I often think about what our superstar liberal women are thinking as they watch this election year. The women that might be running for national office in 20 or 25 years. The women being profiled as Future Badasses in a small newspaper somewhere. Even the young women running for student council president in their high school this year. They are smart and ambitious and paying attention. They’ve studied political history and economic history and social history and environmental history. They’ve studied the words written by and watched the speeches delivered by and analyzed the laws passed by male candidates over the last two centuries. Their info comes from mostly male ‘experts’ who dominate the elite levels of political journalism, education and government.
They might be noticing how our first successful and popular female candidate is characterized as the epitome of this male designed system, the coronation of the crooked queen as the main theme. They’ll notice how her significant coalition of leaders within the Democratic party seems to generate particular internet anger. These young leaders are intuitive, understanding she’s making it a little less bad for them. They understand there have been qualified and experienced women with good judgement all along, they just haven’t been given the chance to become President. They understand the political space for them is being laid out. Likely, when they run, they won’t be subject to as much male critique — more women will be editing, reporting and producing news media, running for office and teaching political science courses. Until then, they understand if they follow in the familiar footsteps set down by liberal men before them, they might be stepping in it. Here are some things Hillary catches hell for from the left and the right that are actually pretty average in our male political traditions.
Yelling to get her point across
Being awkward on the stump
Serving on boards
Going all out for the ‘Woman Vote’
Making money after public service
Having embarrassing aspects to her personal life
Caring about her hair and clothes
Trying to spin the media for her political gain
Using corporate ties and corporate money to get elected
Being famous and going to famous people’s events
Exhibiting raw ambition
Consolidating power within the party
Raising money for the party
Working with longtime advocacy groups like PP
...and many more objections will pop up before, during and after her presidency. Thankfully our future female leaders are committed, like Hillary, to progressive reform. They will strive to change our culture and our institutions as they rise to power. I hesitate to believe here in the US we might be living through the twilight of patriarchy and overwhelming male control of government but I surely hope Sen. Warren’s words are true.
That’s eight Democratic women seeking to join the 12 who will be returning to the Senate in 2017—a potentially game-changing shift even within the Democrats’ Caucus, where a little less than a third are women. Warren’s transformation of the Senate could usher in not only a majority, but a particularly Warren-esque revolution: Democratic, female and progressive.
Asked if she sees herself as a potential leader of Democratic women in the Senate, Warren demurs but does not deny. “I believe we will have more women, committed to a set of issues,” she says. “Our democracy is stronger when the people in Congress look like the people of America.”
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