I posted this on Huffington Post late yesterday. Best to read it there so you get all the links, but I did include the comments so far. What do you think? Let me know here or at HuffPo or both.
I was in Arizona awaiting my grandson Eli's birth in March, 1997, when I received a panicked call from my Washington, D. C. staff. "We've been summoned to appear before the joint House of Representatives and Senate Judiciary Committees to testify about the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Act. It's going to be a witch hunt," they told me. "You have to come back and prepare. It's a really big deal--you'll be under oath and intense media scrutiny."
This would be my first face-to-face encounter with Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), the silver-maned, vociferously anti-choice, then-chair of the House Judiciary Committee, who died on November 29. It'd be my first congressional testimony since I had become national president of Planned Parenthood the previous year, when President Clinton vetoed in play again.
The Federal Abortion Ban, as I call it because it is, had engendered as much controversy within the pro-choice movement as within the Congress and public. In my view, that internal angst came about because the abortion ban wasn't immediately outed for the frontal assault on Roe v Wade it has since proven itself to be. (A full rendition of this brilliantly deceptive legislation's history is in my book, The War on Choice.)
Green though I was to the federal political theater, I knew we had to reset the agenda and change the terms of the debate. And one thing I'd learned from the frontlines during 22 years at the helm of Planned Parenthood affiliates in bright red West Texas and Arizona was that the hotter the flames of controversy, the more they got people's attention and illuminated what we had to say.
I grumpily boarded the plane to Washington, hoping the baby would await my return. Perusing Hyde's voting record, I found something striking: in all his years of strident opposition to abortion, the man had never voted to support family planning programs that would lessen the need for abortion. What kind of hypocrisy was that? Not only was he the author of the infamous Hyde Amendment that since 1977 had robbed women relying on Medicaid for health care of coverage for abortion, but he had done absolutely nothing to help them prevent unintended pregnancy in the first place.
In the imposing hearing room, Committee members sat behind tables on a high, well-lighted platform looking down upon the testifiers below in what felt like a pit. Behind us sat an audience of advocates from both sides. News cameras lined the back of the room.
The prepared testimony of the four pro-choice organization leaders called to testify had been carefully vetted by our staffs, legal advisors, and media consultants. Tension was thick.
But one thing you can depend on is that a zealot will eventually hoist himself on the petard of his own extremism. Hyde didn't even attempt to cloak himself in the charade of the abortion ban bill's supposed moderation. Instead, he roared his first question: "Ms. Feldt, does it trouble you that there are so many abortions?"
"Mr. Hyde, if it troubles you," I went off script to reply, "why have you never once voted for family planning services?"
The chamber erupted in applause; the hearing chairman cautioned them to quiet down or be ejected. The previously timid committee Democrats perked up. The lion had been bearded in his lair. Hyde's response can only be described as "blub, blub", while he attempted to deflect the palpable shift in energy. Then he began to attack me in earnest, and Sen. Ted Kennedy leapt to my defense and cut him off.
The other testifiers similarly took energy from this confrontation so that in the end, the hearing was not the rout anti-choice forces had hoped for and pro-choice forces had feared. But it was a line of demarcation between a pro-choice strategy of defense and one where we would put forward a positive agenda.
Afterward, I stepped to the platform to shake hands with the Congress members. When I got to Mr. Hyde, he leaned over the table and looked searingly into my eyes. I expected he would either compliment me for taking him on or lecture me on the error of my ways.
Instead, he leered, "Your organization hires the best-looking women."
I wish I could say I had a clever retort, but I burst out laughing at this typical male technique for diminishing a woman.
I made it back for Eli's joyfully awaited birth. But America has yet to ensure every woman can enjoy the blessings of motherhood in freedom.
Hyde would go on to lead the impeachment process against President Clinton, only to have his own hypocrisy revealed again: he'd had an affair -- which he excused as a "youthful indiscretion" though when it happened, he was married with children and in his 40's.
Hyde's relentless opposition to a woman's human right to make her own childbearing decisions, including his consistent record, through his retirement last year, of voting against preventive family planning services, continues to cause immense human suffering and injustice.
Let Henry Hyde rest, but not in peace.
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NEW expand collapse Goofy (See profile | I'm a fan of Goofy)
Bravo!! This country is in a civil war, and this is not the time to comfort the enemey ...
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 08:41 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse rucognizant (See profile | I'm a fan of rucognizant)
jumundstuk, REREAD............That was 1997 NOT 1977!
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:18 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse retarius (See profile | I'm a fan of retarius)
I have no particular axe to grind on abortion: from my perspective it is a private issue between the folks that were involved in the pregnancy (that is 'folks' rathrr than 'folk' or 'woman'...ie in my opinion the man should have a say as well)...but I'm glad that this filthy hypocrite has finally died...if there were any justice he would have died years ago, after a long, painful, disfiguring and disabling illness...it is times like these that I wished that I believed in some sort of afterlife, since the thought of this silver-maned turd roasting in hell would have warmed my heart.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 06:26 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse jmundstuk (See profile | I'm a fan of jmundstuk)
Nice post and story, except that Hyde couldn't have been chair of the House Judiciary Committee in 1977. The Democrats were in the majority and would remain so until the 1994 election. Maybe you testified before a joint committee, which would explain why Kennedy, a senator, was present and maybe Hyde was ranking member or something. Makes a better story your way, but facts do matter.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 02:21 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse retarius (See profile | I'm a fan of retarius)
1997
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 06:20 am on 12/04/2007
NEW expand collapse GloriaFeldt (See profile | I'm a fan of GloriaFeldt)
Just to clarify- he was chair of the Judiciary committee in 1997. The Hyde amendment went into effect in 1977. It's easy to transpose those two dates when you are reading.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 08:41 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse Lisette (See profile | I'm a fan of Lisette)
Thanks for the great post. Many people agree with you, including me.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 11:48 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse nunzia (See profile | I'm a fan of nunzia)
I echo Lisette's comment. Great post. Thanks.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 06:10 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse jimhum (See profile | I'm a fan of jimhum)
Instead, he leered, "Your organization hires the best-looking women."
I wish I could say I had a clever retort, but I burst out laughing at this typical male technique for diminishing a woman.
-----
Now why on earth would that be considered diminishing? There is nothing more beautiful than a beautiful lady. That is a compliment. I get sick and tired of ladies who dress to be seen, and complain if anyone looks.
The other day the cashier in the bank bent down to her counter, and I could almost see her belly button. I laughed and said, "That"s beautiful, but did you know that when you got dressed this morning." She laughed and admitted she had no reason at all to complain when a man got the nice view.
Here"s a question that I have posted many times, and have yet to get an answer, "Are you one of those who watch TV news stories of starving babies, then cheer, and say, At least she didn't get an abortion!"
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 10:57 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse MsLiz (See profile | I'm a fan of MsLiz)
"Now why on earth would that be considered diminishing?"
The author was at the hearing to address an important issue. She was old enough to be a grandmother. Instead of saying something along the lines of "thank you for your testimony, nice to meet you," he revealed that he had evaluated her solely in terms of what she had to offer his libido. It was a discount of her knowledge and views.
As to your second question: No.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 12:46 am on 12/04/2007
NEW expand collapse GloriaFeldt (See profile | I'm a fan of GloriaFeldt)
MsLiz and Jimhum-
I generally am quite happy to be praised for my appearance. These days I even wear a little cleavage from time to time in honor of Hillary. But a Congressional hearing is supposed to be the height of decorum for one thing (hence I wore a very conservative brown suit and pearls that day as I recall). For another, Hyde liked to appear gentlemanly even when he was skewering you, and for a traditional man like him to skewer a woman, he had to resort to diminishing me by reducing me to a physical being rather than acknowledging characteristics that would equal power in the political realm.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 08:51 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse Ravenlea (See profile | I'm a fan of Ravenlea)
Try the situation in reverse. You have just appeared before Congress and done a fine job of it. Nancy Pelosi rather than thanking you or complimenting you on your presentation, leers at you and remarks that "your company sure hires good-looking men." I doubt you'd be just thrilled to your toe-nails that the nice important lady said you were attractive or swoon with delight.
While in some contexts a good compliment is enjoyable, there are other times when it is either not offered to make the recipient feel good but to objectify and thereby diminish them or it's just inappropriate.
Men often use such comments to dismiss smart women. Some men think it's charming. It's not. It's creepy.
And what does this issue have to do with being for or against abortions? (I'm pro abortion, by the way.)
I hope you're an old fart like me, because I have deluded myself into thinking that younger men have more awareness than the men of my generation did/do.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 01:21 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse dgrffy (See profile | I'm a fan of dgrffy)
A vile editorial. The disrespect and 'who cares if they don't agree with us' attitude speaks volumes for our culture. When I read things like this, it reminds me why I am never surprised when kids walk into schools and open fire. Why shouldn't they? Where are their examples? He sucked, he was evil, I'm glad he's dead? And we have the gall of acting shocked when one of our youngsters (those 3 out of 4 who weren't aborted) walk into a room and open fire. Why wouldn't Henry be a hypocrite? If he wasn't, he would have been a lonely man in a country filled with them.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 09:25 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse DonL (See profile | I'm a fan of DonL)
I think you missed the point. Hyde wasn't evil, he was in a position to actually help stop abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancy and instead he chose to take sides and fight those with whom he disagreed. What should bother you is that in this country, it has become acceptable to go to war with your opposition instead of trying to work with them, to posture and moralize instead of accepting that someone might have a different set of values to which they are entitled. Where does a school shooting come out of this?
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 10:50 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse dgrffy (See profile | I'm a fan of dgrffy)
What you said is true - but for all involved. Hyde merely did what everyone does, and that is pick one side against the other, then fight. Where the school shootings come from is a generation of children watching adults act worse than the children of bygone days. When adults call each other evil, when they speak of others as worthless because of a host of reasons, when they all but crow over the demise of those with whom they disagree - because they feel nothing but contempt - it has an impact on those generations that follow. The hatred and contempt and lack of respect that the adults show in public discourse is being watched, and watched by the kids who will one day run our country; run it if they should live so long.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 11:06 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse Ravenlea (See profile | I'm a fan of Ravenlea)
Ms Feldt didn't say she was glad he was dead. You are putting words into her mouth that aren't there.
Hyde was a hypocrite across the board. One of the problems these days - one of the reasons this country is in the mess that it's in is because people are choosing sides to be popular or to get ahead, rather than trying to do what's right. Hyde stood against abortion but did nothing to prevent the need for abortion. He made sanctimonious speeches about Clinton's infidelity when his own extra-marital affair wrecked another man's marriage. Now we hear that he supposedly opposed impeachment but didn't want to go against the crowd in power. Talk about the root-cause of high school shootings! Children who do those shootings are almost always outsiders who have been bullied by the in crowd. And that kind of thing goes on because people who know bullying is wrong do nothing to stop it.
I agree that there is too much meanness in the world right now, too much name-calling. But I don't subscribe to the view that it's wrong to criticize people who deserve criticism.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 01:39 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse dgrffy (See profile | I'm a fan of dgrffy)
Of course it isn't wrong to criticize issues, or the people with whom we disagree. But it's how. No, she didn't say she was glad he was dead, though others have. She did, more or less, spit on his grave over various issues. It is a mark of the lack of respect in our culture. Folks are free to disagree and criticize. It's how you do it that says so much. Especially because our kids are listening.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:12 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse texanna (See profile | I'm a fan of texanna)
Sweet Karma would be his return as a girl, born to a poor woman who had too many children already and no resources for her latest offspring.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 08:21 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse rollingdivision (See profile | I'm a fan of rollingdivision)
The author's closing remark speaks volumes.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:32 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse sorenmeetsdylan (See profile | I'm a fan of sorenmeetsdylan)
How indecent can you get, to wish ill to a man who is deceased?
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:22 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse davedave (See profile | I'm a fan of davedave)
not ill.
he is dead, way beyond ill.
but one can express relief...
d
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:52 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse Superfelo (See profile | I'm a fan of Superfelo)
Well, let us say we cannot get as indecent as being a hypocrite; not voting for family planning programs; cheating on one's wife, while married with children; being a Republican; never speaking out against Racism; that, it seems to me, goes beyond the limit of indecency; almost as indecent as tapping on the filthy floor of a bathroom stall.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 08:12 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse Dlynne14 (See profile | I'm a fan of Dlynne14)
Like Mr. Falwell, who passed away this year, Mr. Hyde is your typical, hypocritical right wing Neocon man.
And he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Freedom for his love of the unborn???!!! What a joke. What about the love of the already born?
It is so sad that these foolish, self centered men, who could never walk in the foot steps of a woman, have the power to dictate what he believes is best for them.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:19 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse mediamarv (See profile | I'm a fan of mediamarv)
I had forgotten that he died! I was traveling and not at the computer where I get my news....
I won't miss him and I don't care what the HuffPo interns think about that!
Now, puttiing together my Christmas wish list......
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:03 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse Desiderata (See profile | I'm a fan of Desiderata)
Hyde's sanctimoneous speeches during the impeachment hearings over Bill Clinton's morals opened the pandora's box of personal destruction to overturn the will of the majority of the American electorate.
That attempted coup birthed the treason of the Supreme Court in Bush vs Gore.
Rest in Hell.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 06:35 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse rollingdivision (See profile | I'm a fan of rollingdivision)
Do you have a link to Hyde's sanctimonious speeches you referred to in your post?
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 07:38 pm on 12/03/2007
expand collapse MsLiz (See profile | I'm a fan of MsLiz)
http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/~dewolf/hyde-imp.htm
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 12:51 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse MsLiz (See profile | I'm a fan of MsLiz)
Here's more:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE0DA1630F934A25752C0A96F958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/H/Hyde,%20Henry%20J.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 12:59 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse nunzia (See profile | I'm a fan of nunzia)
Desiderata -well said.
Hyde, rest in hell.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 06:14 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse Joeseo (See profile | I'm a fan of Joeseo)
Amen.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 08:05 am on 12/04/2007
expand collapse Ravenlea (See profile | I'm a fan of Ravenlea)
Brava! Once again there is an effort at death to revise who someone was in life and make them seem better than they were. Hyde seems to me to have been the embodiment of hypocrisy and I see no reason to praise him simply because he is dead. Good for you beating him at his own game at the hearings. Must have felt good.
Reply | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 06:07 pm on 12/03/2007
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