2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: What if Bernie were Bernice? [View all]zazen
(2,978 posts)HRC has done a lot for women's and girls' rights, as much by example--in putting up with misogynist attacks for years and refusing to give in. I respect her immensely for that.
She's absolutely held to a higher standard (as you and I are) and it's grossly unfair. I've fought against this crap my whole life.
Elizabeth Warren, for whom I would have voted, is the kind of woman who seriously challenges economic inequality but still meets those impossibly high standards--of being the "good" woman, the attractive older woman who's warm and slightly self-deprecating at times but forceful, yet clearly just on behalf of others (like a fierce mother). (HRC is attractive but isn't appropriately "apologetic" enough to come off as "feminine," and is wrongly judged on it.) I agree women shouldn't have to meet such ridiculous standards.
You're right. An African-American or female Bernie would have faced much greater hurdles.
But that doesn't mean that Sanders' platform and proposed policies aren't the best, of all available options, out there at this time. I truly believe they are--that Medicare for all, challenging Wall Street, universal jobs programs, universal public education, a higher minimum wage--will do far more to advance the cause of women and minorities than Hillary's corporatist governance. I say that as a lifelong feminist.
I wish it were otherwise and I'll call out sexist attacks on Clinton every time I see them, but just because she's a target for misogyny, like Sarah Palin or Ann Coulter or Margaret Thatcher or Angela Merkel, doesn't mean she's right.