Are you a feminist or a leftist? Do you cheer women who break glass ceilings or are you frustrated with the attention paid to the persecution of Muslim women and the rise of Conservative women? Feminists like Laura Bush and Sarah Palin had little difficulty celebrating the success of Hillary Clinton. But the same cannot be said about leftists claiming to be feminists. They have long learned to ignore the plight of Muslim women so inconveniently highlighted by Hirsi Ali. Now the success of Conservative feminists drive them batty. The response to Ross Douthat column No Mystic about Feminism is quite illuminating. Scott M. Auerbach from California points out most reasonably:

I completely agree with Ross Douthat that the recent electoral victories for women are a clear boost for feminism. After all, at its core, feminism seeks opportunities and rewards for women equal to those of men. Nobody expects men to act as a monolith, holding the same core values and beliefs. Why should we expect monolithic women?

It is precisely the diversity of viewpoints that signals the true rise of women in power that Mr. Douthat observes. And by this logic, yes, that means the rise of Sarah Palin is a boost for feminism.

But few follow suit. Bill Adler writes from New York:

Call the advent of Sarah Palin and her ilk a victory for feminism if you must, but it’s a disaster for humanity.

Martha Tomhave Blauvelt of Minnesota denies the possibility of non leftist feminism:

Conservative Republicans, male or female, aren’t interested in improving the chances of anyone but themselves. That’s not feminism, but self-interest.

Of course, if you are interested in a full blooded diatribe, you will find it in the Washington Post blog written by Jessica Valenti about The fake feminism of the left's bete noire, Sarah Palin.

Leftist Gays find themselves in a similar difficulty. They, too, have to choose between their Gay Pride and the leftist/Islamist coalition especially as it is directed against Israel where gay parades are a yearly occurrence. Here are two headlines: Gay friendly center cancels talk on gay oppression in Iran when they realize Jewish group was going to co-sponsor it. And, Madrid gay pride march bans Israelis. Now, Watch:

UPDATE: Full frontal Stalinism Who counts as a woman?