Author’s note: This originally was posted as a comment to the post Women reflect on the gender issue and the role it plays in politics over at the blog “Caffinated Politics.” What was meant only to be a short comment, developed into a much broader thought.
Very well put and I have to agree with you. Hillary’s downfall is 99% traceable to errors in strategic planning made by her & her campaign, and had little if any to do with sexism.
“I never heard anybody say she can’t be elected because she’s a woman,” said Ms. Napolitano, who supports Mr. Obama and like many of his supporters saw less sexism in the race than Mrs. Clinton’s backers. “That’s a different deal than we’ve heard before in American politics.” [cited from commented upon blog]
I think it could be argued persuasively, that people of the Democratic Party base are; educated, open minded & more issue oriented, whereby the gender of the candidate has little if any to do with their decisions in who they believe to be best candidate for what they want to accomplish. The outward displays of sexist attitudes, did not come from the Democratic loyalists, rather they came from the hard right or right leaning independents. And the only reason they made a difference in the Democratic primaries was in the open primaries & caucuses like Ohio & Texas, where cross-over “never caught dead voting Democratic in the general” voted for Hillary to inflate her numbers and keep here in the race.
Could sexism be called a determining factor in the general if Hillary had won the nomination, which she cannot now, and then was slated against John McCain? Absolutely! All the aforementioned right leaning Independents, necessary to win the General Election, but not the primaries, would have had all they needed to choose a lessor candidate McCain, over a female candidate, Hillary Clinton. This is what is lost upon the pundits, the media and especially the Clinton campaign. Her defeat in the democratic nomination, where where they were closed primaries/caucuses, showed a very accurate judgment of the voters based on qualifications, not gender. Open primaries, now that is another story and that is not the responsibility of the Democratic base.
For me and the many in the Democratic base, Hillary’s downfall started even before she “started” the actual primaries, by voting to authorize the war. The base was looking for some “apology” on any level, knowing full well, her decision to authorize was based largely on looking strong on National Defense & Military Issues, for future ambitions of being President. Hillary’s staunch decision to ignore what the party loyalists required of her, as strongly stated in the mid-term elections of 2006, was enough for many voters who considered her potential of a strong candidate to make an easy decision to go for Obama, who opposed the war from the beginning. Mrs. Clinton’s “slap in the face” of those that brought large changes to Congress in 2006, is the predominate reason for the situation she finds her self in. Her decision to fight the will of the party and “throw in everything, including the kitchen sink” is nothing more but the icing on the cake.
The Clinton Campaign & Supporter’s claim of “Sexism,” I believe to be the exact opposite of reality. It is not the base that is choosing a male over a female, but rather it is a large portion of her female supporters that are siding with her solely because she is a woman, and that “they have fought for years to break the glass ceiling,” they somehow rationalize they are “entitled” to have a female President regardless of whether she is the best candidate or not. “Sexism” is being used by those who claim they are being slighted by sexism itself! And once again, another contradiction within the Clinton Campaign comes to light which the majority of the party base has already realized.
Hillary’s downfall is her own making. The Clinton supporters unwavering loyalty is a contradiction in unto itself. The question being, will recognize their own faults and make right, or will they choose to take down the better candidate and entire party in the process because they cannot admit the contradictions & fault are self-made?
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borealdreams // May 20, 2008 at 12:00 pm |
This is a link to a discussion with a male who “is disgusted with the “Sexism” coming out of the Obama campaign. I am still waiting for sources to be identified.
HRC’s gamble to support the war, then not apologize for errors of judgment and come clean when here gamble failed, far outweigh whether she is a man or a woman. This is such media & HRC campaign manufactured fallacies to “justify” extending this race for their own selfish reasons. Sadly, the MSM has nothing to lose and everything to gain, whereas HRC has nothing to gain and everything to lose!