Hating Hilary

[bluereality]

by Andrew Stephen
New Statesman

Published 22 May 2008

History, I suspect, will look back on the past six months as an example of America going through one of its collectively deranged episodes - rather like Prohibition from 1920-33, or McCarthyism some 30 years later. This time it is gloating, unshackled sexism of the ugliest kind. It has been shamelessly peddled by the US media, which - sooner rather than later, I fear - will have to account for their sins. The chief victim has been Senator Hillary Clinton, but the ramifications could be hugely harmful for America and the world.

I am no particular fan of Clinton. Nor, I think, would friends and colleagues accuse me of being racist. But it is quite inconceivable that any leading male presidential candidate would be treated with such hatred and scorn as Clinton has been. What other senator and serious White House contender would be likened by National Public Radio's political editor, Ken Rudin, to the demoniac, knife-wielding stalker played by Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction? Or described as "a fucking whore" by Randi Rhodes, one of the foremost personalities of the supposedly liberal Air America? Would Carl Bernstein (of Woodward and Bernstein fame) ever publicly declare his disgust about a male candidate's "thick ankles"? Could anybody have envisaged that a website set up specifically to oppose any other candidate would be called Citizens United Not Timid? (We do not need an acronym for that.)

I will come to the reasons why I fear such unabashed misogyny in the US media could lead, ironically, to dreadful racial unrest. "All men are created equal," Thomas Jefferson famously proclaimed in 1776. That equality, though, was not extended to women, who did not even get the vote until 1920, two years after (some) British women. The US still has less gender equality in politics than Britain, too. Just 16 of America's 100 US senators are women and the ratio in the House (71 out of 435) is much the same. It is nonetheless pointless to argue whether sexism or racism is the greater evil: America has a peculiarly wicked record of racist subjugation, which has resulted in its racism being driven deep underground. It festers there, ready to explode again in some unpredictable way.

To compensate meantime, I suspect, sexism has been allowed to take its place as a form of discrimination that is now openly acceptable. "How do we beat the bitch?" a woman asked Senator John McCain, this year's Republican presidential nominee, at a Republican rally last November. To his shame, McCain did not rebuke the questioner but joined in the laughter. Had his supporter asked "How do we beat the nigger?" and McCain reacted in the same way, however, his presidential hopes would deservedly have gone up in smoke. "Iron my shirt," is considered amusing heckling of Clinton. "Shine my shoes," rightly, would be hideously unacceptable if yelled at Obama...

Continue reading:
http://www.newstatesman.com/north-america/2008/05/obama...

[Crazy Dave]

1. Puhleez

I guess even black women who support Obama must hate Hillary just because she's a woman

[murielm99]

2. Did you bother to read it? n/t

Closed minded Clinton haters make me sick.

[Crazy Dave]

4. Clinton makes me sick

Something in common

[polmaven]

21. O, c'mon now

muriel! Did you see the picture on that post? ....Hillary EATS! How vile can a person get? ...SHE EATS! I can never support her again! Eating! What a disgusting habit!.......

[hokies4ever]

28. What is she eating in that photo?

Serious question, because I can't tell. It looks like a sandwich, but why is it covered in white on the outside? Looks kind of like those powdered things you get at carnivals. Yum!

[polmaven]

30. It looks like a sandwhich

wrapped in white paper, or in foil.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

43. Yeah. Black women suffer from great self hatred...

We hate ourselves because we're black and we hate ourselves because we're women!

I'm so sick of Hillary Clinton and her enablers.

[mzteris]

51. ever read bell hooks? n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

52. Of course! What about her and why should black women choose between

race and gender???!?!? That's ludicrous!

[mzteris]

54. I like these quotes by her:

"No other group in America has so had their identity socialized out of existence as have black women... When black people are talked about the focus tends to be on black men; and when women are talked about the focus tends to be on white women. "


"In a culture of domination, preoccupation with victimage is inevitable. "


“Usually, when people talk about the "strength" of black women . . . . they ignore the reality that to be strong in the face of oppression is not the same as overcoming oppression, that endurance is not to be confused with transformation.”


“Being oppressed means the absence of choices.”


"Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression."


"What had begun as a movement to free all black people from racist oppression became a movement with its primary goal the establishment of black male patriarchy. "


"Why is it that many contemporary male thinkers, especially men of color, repudiate the imperialist "
legacy of Columbus but affirm dimensions of that legacy by their refusal to repudiate patriarchy? "

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. Nothing new about this

If you do a little research, or, like me, you're old enough to remember when Geraldine Ferraro was Walter Mondale's running mate, the people who most opposed her candidacy - surprise! - were women. Their mantra - and I heard it over and over - was "Who the hell does she think she is?" The master-slave mentality is as strong as racism in our country, and this time, it manifested itself as sexism.

The plain truth here is that hateful things have been said about Hillary Clinton, which really bites. But, on another level, her conduct in this campaign has been less than stellar. She's done her share of taking shots, albeit sideways, convoluted shots that always leave her the out of saying "That's not what I meant," but shots nonetheless. While she's gotten some bad raps - "thick ankles" from that pizza-faced Carl Bernstein? - she's also given just about as good as she's gotten.

To quote Hillary quoting Harry Truman as she was chiding Obama for some perceived misstep, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

[KSinTX]

6. You answered my point as I was writing it.

I think you got to the heart of it more succinctly than the original author in your first graf. Thanks.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

25. People forget

I think Ferraro's candidacy was a huge milestone for women, but it seems to have been forgotten, or dismissed, in light of the failure of the Mondale-Ferraro campaign. It was such a big deal, and it saddens me that people aren't taking cues from history and trying to set things right. Or, at least, better.

People forget. You remember. I remember. Maybe some people reading us here will remember. Or learn. And that's at least a start.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

44. I will never forget that.

The irony, however, was that one of the main reasons Mondale chose her was precisely because she is a woman. She didn't have an extensive legislative background; she had only spent 6 years in the House and suffered 2 failed attempts for the U.S. Senate. Obama has more legislative experience than Ferraro and the people who were most vocal about her ascent to notoriety were women.

If hateful things were stated about Hillary, then she ought to get out of the kitchen because she and her husband argued repeatedly that candidates running for office get beat up pretty badly and if they can't handle it, they shouldn't play the game at all. Hillary and her enablers have repeatedly complained about being unfairly mistreated.

Has Obama or any of his surrogates complained obsessively about maltreatment compared to the Clintons? They haven't.

And putting Geraldine out there to plant the seed about alleged misogyny is the height at hypocrisy.

[pipi_k]

48. She should pick up her dollies and go home

if she can't stand the barbs and nasty words. I agree with you and anyone else who said if she can't take the heat, she should get out.

Because people, especially during election years are going to get reaaaaaaalllly nasty. And they're going to look for the most obvious (or most painful) buttons to push. No matter who the candidate is.

With GWB it was (and still is) his idiot demeanor. McCain had his turn back in 2000 with the whole flap over his mental health (referring to being a POW) and a whole lot of other personal stuff. Kerry suffered through the swiftboating attacks. Obama probably isn't immune from racist attacks, nauseating and wrong though they would be.

And even now, McCain is having to deal with people denigrating him because of his age, although he did do a very funny little joke on himself last week when he talked about his great great great grandchildren, some of whom were nearing retirement....

I thought that was hugely funny....and it was a good lesson for Hillary, I think. Instead of whining about perceived (or actual) sexism, exaggerate it and make it funny.

Sometimes the best way to get a point across is with a little self-effacing humor.

I'm not a McCain supporter, but I think if Hillary were to follow his example and use a bit of self-effacing (not sarcastic) humor, lots of people would tend to see her in a better light. I know I would. That doesn't mean I'd switch from Obama to Clinton or anything...just that I'd respect her a little more. It just seems like she takes herself WAY too seriously and lacks a crucial characteristic....humility.

[POAS]

46. Damn did you have to be so

transparent? Now I have to increase my ignore list again!

Really, did you have to add a sexist "kitchen" reference to the mix.

[KSinTX]

5. Sexist jabs are wrong-headed and simple-minded

But I couldn't help but notice that the "How do we beat the bitch" question came from a woman. It doesn't make it right but it's difficult to cry sexism when it and Rhodes' horrible statement come from the very group the author attempts to defend.

[Crazy Dave]

8. Any criticism at all towards Hillary is automatically called sexist

Even repeating or reporting the stupid stuff her husband says is called a sexist attack against her.

[bluereality]

15. You exaggerate

Not everything is called sexist.

[Crazy Dave]

18. Ok you got me

Only 98% is called that. The other 2% is blamed on the media favoring Obama over her

[bluereality]

22. Not even

Her Tulsa comments were not called sexism
Her RFK gaffe is not being called sexism.
Her criticism on Iraq is not called sexism.
Criticism against her "obliterate Iran" remark was not called sexist.

None or very few critiques of Clinton that are not related with her being a c*nt", a b**ch', etc. have been said to be sexist. Again, you exaggerate.

If something has been called sexism it's because there's a good argument that it is.

[Crazy Dave]

23. Bullshit

Every time something bad happens to her or something good happens to Obama it's because she's a woman. When the media reports her or her husband's screw ups it's because they're against her and don't want a woman to win the election. She's repeated that hundreds of times in this campaign, that it's a war against the boy's club in Washington and it's a war for all women like her who work hard all their life in corporate America but when it's time for a promotion to VP or CEO, then some young guy comes along and women like her get kicked to the curb. These are actual things she's said and you want to pretend like she didn't.

BTW and sorry I didn't mention it before, welcome to DU bluereality

After the primaries we're all on the same side most of the time

[polmaven]

31. Just as most criticism of Senator Obama is

called racist. Give me a break, there is even a few posts about this flap that are saying that the only reason we are "defending" Senator Clinton is because it is a case of the "white folk" telling the "black folk" they don't know what they heard.

Ya know, I heard that Senator Clinton sneezed once while she was in Florida last week. 'Musta been 'cause she is allergic to "black folk" huh?' See how idiotic that sounds? I would almost expect to hear that in this forum. That is how absolutely out of hand the race baiting swift boating has gotten.

[Crazy Dave]

32. I've actually heard Bill Clinton & Geraldine Ferraro bring up more racial shit than Obama

What's up with that?

[polmaven]

33. I believe you

THINK you heard Bill and Geraldine "bring up" more racial stuff.

Now, I can see haw Ms. Ferraro's remarks were easily taken the wrong way.


President Clinton, however is another matter. In my opinion, the Obama CAMPAIGN...not the Senator, mind you, his CAMPAIGN is planting the notion of all the racism, because it works.

Bill Shaeen's "drug remark" was not racist. The GOP will, most definitely try to use the admission. I'm sure it is defendable, but they will try to use it.

President Clinton's Jesse Jackson remark was taken SO badly out of context as to be outrageously ridiculous.

You and I both know Senator Clinton said ...white people, (that's a comma)hard working people, (another comma) .....She did not, as was stated here and elsewhere, refer to only white people as being hard working. Another outrageous distortion. And as far as the remarks on You tube during the 1992 election night about "white ni**ers, well, we all know what that turned out to be.

Neither Ms. Ferraro,,,(who should keep her mouth shut), nor the Clintons are racists. Clinton supporters are not, by virtue of being Clinton supporters, racists. Nor are we racists simply for criticizing Senator Obama.

I have criticized Senator Clinton when I thought she was wrong. (Sniper fire comes immediately to mind.) I rarely, however, see a single Obama supporter criticize a thing he does. Perfect people are very concerning. And more than a little scary!

[Crazy Dave]

38. His health care plan sucks

They all do.

[ann_american2004]

58. typical behavior

Edit: Reply to 5

Hi. Read Mary Daly. The woman who asked that question is betraying another woman in order to 'fit in' with another club, in this case the Men's Club. By denouncing another woman and setting her up to ridicule she gets the approving laughter of males whom she looks up to and hopes to receive favor. The key is the in the slur. It was unnecessary for her to use that word if she wished for a strategy, an informed answer from McCain. In her case it was the most important part of her question, moreso than the question itself. The question was irrelevant to her aim. The word was used as a means of approval, a way of distancing her from another woman and thereby making a connection, through barring her sisterhood, to be accepted momentarily into a brotherhood.

Even children do such things against their friends if it protects them from a bully or gives them the opportunity to join a more elite group. sad.

Also an interesting article on how the media has handled this election with sensationalism, etc: at politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10604.html


Obama '08

[Warpy]

7. I said from the beginning that sexism was more deeply

ingrained into this culture than racism is. I haven't seen anything to make me take that back.

However, I wonder who thought "Iron my shirt!" was good natured heckling. Everybody I know thought it was sickening. Perhaps the author of the OP knows far too many adolescent males of all ages.

Unfortunately, Clinton's tone deaf campaign team only helped the perception of her as cold, calculating and unfeeling along as she made gaffe after gaffe, giving a quasi endorsement of the GOP candidate over a competing Democrat, being more hawkish than the GOP, and claiming the poor downtrodden white working class as her own. All of that has damaged her far more than sexism itself did.

Her worst enemy wasn't the leering case of arrested development. It was her own election team. If anything really good comes out of this, let's hope it's the banishment of these lobbyists turned campaign handlers back to their day jobs permanently.

Let's hope Clinton is the last good candidate these people are allowed to destroy.

[Crazy Dave]

10. I would agree

If someone were to yell the "n" word at Obama in public everyone would be appalled but telling Hillary to "iron my shirt" got lots of laughs and was very low class. However, she cannot keep saying that anything and everything out there that goes in Obama's favor is due to people discriminating against her gender. Well, she can but it's ridiculous and it's really wearing people down and making her look pathetic.

[Yael]

9. This white woman can't stand her

It isn't her race, her sex, or her policies, it is her character (or lack thereof).

[Crazy Dave]

11. And what about black women who support Obama?

Does anybody listen to them or care about their opinions?

[Yael]

14. Why are you asking me?

I am not a spokesman for anyone other than myself.

[Crazy Dave]

17. More of s statement than a question

So calm down

[Yael]

19. Um, I am calm.

Just curious as to why you would ask me.

[Crazy Dave]

20. Ok...now that you're calm I'll repeat it slowly

M o r e o f a s t a t e m e n t t h a n a q u e s t i o n

[Yael]

24. ...

[bluereality]

12. John Edwards praised her candidacy

During his endorsement of Obama.

Don't your favorite politician's words have an effect on you?

[Yael]

13. He has a stake in this race.

Me? Not so much. My opinion isn't going to change a thing, but his will as he will have a seat in the next (Obama) Administration. I just go back to my regular, non-political job.

[ann_american2004]

60. Point of Interest

A point of interest. Next time you watch Edwards, look for when he does that thing with his tongue. You know when he moves it around to the corner of his mouth/lips. That is his 'tell'. Next thing he says will be a lie.

[BREMPRO]

16. i respectfully disagree. Hillary brought valid criticism on herself by running a terrible campaign.

sure you can site anecdotal examples of sexism, and i don't deny it exists, but that's not why she's losing the race. I admire her and agree with many of her policy positions, BUT as a candidate, she was insincere, manipulative, deceptive, secretive, inconsistent, pandering, and uninspiring. She also exhibited faux outrage, bad judgment,and poor fiscal management. There is nothing sexist about this criticism, i would say this even if her gender was male.

[bluereality]

26. This issue is not the valid criticism

It is those sexist attacks that you call "annecdotal", which have been frequent, as described by Marie Cocco in her Washington Post column titled, "Misogyny I won't miss":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

I'd love to hear Obama supporters say that racist threats against Obama have been anecdotal, since I have heard of very few of them that were serious, and those threats seem isolated.

[Berry Cool]

27. Yet another straw-man article in which the author blames a bunch of sexist idiots

for the fact that Hillary ran a lousy campaign and is losing for reasons that have nothing to do with sexism.

"'Iron my shirt,' is considered amusing heckling of Clinton"? In what galaxy? None I live in.

But according to him, she's losing because a couple of radio-station idiots said "Iron my shirt!" and the rest of the country said "Hey! You know what? They're RIGHT! She SHOULD be home ironing shirts! And you know what else proves her unfit for office? That NUTCRACKER that looks like her--'cause it means she's a BALLBREAKER! Get it?? And we can't let a BALLBREAKER be President! Or someone like that chick in Fatal Attraction? Or someone someone else called 'a fucking whore' or a 'she-devil' or a 'bitch'! NO! We CAN'T DO THAT!!!!! We MUST vote and give our nomination to that Manchurian Secret Muslim With the Scary Christian Preacher Who Thinks 9/11 was Great and Wants to Damn America! You know, the one with the shady real estate connections, who has nothing but flowery speeches and no experience? The elitist latte-sipping Harvard grad who doesn't understand the common man! The one who's going to either have all white people killed or enslaved! THAT'S THE MAN!!! THAT'S OUR CHOICE!!!!!!!"

*sigh* Please. EVERY CANDIDATE gets shat on in a campaign, Obama is surviving the poo-flinging. She is not.

Oh, but I forgot, I'm supposed to take pity on her. After all, she's JUST A GIRL.

[Dogmudgeon]

29. Now you've done it.

You've offended the Messengers of Hope by standing up for their favorite object of hatred.

Funnily enough, many of them prominently mentioned that their criticism is directed to her poor campaigning skills. Yet what's all this personal-attack anti-Hillary hatred that's on GD-P ... and CNN ... and MSNBC ... etc.? Most of it neglects all mention of the deficiencies of Clinton's ground game. Instead, it's about how she is a racist, "corporate", a "DLC shill", a warmonger, sneaky, a pathological liar, a lousy dresser, Hitler, a cheat, conspiring to "steal" the primary, et cetera ad nauseam.

Sexism is a big part of it, certainly. But when it comes down to it, Hillary Clinton has been turned into an all-purpose scapegoat for the frustrations and anxieties of Democrats, the enjoyment of Republicans, as a way for the radical left to pretend it's relevant, young reporters to make their journalistic bones, and as retribution for Bill Clinton not kissing up to the press corps in the 1990s.

There's only one little problem -- all this bile is going to bite them in the ass, probably within 24 hours of Clinton's withdrawal from active candidacy. The Press corps, which has loved Obama with all the passion of a middle-aged man having a fling with Vegas showgirl, is still married to John McCain. And then there's the little issue of all us Hillary supporters who have been treated with far more scorn than was ever shown to any Republican. (Probably because Republicans fight back. We "Hilbots" have generally tried to at least maintain the pretense of party unity.)

While everybody in Camp Obama was chanting "karma is a bitch" and gloating over every HRC setback, they forgot that karma is a double-edged sword.

--p!

[Combative Democrat]

34. And don't forget Randi Rhodes

A figure so important that she was the top female progressive radio talk show host in the nation.

She called Clinton and Ferraro "big f**ing" wh***s".

[natrat]

35. bullshit-people hate clinton for her words and actions,inteligent people at least

[Egalia]

56. Intelligent people are haters? n/t

[JTFrog]

36. Another puppet dances for their keep. Nice pizza. n/t

[alarimer]

37. Thanks for posting this.

All the Obama supporters can deny it all they want but the sexism is out there and it is real. Hell, I see it every single day on this board and in real life. And not just when it comes to Clinton.

I've fucking had it with this election.

[Enthusiast]

39. What a crock!

She is depicted as a negative campaigner because she is one. This has absolutely nothing to do with gender. I sincerely believe she would have ended up the Democratic nominee if she had not gone so negative. When she said that, she had years of experience, McCain had years of experience and Obama made a speech, she alienated me completely. At that point I didn't know who I was going to support after Edwards dropped out. She blew it, plain and simple. And now, she might have taken the Democratic Party's chances with her.

[Asgaya Dihi]

40. It's called backlash

and I've tried to explain it before, so have others. Since before the campaign even started there's been a double standard. It's both expected and right that all women were to line up behind Clinton simply because she's a woman but if you don't support her for any reason the only possible explanation was that you were somehow sexist. Didn't seem to disturb them in the slightest that they were operating under gender based expectations, nor did that part strike them as sexist or questionable.

It becomes a boy who cried wolf situation. Doesn't matter if it's sexism, racism, ageism, or any other ism. The American public has a low tolerance for self criticism under the best of circumstances and when they either hear too much of it or worse yet get too many double standard and BS complaints they not only stop caring but they start to bait the complainers. Valid complaints will eventually be ignored if too many come too fast, BS complaints simply accelerate the process and assure it will be more unpleasant.

I'd agree that this campaign will go down in history, but not as one rife with sexism or anything else of the sort. It'll go down in history with any luck as the election where the American public finally woke up and the great effect of the empty talking point finally died. With our recent wins in three straight special elections in strong and historically conservative areas recently it's looking hopeful at least. Now we just have to be honest with the public rather than try to play emotional games with them and make some use of it while they seem to be paying more attention than normal.

[Don Davis]

41. Hillary’s ‘Settlement Demands’ Nothing Unusual

http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=1803

[Skittles]

42. absolutely correct

I have been sickened by the behavior of so-called DEMOCRATS on DU and elsewhere

[Prophet 451]

45. The Statesman is only partly right here

Without question, there has been sexism operating throughout this campaign but the HRC campaign has so overused the complaint of sexism, directing it at anyone and anything, whether deserved or not, that they've succeeded only in cementing the sexist's opinions and pissing off the rest of us.

Yes, there was sexism there but it was never as deep or as widespread as teh HRC campaign claimed and, if HRC had run a better campaign, it would have been easily overcome.

[susankh4]

47. Glad to see that I'm not the only one to post this!

Excellent article from a reputable source. Many good points.

[Larkspur]

49. I'm a woman, a NOW member, and I despise Hillary

I despise her not because she is a woman but because she supported IWR and is a corporate whore who supports shipping my job to India.

[Miss Authoritiva]

53. What is the male term...

I was trying to think of the male term for corporate whore. Is it CEO or Mr. Chairman?

Just curious, what line of work are you in -- information technology? -- that makes your job shippable to India (or Ireland, for that matter)? And how well organized (union? guild?) are you and your colleagues in terms of fighting back?

[Larkspur]

57. I'm a software engineer and there is no union for IT professionals

I don't object to unions. There just isn't any for IT professionals because we use to go work from company to company and that made it hard to unionize.

[Baby Snooks]

50. But the foundation of misogyny is chattel law

And the foundation of chattel law is "biblical" law and includes the matter of the Curse of Ham and so misogyny is racist as well as sexist.

The point to be made about the argument is that racist attitudes are far more acceptable in this country than sexist attitudes. The racist attitudes are just more discreet. Or used to be. Until Hillary Clinton decided to run for president.

The majority of people who truly hate Hillary Clinton do not hate her because she is a woman.

The majority of people who truly hate Barack Obama, however, do hate him because he is a minority.

[grasswire]

55. but many people don't hate Obama

They just don't want him to be president, and his supporters think it's hate.

[ann_american2004]

59. that is interesting

edit: clarification: Reply to #50

I'd like to read up on that, becuase it seems to be a vital part of this issue.

Could you post your sources for that? Thanks in advance!

Obama '08