This morning I had a breakfast table conversation with my girlfriend about the political landscape, and we got to talking about Kamala Harris, and specifically, her strengths that have led to her momentum, and then what kinds of things she and her team need to watch out for between now and Election Day.
At a certain point, I had a revelation about the Trump team and its characterization of her via focus on her laughter, and her being “crazy” and “chaotic.” Please bear with me as I lead you to it, through what may seem like tangents- I promise they’ll be relevant.
When Joe Biden had his debate moment, to many of his supporters (as was frequently expressed here), he was just dealing with a cold and having a bad day. There was no reason for it to completely envelope and define the public’s perception of him. One of the big reasons that it did, however, was because the RWNJ’s had built a ton of runway leading up to it with all their insistence on “Sleepy Joe” and pounding of the drum of him being old and senile. They were so effective that it didn’t just fit the narrative for Trump supporters, it ended up doing that for a broader cross-section of America, and that spelled doom for a man who will go down as one of the greatest presidents this country ever had.
This morning, I was reminded of Howard Dean. I was a “Deaniac” leading up to the 2004 election. He brought charisma, passion and, dare I say it, joy to the ticket. His opponent tried to frame aspects of that as negatives, and that didn’t work until the day that they were able to take a war cry-ish scream of excitement, isolate it from the context of the crowd noise, and make it seem like the sound of a crazy person. A hysterical person. Then he was done.
“YEEEEEEEEEEARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”
I am absolutely certain they are gunning to do the same thing with future President Harris, and it is a reason for the attacks about her laughing and the “Crazy Kamala” stuff. They are attempting to build a foundation for that moment, a “gotcha” they are desperate to engineer. I’m sure in their minds, it should be even easier to pull off than 20 years ago, because they can appeal to that age-old misogynist stereotype that women are prone to hysteria*. I’m also sure that Harris can turn it around in a way that Dean couldn’t.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the film Barbie- personally, I feel like Poor Things covered some of that ground in a way that resonated more with me. However, the speech that America Ferrera gives is rooted in this country’s psyche now.
...never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us.
Harris can lean on that sentiment, on her powerful Beyoncé theme song, and on the incredible catharsis that America has just experienced with her candidacy. She has a running mate who isn’t afraid to be equally frank about these things, and who, critically, is raising his daughter to be as empowered as possible.
I believe that when the Republicans strike with this type of attack, Kamala Harris will be ready for it in a way that Dean wasn’t. I think by the end of this race, she will have used her womanhood as an advantage, and America will have a new understanding of what it means to be a strong, female leader.
And when the Republicans watch their genius plan melt into a puddle on the floor, it will be hysterical.
-—
*officebss points out:
“Hysteria” was not officially taken out of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until 1980.
