Underlying and Obvious Misogyny

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

Our opinion: Are nearly all ND politicians paid mouthpieces? Not Cara!

There’s a New Deputy Mayor in Town

Deputy Mayor Dave Piepkorn was stripped of his title this week for disparaging comments with regard to a couple of Native Americans outside his downtown building, Arlette Preston was voted in as the new Deputy Mayor, 4 to 1.

I have a couple of questions, comments and acute observations...

The individual voting against Arlette and questioning her credibility was Mayor Mahoney,

According to Valley News Live, Mahoney said, “Arlette Preston has demonstrated over and over that she does not necessarily follow the rules that we have agreed upon. My concern is Arlette Preston has her own agenda.”

He defended Piepkorn saying, “I do feel badly that in many ways Commissioner Piepkorn has stated he would work on decorum, The duties that he has had to do outside of that, he has done a great job.”

This same guy, who’s supposedly “working on his decorum” made headlines by flipping the bird to one of his fellow councilmen– during a public city council meeting last year.

Remember when Peter Frampton called him an idiot on Twitter? Maybe he was on to something…

What I want to know is what kind of rules are everyone agreeing upon and how is Preston being unruly? Maybe I haven’t been paying close enough attention, because I haven't seen or heard of Arlette making a fool of herself, and what kind of agenda does Mahoney think she harbors?

Is he threatened by her because she ran against him in the last mayoral race?

One thing I do see is a case of underlying misogyny and I’m tired of it. Why do women have to prove themselves over and over and OVER again, while misbehaved men prove over and over and over that their privilege is alive and well?

Campaign Fundraising: Getting What You Pay for?

Cara Mund, North Dakota’s independent house candidate, attorney, cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, and North Dakota’s first Miss America, is making headlines.

She’s smart, she’s beautiful and she’s got character, talk about a triple threat! Needless to say, she’s inspiring beyond measure.

Interesting that the latest headlines cast their focus on her and Kelly Armstrong’s fundraising campaigns. Remember kids, as you clutch your pearls at these numbers remember, that Armstrong is not only funded by and invested in oil and energy. It is a family tradition. Those dollars are well lubed.

Shocker, right?

According to the Associated Press, “Federal campaign finance reports through Sept. 30 show Mund has raised about $78,000 since announcing in August, with about $72,000 still in the bank to spend in the campaign’s final three weeks. That compares to almost $1.9 million for Armstrong, who has more than $700,000 in cash on hand.”

I find it interesting too that these stories all mention her stance on abortion and investigate whether or not she’s receiving funding from any of these national organizations, and this one might be another shocker so make sure you’re sitting down. We don’t want to be responsible for any accidents...

She is not receiving any such funding.

This reporting is telling. Have North Dakota politicians been bought and paid for for so long that we just kind of expect that they’re paid mouthpieces?

Sure she’s an Independent, and some notable Democrats have been helping her raise funds, and this comes out in some other stories like some real dirt had been dug up. SInce when have we as Americans adapted this “Lord of the Flies” mentality in regard to which political party we align with? It’s exhausting.

I mean, isn’t that the point of voting? Knowing what your ideal candidate stands for and which best represents your views and best interests? It’s SAD to see how many of us vote against our best interests by paying more attention to a consonant behind a candidate's name instead of educating ourselves about what they stand for.

Whouda thunk that stock cars have better transparency with their sponsors than our politicians do? I think some of these energy companies like NAACO Industries and the Hess Corp. could get some pretty decent PR with this concept.

What does this say about our attitudes and expectations of our politicians and for the state of our society? There’s something to be said about Mund. She stands for something.

There’s a popular right-wing talking point that goes along the lines of, “First they come for your guns and then they come for your rights.” Sadly this ideology has everything reversed. First they’re coming for the rights of half of the members of society. If we don’t fight for women’s bodily autonomy, just imagine what else we can lose.

Mund’s got grit, and a man much wiser than myself once said. “True grit is hard to find.” We’re not here to tell you who to vote for, but there’s a lot hinging upon this election, and Miss Mund gets it.