Digging underneath the media accounts is always sooo interesting. Just moments ago, I commented on Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama as a sign of growing dissatisfaction with the Clintons' behavior.

At the same time reports noted an NOW chapter defending Hillary -- such as this AP article "NY feminists accuse Kennedy of betrayal", which reported only that "the move angered the state chapter of NOW, which called Kennedy's decision the 'greatest betrayal.'" The AP isn't telling it's readers even half of it.*

(* I am increasingly coming to the impression that the news media serves more to filter out and prevent certain bits of information from reaching us.)

The actual NOW press release is a mind-blower, and alleges that men who are failing to support Hillary are (please forgive the harsh term being repeated here) "gang raping" her, and claims "Every woman knows how it feels!"

[G]ang raping of women is commonplace in our culture both physically and metaphorically. This past week, we witnessed just such a phenomenon involving men who are afraid of a powerful woman. Hillary Clinton, in her quest for her Presidential nomination, has in fact endured infantile taunting and wildly inappropriate commentary.

Indeed we have witnessed almost comical attacks by John Edwards who in turn sided with Barak Obama as both snickered at Clinton's "breakdown," which consisted of a very short dewy-eyed moment. Now John Kerry, who should certainly know better after his own "swiftboating," has joined the playground gang.

But here's the news. Every woman knows how it feels! There are those who will dismiss, defend or even shame those around them into believing that we progressives are making a mountain out of a mole hill. But that’s the game plan of the patriarchal system that has persisted for millennia. Because they can't frighten Hillary they've decided to control her with the time-old trick of patriarchal ridicule. Women, you know what I mean!

The general tone and imagery in the rest of the letter attempts to play on womens' emotional vulnerabilities, and fears of being intimidated in a hostile male environment. This is a textbook example of what another former NOW chapter president (Tammy Bruce) described as the systematic exploitation of narcissism:

Narcissism, while frequently thought of as “self-love,” is in fact the opposite. It is self-obsession based on victimhood and paranoia. Narcissism is actually the belief that everything that happens, happens because of you, or revolves around you. As an example, feminist narcissists see the pro-life movement as being against women, or as a jihad against women, as opposed to an expression of those peoples’ concern for life. The issues for narcissists, whether they be feminist, gay or black, is always about them, surrounding them, or about how the opposition is out to get them. Paranoia is a key factor in narcissism and easy to exploit.

The Left’s organizing relies on selling the line that everyone who disagrees with the leftist status quo is a hater of some sort; those who disagree with leftist policy are not dealt with as serious people who have a different opinion on the issues. That would then require arguments based on reason. Instead, leftist leadership casts their opposition as haters who live every moment planning to eradicate the gay, woman or black. When your base is primarily narcissistic that’s an easy line to sell, remains emotional devoid of reason, and makes people easy to condition and control. Leftist politics, like a vicious circle, rely on the damaged as footsoldiers, while the most damaged, the “Malignant Narcissist,” as I explain in The Death of Right and Wrong, move into positions of power and leadership...

Hence the claim that by disagreeing with Hillary, or fighting against her politically, men are "raping" her. In this press release women are specifically invited to re-experience humiliating moments from their past, and those reactions are then carefully linked to the political struggle the author wishes them to be engaged in. What we see here is the exploitation of women's vulnerabilities for political ends.

But hey, they say they love you.

As an observer, it is fascinating to watch the machinery of leftist personal attacks and destruction turn in on itself. This is from one of the country's largest and most powerful NOW chapters (New York) -- usually this sort of vitriol is reserved for us conservatives, but now we're seeing played out elsewhere. Hillary supporters have been accused of racism (as we would be later) for failing to prefer Obama; Obama supporters are being accused of sexism (as we would be later) for failing to prefer Hillary. In theory, there are "no enemies on the left" -- but when there are, the infighting is brutal.

I'd also add, for those who actually care about wanting to see women treated well, that such accusations harm women. If "rape" or "racism" is used repeatedly to describe such mundane political activities as supporting one candidate or disagreeing with another, then people will begin to dismiss actual cases of rape or racism because they've become inured to the idea. But this feminist is more than willing to use her position and our collective respect for women as weapons to get her favored candidate into office.

And in fact, that betrays the very point she's making: She believes that if she cries "rape" it will get sympathy and support. If our culture were really the sexist cesspool her press release implies, she couldn't have that expectation. But she knows this is not some middle-eastern country where crying "rape" only invites further rape and a jail sentence for the victim; here, she knows full well, most people are decent and care.