Speaking on behalf of Planned Parenthood action fund and punkvoter.com women’s rights activist legend Gloria Steinem (info on Steinem) briefly spoke during an appearance of Michael Moore on our campus. Moore was goign to give a press conference after his appearance. Before the press conference started I had a chance to get short interview with Steinem.
Transcript and sound clip inside.
Audio file here:
Gloria Steinem interview
Q: Do you think John Kerry is a better choice in terms of Women?s rights?
Steinem: I would say that?s perhaps the understatement of the Western world.
Q: I was trying to phrase it carefully.
Steinem: (laughs) Bush is so hostile to women?s rights that when his administration goes to United Nations conferences the only allies he has are the Vatican and Muslim Fundamentalists. That?s it.
Q: Why do you think though that John Kerry seems to have problems getting the woman vote, at least that?s what the media has been reporting.
Steinem: No, it?s only because people don?t have the information. You know, if they know that he is a 100 percent in support of reproductive rights, 100 percent rating on environmental issues. He has a great record.
But the problem is that the media in order to be objective is evenhandedly negative. So they say a bad thing about this person, a bad thing about that person and people don?t really know what the effect on our lives really is. I mean if you just pick up a glass of water, Bush is against the Clean Water Act. Cheney voted against the clean water act, it?s a bipartisan act that has been there since human memory and Kerry supports it. I mean anything that we think of that?s part of our lives has an impact.
Q; So it is pretty much a no-brainer?
Steinem: Yes.
Q: It?s just that nobody knows really?
Steinem: Right. It?s not just the role of media, though. Perhaps I just feel a little more sharply about this as I feel it is my responsibility (as a writer) but this Republican party ? which is not to say all Republicans, a lot of which disagree with Bush as well. For instance there is a 73 percent are pro-choice republicans, but that isn?t really founded party platform.
Q: His wife actually was supporting it when she was campaigning for him and the suddenltu stopped talking about it.
Steinem: But that?s meaningless. It?s even depressing if you marry somebody who is so far from your principles that doesn?t make you feel good.
Q: Well, they were both alcoholics at the time.
Steinem: (laughs) Ever since the Republican party started to go to the extreme right it?s been clear that the platform does not represent the majority view of this country, so they conceal them and do not talk about their positions. Bush will say we have to preserve our forest when actually he is opening 60 million acres of virgin forest to exploitation by..
Q: The no-roads proposal?
Steinem: Right, or he will say the country isn?t ready yet to overturn Roe v. Wade., but that?s as we know as journalist is a non-denial. It doesn?t mean he is not going to do it. It?s a problem with information.
Q: It?s Orwellian name calling? He calls something a way it clearly isn?t, like the Patriot Act?
Steinem: Yeah, right. I mean ?right to live? is against women?s rights, right to work is against unions.
Q: How do you counter that though?
Steinem: The way we are doing right here. The way Michael Moore is doing it, you go around and speak to as many people as you can and try to get the information out. You go on the Internet?
Q: But how do you reach the former ?soccer mom? which now I guess are ?security moms?? How do you reach that demographic?
Steinem: One of the very important groups is Planned Parenthood and that?s why I am here with Planned Parenthood Actionfund because women trust us. An enormous number of women have used Planned Parenthood. So even though they may not fell not close enough to politics they look for the facts and they trust them if they hear it when they hear it from Planned Parenthood.
Q: You don?t think it?s weird that Planned Parenthood is standing behind Michael Moore?
Steinem: We are both here to give information on where the candidates stand but I don?t find it odd, no. He supports reproductive freedom.
Q: Sometimes republicans just seem to refer to liberals as this hodge-podge hippie group.
Steinem: Oh, no. We are the majority we are not a hodge-podge hippy group. (laughs) They are an extremist right-wing group.
And that’s when Michael Moore arrival cut the interview short.
