Unlearning My Sexist Hatred of Hillary Clinton (Huffpo)

[Ellen Forradalom]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/unlearning-my-sexist-hatred-of-hillary-clinton_us_57a2a9b9e4b0c863d4002756

But I have always had a seething hatred for Hillary Clinton. I have thought of her as a ruthless, conniving, opportunistic, corrupt, congenital liar. I’ve written thousands of words explaining exactly why I’ve thought so.
....
As I went down my list of things I hated Hillary for, I started realizing that many of those things were also supported by politicians I don’t hate. In fact, I love some of those politicians, like Senator Bernie Sanders, who voted for that terrible Clinton Crime Bill that Hillary promoted, or former Senator Max Cleland, who voted for that terrible Iraq War.

[DURHAM D]

1. Thanks for posting.

As I addressed the dissonance between my hatred of Hillary and how black and gay Democrats overwhelmingly supported her, it opened up my mind to the possibility that my opinion of Hillary Clinton is malignantly shaped by sexism

.


Yep

[SunSeeker]

2. So true. Great article. Thanks for posting!

[ismnotwasm]

3. He's almost there

I’ve never agreed with any politician 100 percent. But if I make an honest list of my policy positions and personal beliefs, Hillary Clinton aligns positively with a majority of that list. There are still plenty of points on that list where we disagree. But when I find another politician with the same score, they don’t seem to engender the same emotional response in me. You have to rise to Ted Cruz / Louie Gohmert / Tom Cotton / James Inhofe levels of ignorance and policy disagreement to equal my Hillary Clinton hate.

Maybe Hillary Clinton is what she is because only those qualities and decisions would propel a woman far enough against the current of institutionalized sexism to make it to the presidency. Maybe the grandstanding lies and the political calculations only seem so heinous when they’re done “backwards and in heels”. Hillary Clinton is still not a politician I can say I like, but I think I’m beginning to see her now as simply a compromised corporate-owned centrist Democrat (like a lot of them) and not as evil incarnate.

That is a long journey for a BoBer--

[Ellen Forradalom]

4. It is, and a hard one

when you've held one line for so long.

Major props to the author for revisiting his beliefs and examining them in the light of day.

[Rose Siding]

9. Makes me laugh to praise him for saying she's "simply a compromised corporate-owned centrist"

Glad he admitted the sexism though. Hope he can overcome it.

Sick of backhanded compliments for this most committed, accomplished woman.

[Ellen Forradalom]

5. This reminds me so much of how Al Gore's vote to confirm Justice Scalia to the SC

was thrown at him constantly by the Nader campaign in 2000.

I looked up the vote. It was 98-2 in favor of confirmation. Al Gore did not put Scalia on the court all by himself. Why aren't those 97 other Senators being pilloried?

Likewise with the Iraq War. Hillary did not do this all by herself with a single vote. And the ultimate responsibility for that war lies with the Bush Administration who walked away scot-free.

[DemonGoddess]

6. Quite a turnaround n/t

[spooky3]

7. Good blog post and good comments on this thread.

[betsuni]

8. K&R