In the last two days, there have been two Daily Kos diaries on the article by Susan Bordo about her upcoming book:
April 3rd, The Destruction of Hillary Clinton – Lessons The Left Should Learn About Female Candidacy.
And today, April 4th, The Destruction of Hillary Clinton has few lessons and heaps of condescension.
The thing is – I don’t need to read Bordo’s observations to know what I witnessed for myself during the primary. And I don’t need a man explaining to me that what I witnessed really didn’t happen.
There were many moments in the Sanders Campaign where I witnessed sexist and condescending patriarchal language used against Clinton.
Echoes of what I experienced in my career in a male-dominated industry.
Echoes of what I experienced in close relationships with men – boyfriends, my ex-husband, my own brother.
Am I claiming sexism is the only reason Clinton lost to trump? Absolutely not. In my opinion there was a perfect storm of reasons why she lost and – yes – some were self inflicted. However, sexism clearly played a part.
I expected to see sexism and misogyny in the general election. But I was horrified to see sexism raise its head in the Sanders’ camp.
Not Qualified
Countless women – myself included – have experienced being told they’re not qualified for a position only to see that spot go to a man with far fewer qualifications than their own.
I heard it again when Sanders went on a rant proclaiming Hillary Clinton is not qualified to be president after he read an article headline that incorrectly stated she questioned his qualifications. Yet, even when it was pointed out to him that Hillary never made that remark, he dodged admitting his error.
When his campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, was questioned about Sanders’ “not qualified” remark, he said:
"In a narrow sense, does she have the resume for the job? Yes." Then he added, "There's more than just a resume, there's judgment."
Not only does he undermine Hillary’s resume with the phrase, “narrow sense,” he then sets himself up as the sole arbiter of her judgment.
You Naughty Girl
During the primary debates both Sanders and Clinton interrupted each other many times. However, on some occasions when she interrupted him, he snapped angrily, “You’ll get your turn,” “Excuse me, I’m talking.” and “Let me finish” as if admonishing a naughty child.
Then there was his finger wagging – at Hillary and also at debate moderators – a nonverbal gesture that indicates scolding or shaming a child. One outlet counted 96 times Sanders wagged his finger during the New York debate alone.
Perhaps Sanders’ supporters saw the finger wagging as a personal quirk – no big deal – but to women it conjures memories of being silenced, demeaned, shamed and dismissed.
Evil Ambitious Woman
Jeff Weaver, in appearances on MSNBC and other outlets, went biblical and said: Hillary Clinton “… made a deal with the devil and the devil always wants his due.”
When Chris Matthews pointed out to Weaver tis remark sounded like a Faustian accusation that Hillary sold her soul to the devil, Weaver doubled down and again indicated the Devil “will want his due” if she wins.
Jeff Weaver went biblical again when Reverend Al Sharpton pointed out to him that trump was using Sanders’ attack lines on HRC -- Weaver said: “… even the devil will speak the truth for his own purposes.”
Weaver also said Clinton's "ambition" could tear the Democratic Party apart: “Don’t destroy the Democratic party to satisfy the secretary’s ambitions to become president of the United States.”
Let’s ignore the fact that every man who ran for leader of the free world was ambitious – that’s okay – but a woman's ambition, that's dangerous, that will tear the Democratic Party asunder.
Then here was the time Weaver said with a condescending chuckle: "We're willing to consider her for vice president. We'll give her serious consideration. We'll even interview her."
(And, before anyone says “It was Weaver not Bernie,” I will call BS in advance. It was well reported Sanders controlled the messaging of his top staff.)
Add in sexist swipes from Sanders’ surrogates that drew thunderous applause at his rallies — Killer Mike, "… a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president." Paul Song shouting “Corporate whore” — is it entirely plausible some of his supporters heard these remarks as dog whistles giving them the go-ahead to unleash vile, sexist, misogynist attacks on Hillary and her women supporters on social media?
I say, yes, of course it did.
All The Candidate’s Men
Perhaps some of the above could have been mitigated if Sanders’ campaign team was a bit more co-ed. Perhaps if there were more women among his top advisors, other than Jane Sanders, his wife, they could have called attention to the sexist underbelly of these remarks.
But at the start of his campaign the top players on his team were all (white) men. Add to this, it was reported that among the top ten highest-paid staffers on Sanders’ payroll, none were women.
Et tu, Brute?
Am I surprised that many men – not all but far too many men – are tone deaf to the sexist, misogynist remarks leveled at Hillary Clinton?
No. As a woman who has dealt with sexism all of my life, it’s par for the course.
What does trouble me deeply is when I hear denials of sexism from men who self-identify as progressives. Worse, some of these progressive men are apparently deaf to the sexism in their own denials of sexism.
If women can’t voice concerns about sexism in our own camp without being invalidated — what hope do we have for combating sexism at all?
