General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Robert Reich -- Hillary "cannot run on being the first woman to be president..." [View all]cascadiance
(19,537 posts)... if Democrats had a white male candidate against of them for president?
Now, then you would qualify that "all things being equal" that you'd only vote for one of those candidates as a Democrat? Then you are stating what Reich is saying. That a person's gender and skin color, etc. isn't enough for us to base our vote on. And many of us here would also say that the label of a person's party isn't enough as well. We want a Democrat that also espouses progressive ideas that traditional Democrats have espoused, and want that as the criteria to determine who we vote for in the primaries.
The last election the corporatist PTB tried to manipulate our final two choices to really be geared towards identity politics, in having people debate whether they should vote for the first woman as president or the first candidate of color, rather than look more closely at what they stand for. Some of us tried when looking at Edwards, who I believe we were manipulated as those looking for a candidate with stances on issues to go to someone that they knew behind the scenes they could pull the plug on at any minute, and did right before Super Tuesday.
Now they're trying to decide our primary before the election by anointing a woman of the PTB's choice instead of welcoming/encouraging others with more ideas contrary to the PTB's wants, like an Elizabeth Warren, who might actually set a decent template for women in politics as being who we want down the road that also will provide us a candidate that governs by the values we want in that person too.
Obama and Hillary (if she doesn't shift from what she's been a lot in politics and personal life), have provided us examples of where just picking a woman or a person of color is not enough to get the FDR moment this country so sorely needs at this point. It will hurt us in subsequent elections trying to appeal to others who aren't as keen on helping women or people of color to get elected then. If we get a woman, perhaps someone like Elizabeth Warren, elected that really helps transform our country in to something that tackles these issues and makes our country a better country, THAT will help women candidates get elected in the future. And it will also motivate future women candidates to follow in the footsteps of what Warren or someone like her would do then too, and be good for all of us, in addition to being good for women as well. I think that is the underlying message of what Reich is trying to say here.