With the current stream of sexist labels being tossed at Sanders campaign for the past two weeks, it is important to point out when Sanders calls it inappropriate when it is.
For those who missed the story, Some of Bernie's aides made fairly condescending comments about Hillary.
“Look, she’d make a great vice president,” the campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, said of Mrs. Clinton to John Heilemann of Bloomberg Politics. “We’re willing to give her more credit than Obama did. We’re willing to consider her for vice president. We’ll give her serious consideration. We’ll even interview her.”
The well respected Emily's list rightfully called out the Sanders campaign for these statements.
On Wednesday, Ms. Schriock wrote on Twitter that the comments were a “Condescending insult by a team who knows better.”
“Hillary is possibly most qualified ever to run & Americans know it,” she wrote.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Bernie, realizing that this was turning into a serious distraction from his message was more than willing to state in public the comments were inappropriate.
When trying to fend off accusations of sexism, it’s generally unwise to portray yourself as an indulgent authority figure who will “let” women have power, so long as they stay in second place. Luckily, Sanders seems to see this himself. On Thursday, he went on MSNBC and called Weaver’s comment “inappropriate” and reiterated that he has “a lot of respect for Secretary Clinton.”
It was a smart move from Sanders. His campaign has taken off in large part because his criticisms of neoliberalism and cowardice on the part of mainstream Democrats like Clinton has resonated with a lot of liberal voters. However, his campaign has also attracted a lot of “brogressives“: People, mostly men, who want to be seen as progressive and even feminist, but blanch at the idea of women having real power.
While roughly 100 percent of brogressives deny their own existence, the ugly response that women online get the second they say anything about the Sanders campaign that’s less than worshipful suggests that this is becoming a serious problem. Sanders wants to send a message about economic justice, but condescending comments like the ones from his campaign staff and materials like the cover of Doug Henwood’s new anti-Clinton book suggest that, for many of his followers, the real motivation is keeping the scary, ball-busting lady politician out of the White House.
http://www.salon.com/...