You might have missed my twitter rant over the weekend. I had officially HAD IT with the attacks on Senior White House Advisor Valerie jarred and I basically LOST IT via a TweetRage:
RAGE inducing. An entire article on why POTUS should fire @vj44 with 0 reasons given http://t.co/iGfYSBI8xH They’d never say this of a man
— Erin Kotecki Vest (@QueenofSpain) November 8, 2014
& WHY should POTUS shake up a damn thing? @vj44 has been the only constant – steady and smart- Who actually gives a damn about everyone — Erin Kotecki Vest (@QueenofSpain) November 8, 2014
Unreal. Calling for a sacrifice simply to appease their sexist & racist minds. I will stand by @VJ44 just as hard as I stand by @BarackObama
— Erin Kotecki Vest (@QueenofSpain) November 8, 2014
No one works as hard as @vj44 & walks the walk – she will literally call your crazy right-wing uncle and set him straight!!!! — Erin Kotecki Vest (@QueenofSpain) November 8, 2014
…Even powerful women of color are being told to sit down and shut up… do not stand by and let them tell @VJ44 what to do
— Erin Kotecki Vest (@QueenofSpain) November 8, 2014
Not when she has don’t absolutely NOTHING different than every senior advisor before her … I warned you it was rage inducing — Erin Kotecki Vest (@QueenofSpain) November 8, 2014
And that is exactly what is going on here. Politico publishes a piece basically saying Jarrett should go because she’s too close to the president and despite having done nothing that any other male in her position has done with any other president in history…she shouldn’t. Or something. It’s a steaming pile of sexist crap that would never be written of any male senior advisor. Ever.
Don’t think we didn’t notice, Politico.
Apparently it’s only a bad thing to have the president confident in you, if you are a woman.
Apparently it’s only a bad thing to have earned the trust of the First Lady and your boss, the president…if you are a woman.
Apparently helping the president make the decisions that affect our nation and sometimes the entire world is your role as a senior advisor…unless you are a woman.
In fact, because you are a woman, shouldn’t you really be in the East Wing with the lady-folk, gossiping and giggling and perhaps decorating the incoming White House holiday trees? Certainly not helping to shape policy or working with powerful MEN.
I wish I were kidding about the East Wing quip, but Politico actually makes an East Wing quip.
Seriously.
I want to make it clear, before everyone begins their attack on me for supporting a woman they will have all sorts of names for, that I have personal experience with Ms. Jarrett.
I will never forget the first time I met her. It’s possible tears were shed:
Then came an intimate lunch with Ms. Jarrett at the BlogHer conference in 2009. I greeted her at the hotel doors and walked her into the conference, first making sure to say to hello to my husband and then introducing her to the room. We embarked on a conversation that would be a turning point for me and, I’m sure, a few others.
After almost an hour of talking health care with a group hand-picked bloggers from all backgrounds who had talked about health and healthcare on their blogs, Ms. Jarrett gave her number to one of the bloggers so that this particular woman’s husband could call her and she could set him straight on a few issues.
Not only was the call made, but that blogger then went on to visit the White House, with her Right-Wing radio show host husband and kept the conversation going with Ms. Jarrett.
That is just the type of person Ms. Jarrett is and that is just how committed she is to the President’s agenda. She will call your crazy, right-wing uncle up on the phone personally and attempt to tell him just why all those email forwards he sends are not only lacking facts, but they are downright insulting. The woman knows no fear and will mix it up with the average voter and the most powerful men in Congress. They are all on equal footing in her eyes and you can bet good money THAT is why she has a bullseye on her back, NOT because it’s post-midterms and the West Wing should ‘shake things up.’
If the midterms were truly the reason, then why have they been calling for Jarrett to be fired since the moment she was on staff?
It wasn’t long after the luncheon, BlogHer Co-Founder Elisa Camahort Page and I flew from the West Coast to Washington DC to make sure the Obama Administration knew exactly how powerful women online had become. Ms. Jarrett knew and gave us the opportunity to present our findings to some very powerful people while she listened intently and nodded in affirmation every time we hammered home a point about our strength, our ability to be highly influential, and our undisputed takeover of the Internet.
THAT is the Valerie Jarrett I know. And am PROUD to know. So to see a hit piece appear afer the midterms, with not only zero substance but a healthy dose of ‘get back in the kitchen and know your place woman’ to boot…Erin MAD. Erin SMASH.
Every woman should be MAD, HULK MAD. They have never and would never say these things about Axelrod or Plouffe. The things she does are normal, typical, entirely mundane in the eyes of a male Senior Advisor. The Axelrods and Plouffes were never disrespected or even questioned should they have the ear of the president…it was THEIR JOB. Jarrett does the same and it’s some whacky new conspiracy worthy of throwing her in the Potomac to see if she sinks or floats.
Sorry, but I refuse to stand for it and so should every single one of you. You may not like Ms. Jarrett, or the President. Or maybe you DO like Ms. Jarrett and the President. Either way it’s time to put an end to the nonsense.
I’m going to leave you with one more personal story and then let you make up your mind on the character of the President’s most trusted Senior Advisor, one just a few family members know:
It was very difficult for me to be sidelined when I was first diagnosed with Lupus. From all of the surgeries to having a stroke, I was upset and depressed to not be playing a role in bringing you opportunities to connect with our elected leaders.
During a time in which I was doing absolutely no work, I watched Ms. Jarrett attacked, yet again, and I reached out to her with a very short ‘hang in there, you are doing so much good for so many of us’ note.
I didn’t expect to hear back. She’s a very busy woman and the job of a Senior Advisor to the President is extremely demanding. Even more so if you are a female constantly fending off attacks the men in your position don’t have to deal with.
I heard back almost immediately from Ms. Jarrett. And while she did thank me, she wasn’t concerned for herself…she wanted to know how I was doing and if I was ok and to know that she would be thinking and praying for me and not to worry about her.
So many of you can choose to believe all the headlines and form in your mind the caricature of a woman they want you to know. Or, you can use my examples and my real-life experience with the woman some of us DO know.
And that woman kicks ass and has forever earned my respect.
I want to comment that I have received many of your emails. And I’m disappointed you feel you can not speak publicly on the matter.
Sadly, sexism is alive and well.
Just know I WILL continue to speak publicly and will do so on your behalf since so many of you are uncomfortable doing so.
wonderful post! Rting for sure! Thanks for writing this.