There was this moment, some months ago, during one of the numerous Democratic debates, where Sen. Hillary Clinton basically said that it wasn't words that mattered, but actions. That sounded nice and all, but words say a lot about a person (see McSame squaring off with Joe Klein this week) and how they think.
Sen. Clinton, how can you possibly say words don't matter when you've been using them in such a grotesque and disturbing fashion for the sole sake of trying to keep alive a campaign that is mathematically over? This is especially heinous given the false charges of sexism and the vast overtones of a worrisome shadow racism that you have resurrected in places like Appalachia with you and your surrogates' words and actions.
Examples over the jump....
"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."--Geraldine Ferraro, March 7, 2008
"I think Obama was terribly sexist"--Ferraro, May 19, 2008
"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me. These are the people you have to win if you're a Democrat in sufficient numbers to actually win the election. Everybody knows that."--Hillary Clinton, May 7, 2008
These are just some examples. Bill Clinton's remarks about how Obama won South Carolina like Jesse Jackson did are another indicator of this desperation, this fervor to win a nomination that long since slipped out of their grasp. The "inevitable" candidate doesn't struggle this hard to win. The "inevitable" candidate doesn't use these tactics to win. Only the desperate do.
Words do matter, Sen. Clinton.
Your words hurt a constituency that was remarkably loyal to you over the years, and that is the African-American community. They also hurt Latino voters who were very much behind you in the early going. Finally, by claiming sexism, by blaming the mean old men trying to get the woman to sit down and shut up, by blaming Obama himself for being this way, all you do is set back your own cause. You were a legitimate contender in a presidential race, the first we've ever had. You made many strides for women, and you should be immensely proud of that.
However, your words, your actions, and the words and actions of your surrogates, they are threatening to ruin everything you fought for. As many angry women as you've created, you've also turned off many women who might've voted for you. You've turned off minorities by saying the only way you win elections is the white working-class vote, making THEM feel marginalized and making THEM feel like THEY got told to sit down and shut up, and I'll tell you, that's a legitimate way to feel given what's been said.
Oh, and about Sen. Obama. He hasn't charged racism as a reason for his losses, even in cases like West Virginia, where it was so obviously clear. He never accused you of trying to tell him and his supporters to sit down, shut up, and go to the back of the bus (a racially charged attack if I ever heard one, and it came from your side). He never said he wouldn't work for you or support you or vote for you if you won, but your side has said that about him. He never made excuses, even though blacks in America have been oppressed and surpressed for far longer than women have.
Let's review the history. A woman ran for president in the 19th century. Women served in elected positions by the turn of the century, including in Congress. Women got the right to vote in 1920. Women won the right to have an abortion and use birth control by the 1960s-1970s. Women won the presidency/prime ministership in major nations, including England and India. These are some examples of progress for women in the past two centuries.
Now, let's look at African-Americans (some of this applies to Hispanics, as well). Black people didn't come to America willingly, but as slaves. They were enslaved by law through 1863, and for 100 years afterwards, by extralegal action and the innate prejudice of many. While women were getting the right to vote, blacks could not. While women were winning other rights as described above, blacks were still struggling just for the right to vote. Blacks and Hispanics both suffer from crumbling, decaying schools, which were segregated by law when Sen. Clinton was a child, and today are segregated by economics. Under either circumstance, the average white female has a much better chance of getting a quality education than a minority student. The majority of our prison population is made of minorities, despite them not being a majority of our overall population. The justice system is tilted heavily against minorities in many ways. If something is stolen, or an alarm goes off, or somebody makes a false ID, they blame a black man. This is so much so that a black friend of mine made this joke years ago when we were working and a security alarm went off, "Shit, I'd better run, they always blame the black guy." We laughed, but too often, it's true.
I'm not saying sexism isn't out there. The Supreme Court's recent decision on pay equity was horrible jurisprudence, and hopefully Congress rectifies this situation. The fight to eradicate choice is primarily led by white men, and is also wrong. We are not perfect in America when it comes to gender, but white females have fared better than minorities in many metrics.
When it comes to this election, though, Sen. Clinton, you didn't lose because of your gender. You lost because you were wrong on the issues, wrong on the war, because you lied about being under sniper fire, because you lied about NAFTA, because you took the low road when you had a chance to show Americans that not one, but TWO candidates, could wage a serious, issue-minded campaign without lowering themselves into the muck and acting like a bunch of animals. Sen. Obama took the high road, and you could've joined him, and maybe even been a more serious veep contender had you done so. He accepted each election and moved on to the next, head up, working hard. You, on the other hand, discredited small states, Southern states (except your own state of Arkansas, of course), caucus elections, anyone that wasn't a swing state, anyone that wasn't a big state, minority voters, educated voters, pretty much anyone that didn't supplicate themselves at your feet. That's why you lost. America got fed up with your way of politics and chose a new direction. You could've been a leader in that direction, but you weren't.
And that, Sen. Clinton, is why words matter.