isn't vamping on TV to try to use sex appeal to reach voters.

Harris is openly campaigning on her looks (or have you not seen her Hannity appearances where she attempts to pout coquettishly and sticks out her chest?), therefore SHE made her looks an issue, therefore her looks are fair game.

[Dora]

40. It's not her LOOKS, it's her BEHAVIOR.

Criticize her behavior then. There is a huge difference.

[asthmaticeog]

41. Her behavior is to emphasize her looks.

I fail to see the dichotomy you're trying to present.

[Dora]

43. I'll try explaining it this way.

All politicians and political candidates are criticizable. This ongoing criticism is essential to public debate of their fitness for office.

We all have biases for or against certain candidates. Understandably, all of us here are biased against Katherine Harris.

The way I see it, she's an incompetent politican, she was deeply involved in the theft of the 2000 election in Florida, she was behind the purging of Florida's voter rolls, and she's a preening, vacuous example of what does NOT make a good political candidate. These are examples of what I find unlikeable about Katherine Harris as a politician.

You may observe that my dislike of her is based on her political history and her behavior. I make no mention of her appearance or physical attributes.

Women know too well that beauty is only skin deep, but skin deep is the limit of many men's ability to view and judge women. Belittling Harris (or any female candidate) because her neck skin is sagging is offensive to all women whose necks are succumbing to gravity faster than we want.

You can criticize her for playing on her sex appeal as a campaign strategy - that's fair game. But making fun of a "turkey neck" is sexist and offensive. The OP gets it - so - it's cool.

[asthmaticeog]

45. Men can have "turkey necks" too.

Explain how making fun of Harris' turkey neck is sexist.

[Dora]

47. Because nobody's making fun of men's necks.

You don't get it, and I suspect you really don't want to.

I'm not going to argue this into the ground.

[asthmaticeog]

49. Maybe not on *this* thread, but trust me.

Plenty of people make fun of aging men's signs of age. Graying, toupées, balding, jowls, and yes, turkey necks - you'll see and hear it all. I agree that it's offensive. I disagree that it's intrinsically sexist.

I don't think YOU want to get it. There are plenty of DUers who want to indiscriminately call "sexism" on whatever they will. But this isn't personal, so I'll not go so far as to impugn you as one of them.

She has a turkey neck. It's not sexist to say so.

[Dora]

53. About that criticism of men's appearances...

I hear what you're saying, but I don't see examples of what you're talking about here on DU. Such male mockery may exist in our daily interactions, common media, or entertainment, but it really doesn't exist in political discussion.

But almost every day I read something on DU criticizing a GOP or neocon female on their appearance, their whorishness, their ugliness, their unviability as women. Harris, Coulter, Schmidt... We sound like Freepers talking about Pelosi, Thomas, and Clinton.

Nowhere on this forum do I see GOP or neocon males called the names and ugliness that their female counterparts are called. In my opinion that is indicative of imbalance, and that imbalance is indicative of sexism.

It's not sexist to say that she has a turkey neck. It's sexist to use her appearance and viability as a woman as a criticism against her.

[asthmaticeog]

55. Agreed. I just don't see...

... how Harris' visibility as a woman was used against her by the OP. He basically said she looked like hell. And while that has no bearing on her abilities or lack of abilities as a public officeholder, it simply is not sexist. And maybe you don't see aging GOP men called out for their appearance much on DU. I see plenty of it - hell, I see plenty of it in the Top Ten every Monday - but that doesn't matter. What's more important is the question of why the OP or I or anyone else should have to answer for what *the rest of DU* says or doesn't say in re ugly old men.

[Dora]

57. I didn't ask you or the OP to answer for the rest of DU.

I, and others, took exception to the OP and said so.

I'll make it a point to read the Top 10 on Monday to look for examples of what you describe.

[asthmaticeog]

60. Check the archives, too.

Lots of stuff about middle-aged GOP congressmen's combovers, weight gain, yadda yadda yadda.

And if you check DU's forum archives going back to around Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday or Reagan's death, oy gevalt, is it ever paydirt.

Edited to add: I guess I got into this argument because I almost never see DU women flame anyone for making fun of a man's appearance, which happens plenty. But if a woman with a horseface gets called horsefaced, watch out. Double standards are bullshit from all sides. I'm not saying this to single you out in particular, Dora, indeed, I think it's very cool that this exchange remained far more civil than most of this type tend to.

[survivor999]

69. Dora has a very good point.

True: people have made fun of Hastert. But not because he is an obese MAN, only because he's obese.

[Catherine Vincent]

29. Now Dinger, you should know better than that.

We're all going to get old and wrinkly, if not already.:)

[dipsydoodle]

30. She's a card

a real card - courtesy of Greg Palast :

[Saphire]

35. me, and my turkey neck, thank you.

[porphyrian]

37. That's why they spackle her face with makeup.

Well, that and to try to hide the ugly.

[tigereye]

44. but, c'mon now, would you post the same about a male

candidate? Even one as crazy as she?

Why is every aspect of women's looks up for grabs and debate?

[onethatcares]

48. Have you seen Hastert?

talk about a pig at the trough, he's eaten enough for half the world. Triple and quadruple chins, I'm willing to bet he hasn't seen his privates in 20 yrs, he's gotta have that half dead smell no matter how many showers he may take.

[wordpix]

59. Hastert is a sight to make sore eyes. He won't last long with all that

extra weight.

[tigereye]

62. yeah, but it's doubtful a bunch of women

would spend a lot of time posting about how unattractive his flesh looks or how he looks really old.

And there you have it.

[asthmaticeog]

50. Tige, see my post #49 above.

Wow, it's unusual to be on the other side of a debate from you! We should savor this moment and reminisce about it someday over cups of General Foods International Coffee.

[tigereye]

66. ah, maybe in Venice with some serious caffe!

that's cuz we really haven't ever actually talked much about politics, asth. ;)

[Catherine Vincent]

63. Houston's former mayor Bob Lanier got called a turkey neck all the time

But of course it was local so it never made the national news. He was the one that collapsed at Ken Lay's memorial.

[mondo joe]

68. You mean like the Bush looks like a chimp threads?

[AlCzervik]

52. i hate to hear what people say about my appearance.

[Missy Vixen]

61. Thank you

I have heard it. Of course, it's prettied up with the protestations of "it's for your health" and "I'm just trying to help you". When we criticize, belittle and demean on the basis of physical appearance, we've run out of ideas.

Julie

[dogday]

65. Yes, it it tough to put yourself out there

in the limelight, all exposed... Very Tough.....

[survivor999]

67. This post is offensive to older women.

It implies that women with a turkey neck at bad or evil.