I am pretty sick of reading the bullshit, Dean-scream level of a story making the rounds that Amy Klobachur is a tough boss.
Any progressive buying into this should be ashamed of themselves because
1) It’s sexist. I am pretty sure Dick Cheney was a tough boss too. LBJ didn’t suffer fools. The current occupant of the office IS an ineffectual jerk. No man would be criticized the way she is being.
2) It doesn’t match with reality. Klobachur ranks #1 in legislative effectiveness and won re-election in an increasingly purple/red state by a wide margin. Cruel or mean bosses don’t get those kind of results.
Remember the Dean scream? How the media took Howard Dean, probably the most even tempered man in politics and tried to claim that a rallying cry scream showed he was somehow unhinged? Don’t be played.
Finally, and this is the most important point:
You know who doesn't want a mean, tough SOB of a Democratic/progressive President who takes names and remembers shit for revenge... Wall Street, Big Pharma, the banking industry, Koch, the big polluters, the military-industrial people, you know- the bad guys. These are the same people who push Bloomburg/Schulz and faux centrism.
So think who you are serving by claiming that being a tough boss as a Dem- maybe even a little too tough - is wrong - and whose hands you are tying when the work gets tough. I thought progressives wanted a leader who would take names, not give a shit, and let the chips fall, the hurt feelings of the Wall Street hedge fund crybabies be damned? You all sure you have the stomach to actually change how things work? Because someone is gonna be upset, someone is gonna cry, including people on our side, because this is not going to be easy.
I also think she should NOT apologize. Instead she should say “I am effective, I have high standards because I want to get stuff done. That’s not for everyone.” No apologies — that would look weak whether it is or not. Instead, stand her ground, don’t pay heed to this story and turn it into an asset. Yeah. I’m tough, and I’ll fight for you to really make changes in Washington. That’s a winning message.