Certainly the idea of women having rights started long before NOW. Your post provides a good comparison between the "truth" and what NOW says, by their actions and words, is "the truth". The world according to NOW, if you will.
According to NOW and the mass media, we are left with NOW as the "singular voice" of feminism. Period. They have completely co-opted the feminist pulpit.
You only have to read a major newspaper of watch "Today" whenever there is an issue of "women's rights". NOW is the sole organization that is allowed to speak on this topic. Think about it: how many times over the past decade did you hear or see Patricia Ireland? Now ask yourself, "who is the leader of Concerned Women for America?" Even I can't tell you who it is, as I last heard her interviewed on a talk show three years ago.
As I said before, if you disagree with NOW on a point about feminism, they say you are not really a feminist. NOW isn't the first group to do this. If you believe the Bible, and its doctrine, then you see that there are standards for making one a
Christian, by definition. If you are espousing the views of David Koresh, for example, you aren't a
Christian. This would be "Christianity according to the Bible, or
Biblical Christianity.
For the majority that identify themselves as
feminists, there is a very real doctrine that they follow, and the media sees this doctrine as the
one source on feminism.
While a political party may have "planks" for their "platform", any old party member with enough visibility and the opportunity can speak and be heard, and still be acknowleged as a party member. This doesn't happen with NOW, and it doesn't hapen that any old "feminist" is interviewed on TV.
The basic stuctures of NOW and a party are really very different.
The core principles are seen as immutable at NOW. That's why you see those signs at rallys. They aren't just there, they are APPROVED to be there. They are officially sanctioned.
During the Lewinsky mess, and going back to Paula Jones and the other Clinton women, they really had some problems at NOW. None of the women, except for Hillary, were women that NOW could hold up as their ideal of strong, independent women. And when women charge that they have been abused or molested, they are always right, accoding to NOW. When Paula Jones and the other stories surfaced, NOW was strangely silent. They set aside ALL of their core principles to keep Clinton in the White House, because they also vote as a democrat block. Patricia Ireland was eventually interviewed, and said that she "didn't believe" the charges were true. From there, it has been straight downhill for NOW.
To tie this together, Pat Robertson's statement about feminism is what NOW, the one voice of feminism in America, is all about. For NOW, his statement was about who they really are.
Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.
Not everyone agrees that this is the face of feminism, but you won't see any other faces in the media who don't come from this viewpoint of independence (don't need a man), wicca (which is witchcraft), abortion on demand (kill their children), socialism (destroy capitalism), and become lesbians (see: "don't need a man").
A real women's organization, like CWA, you won't see.
), the other acts for personal gain but with the rights of others and his basic responsibility to his fellow man in mind, as well. Being a capitalist doesn't have to mean being a greedy, dishonest, pr!ck. 
