Truth-squadding Sarah Palin on the Starbucks coffee cup quote

At her Carson, Calif. rally Saturday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was introduced by Shelly Mandell, president of the National Organization for Women's Los Angeles chapter, who acknowledged that she was a lifelong Democrat.

“It is an honor to call her a sister,” said Mandell, who emphasized that she was there as a private citizen, not as a representative of NOW. “America, this is what a feminist looks like.” 

When she mentioned the D-word, Mandell got a chorus of boos.

Palin began her speech by mentioning that one can be progressive and conservative, then quoted, or slightly misquoted, a well-known Democratic woman.

“It’s like kind of providential yesterday what happened to me,” Palin said. “I am reading on my Starbucks mocha cup the quote of the day. You’ll never believe what the quote was! It was Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state and U.N. ambassador, and Madeleine has as her quote of the day for Starbucks — now she said it, I didn’t say it — ‘There is a place in hell reserved for women who don’t support other women.’ OK now, thank you so much for receiving that well, I didn’t know how that was gonna go over. And now California, let’s see what a comment like I just made, let’s see what it will be turned into . . . newspaper.”

Well, how about the blog instead of the newspaper?

Anyway, turns out, according to CBS News’ Scott Conroy, that Palin got the quote slightly wrong. Albright actually said, “There is a place in hell reserved for women who don’t help other women.”

So can Palin’s tweak be construed as changing the meaning of the quote?

Some certainly think so.

—Robin Abcarian

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Comments

[FreeTHinker]

Having seen Abcarian's decidely liberal slant for far too long, her inability to let her bias clearly work its way into her "news reporting" comes as no surprise. Writing the blog must be like candy for her. Please send this society reporter back to covering the gossip section.

[Krell]

LOL

When you are correcting someone in an attempt to show intellectual superiority it helps to get your correction right.

The quote on the cup was “There is a special place in hell reserved for women who don’t help other women.”

ok, so go back to attacking our future first female president...

[Reuel]

"Support" is a form of "help".

Women who hate Palin because they want to "kill babies" of course will go to hell.

[BC]

So then what's the destination for women whose idea of helping women who have been raped is to charge them for the rape kits?

Hell ought to be especially toasty for an Alaskan.

[Patrick]

Anybody who finds it significant that she said "support" instead of "help" is just being silly. What I want to know is: can anyone prove or disprove that she really got the Madeleine Albright cup the day before? That detail sounds suspicious. And in keeping with Palin's penchant for breezy fabrication.

[Carla]

Gosh, darn, you Palin supporters are sure are quick to turn nasty! Wink wink. There is a difference between support and help b/c Palin is in a political campaign and she was clearly talking to women who don't support her cause. That is, VOTE FOR HER AND MCCAIN. The quote is about helping, not supporting. Helping as in when a woman is raped it might be nice for her not to also be charged for her own rape kit. That's help. Not support. But don't worry, Palin supporters, we tolerate you. We really do.

[tls]

Back to sarah palin's actual point - she obviously thinks that any woman who doesn't vote for her is going to hell!

We've been underwhelmed by her intellectual abilities and her inability to grasp anything even remotely important to running a country, so now she threatens us with hell if we don't vote for her!

What century is this woman living in?

[Peggy McGilligan]

Correction: Anyone who’s been to Starbucks, knows quote #287, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women,” first appeared on it's coffee cups during Hillary Clinton's bid for the presidency, about a year ago. It's old news. I thought the message was rather clear: vote for Hillary, or suffer eternal damnation. And, if Starbuck's makes it public, as was its obvious intent, it’s fair game. But speaking of old news, did you know Madeleine K. Albright probably doesn't believe in hell? According to my own sketchy knowledge of theology, hell is a tenet of the Christian religion. So, according to Ms. Albright only Christian women who failed to vote for Hillary will be thrown into the pit. Ms. Albright is a converted Episcopalian. But believe you me, even though the Episcopal Church is a Christian denomination, no Episcopalian believes that he or she will be consigned to that place where the wicked are punished after death for exercising the right to vote: http://theseedsof9-11.com

[lissafaith]

I am honestly shocked at the number of people who support this woman for her contrived "folksiness" over someone who actually has the knowledge and intellectuality - and the capability - of actually running - or helping to run - this country. Do people miss the point that she is NOT at all prepared or knowledgeable enough to take those responsibilities? Running this nation is NOT, nor should it be, a job you "learn as you go" - have you people not been living here these past eight years? She performs as she did in her pageants - of course she can play to an audience. Aside from the GOP apparently relishing their moniker of "the party of hate, fear, and lies", they apparently are proud of the additional title of "absolutely clueless".

[Alissa]

Yeah, you're right. Why bring up such a benign slip up! It's ridiculous. This mistake doesn't matter. The bottom line here is, she's totally terrible either way, and in no way is a positive roll model for women. If she uses the word "doggone" in another speech/debate, I will for sure vomit. The only way she will help women is to help us prove that we will not settle for someone like her merely because of her chromosomes. The only way the rest of us women can support women is to see to it she never steps foot in the white house. I trust Biden is a bigger feminist than she'll ever be. Poor Madeline Albright.

[Di]

1. In an election/political campaign, the words “help” vs. “support” have very different meanings, and Palin must have understood this. Then again, we’re talking about Sarah Palin so maybe she doesn’t understand.
2. It is profoundly disturbing that we have a candidate who would threaten women by saying that we'll go to hell if we don't vote for her.
3.I think there's a place in hell for a woman who would force a raped woman to pay for her own rape kit and then continue an unwanted pregnancy as a result of the rape. That means you Sarah.

[silus]

Patrick...

First off, people who dont agree with your perspective are not silly. If you want to make a real argument, do it, but pretending there are only two ways to view this is just naive.

The word support obviously denotes political significance as opposed to "help." Maybe you should explore the distinctions before you you talk about they're non existence. Not to mention you clearly are ignorant to the tried and true political tactics of undermining and manipulating people through subtlety.

[Elisabeth Urban]

I found this online and it resounds my thoughts perfectly. "Albright made this statement in the wake of her efforts to to have rape declared as a 'weapon of war',at which time she made her now-famous statement. See, Madeleine Albright was saying there must be a special place in hell for women who wouldn't help these particular victims of rape. I shouldn't have to point out why this is such a strange irony for a woman like Sarah Palin but, to be clear, I will.

The treatment of rape vicims is not a topic Sarah should be evoking at this time, as former Mayor of a unique Alaskan city that charged rape victims up to $1200 for rape kits used in emergency room exams used to prosecute their attackers. While this controversial law did not originate with Mayor Palin, she certainly endorsed it time every time she approved a city budget that relied on the revenue from these rape kits. And, for the record, John McCain's voting record jibes with Wasilla's policy.

Yeah, yeah. Sarah predicted yesterday that the evil liberal elitist media filters would do something horrible today with her Starbucks quote. What she has yet to *get* is that, when the media is critical of her, it isn't that they are being critical of women or of Republicans or even of Sarah Palin, per se. It's the lies, you see. It's the lies and the ineptitude that emerge every time Sarah Palin speaks. It's the double standard in every thing she does and says that ruins it for so many people.

p.s. Earth to Sarah: Back when you were in, like, 6th grade, Madeleine Albright received her doctorate from one of those elitist East Coast universities and has since worked in Washington politics. I am looking for a women that put her kids first ( Madeleine stayed home to raise her kids until the age of 42 and then went on to become a great political figure".

[Babzilicious]

In response to "Reuel's" statements:

"'Support' is a form of 'help'."

Not in American Sign Language - the signs for "support" and "help" are very different. And since signs in ASL are based on concepts, "help" and "support" are not really synonymous. That's just one language for you, though.

"Women who hate Palin because they want to 'kill babies' of course will go to hell."

Sarah Palin scares me - for many reasons. But I don't hate her. Don't have the time or interest, really, to waste my energy on something as pointless as hating someone. Nor do I want to "kill babies". And thankfully there is a merciful and perfect Judge - kinder and more understading than we humans could ever hope to be - who decides who's going to hell and who isn't (that is if hell even exists).

Having said all of that, finding out about Palin's woefully condescending treatment and view of people of color, I know that she will never "help" or "support" me and my brown, black, yellow and red sisters - even those of us who are Hockey Moms married to Joe SixPacks.

[Tony]

How about the point that the original quote is misguided? While I respect Madeleine Albright, her quote lacks clarity and, unless explained further, is illogical. After all, what if supporting one woman brings about negative consequences for thousands of women? If one were to adhere to a feminist and utilitarian ethos, helping Sarah Palin if it would hurt multiple other women in some manner would be the wrong action.

[steve rodriguez]

Please don't believe what you read in the papers about Sarah! The left hates her so much!
Don't believe what you read about Barry either, he ain't that good! If he's elected it'll be one term and done!

[progressiveliberal]

Palin is not THAT dumb. She understands the difference between "help" and "support". She changed the word to suit her agenda, and didn't give two hoots whether she was correctly reflecting Albright's comment (not like she respects Albright anyway). I find it ironic that Albright's comment was made in the context of sexual victimization of women, given Palin's record of charging women (or allowing them to be charged) for rape kits. I'm sure they felt they were "supported" by Mayor Palin . . .

Bottom line for me with this is, Palin's comments are not to be trusted, because she feels quite comfortable in changing up people's words to suit her own personal agenda. Being factually accurate doesn't seem particularly important to her.

Isn't this kinda strange, given her deeply grounded Christian faith? Not much sign of Christian charity or honesty there . . . .

[Matt Spencer]

If there's no difference between "support" and "help" then why did she change the quote? Is it because she is trying to attribute a meaning to Albright's words that isn't there, or is it because she didn't have it handy in front of ehr on a notecard and just couldn't remember, gosh darnit?

[Mike]

Wow, a christian, getting up in front of people and telling them they'll go to hell if they don't do as they're told.

Just a second while I act surprised.

Enough with the religious nut-jobs!

[Kim]

When will Sarah realize that if women voted for a candidate just because she was a woman, a woman would have already been the presidential candidate. We women significantly outnumber males voters in voter turn out.

How long will she remain Gov after losing the election and the lawyers of the McCain camp in her troopergate investigation? Being a woman once again has nothing to do with it. But being corrupt and abusing power does.

[Lisa]

You have no idea what you are talking about.
How dare you call her a feminist.
Off to send my local NOW a letter

[macdoodle]

Well NOW i know why they wouldnt represent or support me and other women as a homeless female nsc multi disabled short timer vet -i asked .

haves -power but politics against most women's needs?
not have nots? is $ and FAME what it takes to be her kind of feminist.?

TO Mandell and Palin-
YOU'RE BOTH PROVED TO BE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO REAL WOMEN's MOVEMENT AND
I SAY LATER!

[Julie]

OH MI GOD! After 8 long years of corruption, a bogus war, the dismantling of environmental safeguards, global warming, corporate greed and the worst economic meltdown in our history - HOW CAN ANYONE BE THINKING OF VOTING FOR THESE FOOLS? When the Democrats left office the country was at peace and we had a budget surplus! Why do people see this woman's contrived folksy nonsensical answers as anything of substance? It's truly pathetic. She makes Bush look like Einstein!

[Julie]

SHAME ON YOU SHELLEY MANDELL! Sarah Palin would turn back the progress American women have made over the past 100 years! To call her a feminist is insulting to women who value freedom. After the past 8 years of corruption, war and now the worst economic meltdown in history, how can you call yourself a Democrat and even consider for one second voting for this unqualified puppet of the Republican party? You should step down immediately.

[Jenna]

It's not that we HATE Sarah Palin. We just think she's unsuitable for such a high level of office. Completely and utterly unsuitable.