Lambert highlights the
increasing hysteria of Clinton Derangement Syndrome, which has reached the point that Obama supporters think their candidate's message of inclusiveness gives them such moral superiority that they can drum Hillary supporters out of the Democratic party -- Jerome Armstrong describes them as
"tiny tent democrats".
It's off-putting, isn't it, to see them acting like 'unbelievers' are 'the enemy'. Especially when their candidate, Barak Obama, didn't exactly turn in an outstanding performance in the ABC debate -- a fact noted even by Jon Stewart, who did a mash of Obama's verbal stumbles and stutters.
The conventional wisdom about the ABC debate is that Obama was being pestered with picayune right-wing talking points because he is the frontrunner. But Hillary has been pestered by the right wing for 20 years, and she just laughs it off -- absolutely the only way to deal with it. And she doesn't apologize for laughing, either. I was amazed that Obama didn't seem to have quick, firm, dismissive answers to this crap.
Weather Underground? Get real. Even 40 years ago the Weather Underground was ridiculous.
Maybe if the Republicans work at it they can gin up an Obama 'connection' to those sneaky Harlem Globetrotters too!
But getting back to my point with this post -- at its heart, I wonder if a certain amount of
good old-fashioned sexism is jump-starting this anti-Hillary atmosphere.
And then there are the attacks on Hillary Clinton by the white, middle-aged men who pretend to be journalists on American TV. Personally, I can't even stand to watch Keith Olbermann anymore. Seeing this stuff listed
all in one place by Eric Boehlert is quite striking:
... Mike Barnicle on MSNBC said Clinton "look[ed] like everyone's first wife standing outside a probate court." ... Bill Kristol on Fox News said that among the only people supporting Hillary Clinton were white women, and "[w]hite women are a problem, that's, you know -- we all live with that." ... CNN's Jack Cafferty likened Clinton to "a scolding mother, talking down to a child." ... Fox News' Neil Cavuto suggested Clinton was "trying to run away from this tough, kind of bitchy image." ... MSNBC's Tucker Carlson announced that "when [Clinton] comes on television, I involuntarily cross my legs."... Christopher Hitchens on CNBC described Clinton as being "sort of alternately soppy and bitchy.'"
Then there is Chris Matthews, who is in a class by himself:
- featured a Photoshopped image of Clinton sporting "She Devil" horns while discussing Republican efforts to demonize her;
- repeatedly likened Clinton to "Nurse Ratched," the scheming, heartless character from the mental hospital drama One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest;
- described her laugh as a "cackle," suggested she was "anti-male," "witchy," and was on a "short ... leash";
- referred to Clinton as "Madame Defarge" and described male politicians who endorsed Clinton as "castratos in the eunuch chorus";
- compared Clinton to a "strip-teaser," wondered whether she was "a convincing mom," referred to Clinton's "cold eyes" and the "cold look" she supposedly gives people;
- claimed that "some men" say Clinton's voice sounds like "fingernails on a blackboard."
Let's not forget David Schuster's awful "pimped out" remark -- as though Hillary is turning Chelsea into a hooker by having her work for the campaign. Had it ever crossed anyone's mind to describe Mary Cheney or Jenna Bush that way?
Well, I think they've forgotten -- when women are pissed on, we get pissed off.
What
turned the corner for Hillary in one of the early primaries was when a bunch of yahoos showed up at her campaign stops and yelled at her to shut up and iron their shirts. These loud-mouthed louts ensured that women came out to vote for Hillary.
And this could happen again.
UPDATE:
Great minds think alike.