PrintApril 7, 2008
Hillary doesn't know what she's talking about
Steve Gilbert of Sweetness & Light noticed that Hillary Clinton betrayed her ignorance of women's history, while trying to score political points. Speaking in Missoula, MT, home of the University of Montana as well as the residences of many wealthy non-natives of Montana, she tried to use Jeanette Rankin's story to burnish her own appeal. Rankin, a Republican, was the first woman elected to Congress.
Hillary claimed:
"Remember, Jeannette Rankin was elected before women could vote. So who says men don't vote for a woman?" Clinton told an audience crowded into an airport hangar here.
Steve Gilbert points out:
Er, women could vote in Montana in 1916, Mrs. Clinton.In fact, they gained the right to vote in Montana in 1914, partly due to Ms. Rankin's own efforts.So once again the "smartest women in the world" is dead wrong on the basic facts.
Maybe now that she is saving money on Mark Penn's fees, she can afford to hire someone to check her facts. Even a troglodyte like me knows that women first gained the vote in western states -- Wyoming, Utah, Montana.
