Brave Trailblazer for Women, Democrat VP Candidate Geraldine Ferraro Has Died from Cancer at 75… R.I.P. (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on March 26, 2011
Geraldine Ferraro on cover of Time magazine, July 1984
This is so sad.
A remarkable woman who has demonstrated courage and strength for decades — Geraldine Ferraro, former congresswoman and the first female vice president candidate (and first Italian-American) of a major political party, died earlier today from her battles with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer where plasma cells secrete abnormal antibodies known as Bence-Jones proteins. Ferraro was 75.
Ferraro was viciously pummeled by the press back in 1984 — and yet, much like Sarah Palin several decades later, managed to keep her head and spirits held high, managed to stay true to her principles. I didn’t/don’t agree with some of Ferraro’s political stances, but have tremendous respect for her all the same.
Rest in peace, dear Gerry — you were a class act and an inspiration for women across the country, regardless of political affiliation. God bless you.
Democrat Geraldine Ferraro’s Vice Presidential Acceptance Speech – 1984
From Tucson Citizen, Geraldine Ferraro, first female veep nominee, dies:
Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman nominated for U.S. vice president by a major political party, died today at age 75 after a long battle with blood cancer.
Ferraro ran with Democratic nominee Walter Mondale in the 1984 election; they lost to President Ronald Reagan and running mate George H.W. Bush.
Bush, who had a testy debate with Ferraro in that 1984 campaign and won the presidency himself four years later, said in a statement that, “though we were one-time political opponents, I am happy to say Gerry and I became friends in time — a friendship marked by respect and affection.”
“I admired Gerry in many ways,” Bush added, “not the least of which was the dignified and principled manner she blazed new trails for women in politics.”
From CNN:
Between 1996 and 1998, she was a co-host on CNN’s Crossfire. In 1992 and 1998, she ran for a U.S. Senate seat out of New York but lost in the Democratic primaries.
In March 2008, Ferraro was at the center of political controversy when she resigned from her fundraising position with Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign for comments Ferraro made about Clinton’s rival, then-Sen. Barack Obama, during the Democratic primaries.
Ferraro remarked that Obama’s campaign was successful because he was black.
She later told CNN that she was “absolutely not” sorry for her comments.“I am who I am and I will continue to speak up,” she said.
Ferraro then criticized the Obama campaign for efforts she characterized as trying to block her First Amendment rights.
The mainstream media despised her for what she said in this radio interview with John Gibson and others in early 2008. In the interview below, Ferraro was boldly critical of the Democrats’ super delegates system, and smacked Democrat leaders and named names of some who had abruptly stopped supporting Hillary Clinton for the presidential candidacy merely to jump on the popular Obama bandwagon. She questioned whether Obama’s candidacy would be where it was if he were white. The money quote from Ferraro, in response to Gibson asking her if she really expected the Democrat nomination “being handed” to Hillary, begins at about the 3:56 mark: “No, I expect them to look very carefully at who has the experience. John, between me, and you, and your millions of listeners, if Barack Obama were a white man, would we be talking about this as a potential, real problem for Hillary? …If he were a woman of any color, would he be in this position that he’s in? Absolutely not.”
What courage to speak out against Obama and her party like she did in 2008 — you go, girl!
From Politico, Geraldine Ferraro dies at 75:
Geraldine A. Ferraro, the first woman nominated to run on a major party’s presidential ticket, died Saturday. She was 75.
Her family said she passed away at Massachusetts General Hospital of complications from multiple myeloma.
The New York Democrat was first elected to the U.S. House in 1978 representing a Queens district.
Walter Mondale chose her as his running-mate on the Democrats’ 1984 ticket, which carried only Minnesota in the general election.
Ferraro has struggled for 12 years with the complications from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, her family said.
“Geraldine Anne Ferraro Zaccaro was widely known as a leader, a fighter for justice, and a tireless advocate for those without a voice,” her family said in a statement. “To us, she was a wife, mother, grandmother and aunt, a woman devoted to and deeply loved by her family. Her courage and generosity of spirit throughout her life waging battles big and small, public and personal, will never be forgotten and will be sorely missed.”
FOX News, Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin Together on TV for First Time! – 11/02/2010
From AFP, Former US VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro dead at 75:
WASHINGTON — US political icon Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice presidential candidate to run on a major political ticket, has died at age 75 after a long battle with cancer, her family said Saturday.
Ferraro made history when Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale pick her to be his running mate in the 1984, in an election that president Ronald Reagan, a Republican running for re-election, won in a landslide.
Ferraro “was widely known as a leader, a fighter for justice, and a tireless advocate for those without a voice,” her family said in a statement released to US media.
“Her courage and generosity of spirit throughout her life waging battles big and small, public and personal, will never be forgotten and will be sorely missed.”
From FOX News, Reaction to Geraldine Ferraro’s Death:
Here is a collection of statements reacting to news that Geraldine Ferraro died on Saturday.
Sarah Palin:
My family and I would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of Geraldine Ferraro. When I had the honor of working alongside Geraldine on election night last year, we both discussed the role of women in politics and our excited expectation that someday that final glass ceiling would be shattered by the election of a woman president. She was an amazing woman who dedicated her life to public service as a teacher, prosecutor, Congresswoman, and Vice Presidential candidate. She broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more. The world will miss her. May she rest in peace and may her example of hard work and dedication to America continue to inspire all women.
George H.W. Bush:
Barbara and I were deeply saddened to learn of Gerry’s passing. Though we were one-time political opponents, I am happy to say Gerry and I became friends in time – a friendship marked by respect and affection. I admired Gerry in many ways, not the least of which was the dignified and principled manner she blazed new trails for women in politics.
Barbara and I – and all Bushes – send our heartfelt condolences and love to Gerry’s family.
Barbara Mikulski:
Geraldine Ferraro was a path-breaking figure. She made an indelible mark on our nation’s history. She was my very dear friend. I will greatly miss her. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this wrenching time.
To understand Geraldine Ferraro, you had to understand where she came from. Both of our parents owned small neighborhood shops. Her parents, Dominick and Antonetta Ferraro, ran a dime store and a restaurant. After the early death of her father, Antonetta went back into the garment industry to support the family. Gerry really felt the premature death of her dad. But she said it also made her tough.
Gerry’s mother was a remarkable woman. On her own, she made sure Gerry and her brother Carl had a good education. She sent them to high school and college by crocheting beads on gowns.
Gerry was grounded in family and faith. She believed in hard work, sticking together, and going to school and church. And never forgetting where you came from. Her faith came from the beatitudes – hunger and thirst after the righteousness.
Even after Gerry married John Zaccaro, she remained a “Ferraro” in honor of her mother.
I came to Congress two years before Gerry. There were only 17 women in Congress at the time — women like Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Elizabeth Holtzman. We became friends. We were the early birds. We weren’t afraid to ruffle feathers.
Gerry was a powerhouse. Gerry was smart and savvy. She led from the head and from the heart. For her, it was all about her constituents who counted on her to fight for them. The old lady trying to get her social security check. The vet who needed his disability benefits. The small business guy who wanted to expand beyond his father’s shop. The kid from a blue collar family who wanted to go to college. She was a fighter. They were who she was fighting for.
I’ll never forget when Walter Mondale chose Gerry for his running mate in at the Democratic National Convention in 1984. She became our first woman Vice Presidential candidate. It sent shock waves through the country. The entire nation was proud that we had broken this barrier. It changed the way we thought of ourselves. Women began looking at themselves in a new way. They would say – she’s not that much older than me. She’s not that different than me. She definitely has worked hard. But she did it. Maybe I can do it too.
I was so proud of her. So proud of the Democrats. And so honored to second her nomination at the Democratic Convention that August. It was electric. The male delegates had given their tickets to their female alternates so they could witness this grand moment in history. Ten thousand people packed the auditorium, including lots of children. So many people there never thought they’d live to see the day we’d have a woman candidate for vice president.
Geraldine Ferraro on NBC Nightly News, March 12, 2008:
Ferraro: Obama Campaign Should Apologize to Me
Quick must-read on the predictable, childish hate of the left at NewsRealBlog… ultra liberals will grasp at any opportunity, even something as inappropriate as a woman’s death, to slam and bash Sarah Palin. But that’s nothing new. They did it all the time to Ferraro when she was alive. So maybe it’s not a “must-read” after all.
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[...] Brave Trailblazer for Women, Democrat VP Candidate Geraldine … WASHINGTON — US political icon Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice presidential candidate to run on a major political ticket, has died at age 75 after a long battle with cancer, her family said Saturday. Ferraro made history when … http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/ — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:35:32 -0700 [...]