Palin Pulls A Fast One With NOW

"I know Sarah Palin cares about women’s rights, she cares about equality, she cares about equal pay, and as Vice President she will fight for it. She cares about our children and she cares about women's lives. She's an athlete and she knows what Title Nine did for girls like her. It is an honor to call her sister. America, this is what a feminist looks like." - Los Angeles NOW chapter president Shelly Mandell, introducing Sarah Palin at a rally this weekend. (Video)

Conservative blogs and commenters are exulting. "Finally, an intellectually honest feminist!", crows the first commenter on the linked post. Some news outlets are mistakenly saying that LA NOW has endorsed Palin, prompting the state organization to shout that Mandell was not authorized to speak on behalf on NOW and that the McCain/Palin campaign deliberately "misrepresented" her as speaking for NOW. (Imagine that.)

Patty Bellasalma: "As President of California NOW and as a member and officer of Los Angeles NOW, I can assure you that there is no local or state affiliate of NOW, including LA NOW, which endorses or supports the McCain/Palin ticket. John McCain and Sarah Palin oppose many of the rights and freedoms we have fought for throughout NOW's 42 years, and we will not be pushed back to the days of back-alley abortions, forced pregnancies, and pay discrimination without remedy. Nor will we let the media distractions deter our members and activists from our organizing for freedom and equality for all women, putting our hopes and our dreams, our hard work and our hard-earned money, behind a proven team for women: the next President of the United States – Barack Obama – and his running mate, longtime friend and ally of women, Sen. Joe Biden With equal ferocity we will fight to protect young women by defeating Proposition 4 and to keep bigotry and discrimination out of our state constitution by defeating Proposition 8 here in California."

After Mandell's introduction, Palin went into her now-standard "Obama runs with terrorists" schtick. I'm wondering how the fuck Mandell got to be president of LA NOW. As Jen Graves says, "Revoke her vagina!"