In the mainstream media today, there's a debate whether or not calling Elizabeth Warren "shrill" or "unlikeable" is sexist. Really, people are seriously arguing that point. To many on the left, Warren is only described this way because she is a woman. I find that strange. Look at Congressman Adam Schiff. The California Democrat spent the last two years on countless TV news shows raising alarms through supposed leaks from the House Oversight Committee. I find him totally unlikeable as do many. His manner is off-putting. His eyes bulge when he's lying (which is most of the time.) He has a smarmy delivery which interrupted by the occasional smirk. And I can assure you that I don't think he's unlikeable because he's a man; I think that because he is unlikeable. Similarly, Elizabeth Warren is unlikeable. I mean in the last few weeks she's called those who voted for President Trump in 2016 "racists". That's a pretty good reason for half to country not to like her. And if you listen to her speak, her voice is shrill. Warren's gender has nothing to do with this. She just happens to be unlikeable and shrill.
But this raises a bigger question: should a political candidate be able to use political correctness to silence criticism? We went through a long period of this with Obama; criticism of the president was automatically "racist" during his first few years in office. That ploy worked for a while until, as expected, the Obama supporters and the media (actually that's the same thing) labeled so many things as racist that everything became racist and then nothing became racist. For example, when Obama lied about Obamacare ("if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor...etc.") the media and the Democrats claimed that pointing out the lie was racist. It became obvious to millions of people that this was not just wrong; it was total nonsense. In the later part of his term in office, Obama was unable to use the "racist" charge to prevent criticism. It still provided some insulation, but not much.
When Hillary ran in 2016, she tried to use claims of sexism in the same way that Obama had used racism charges. It didn't work. Calling Hillary "unlikeable" or "dishonest" was just the obvious truth; her gender was irrelevant.
In American political campaigns, candidates are often reduced in the mind of the voters to a few phrases. The campaigns are often about getting to pick those phrases and thereby determine the outcome. That's why the media has spent the Trump years constantly speaking about a few themes. They tell us Trump and all he touches is chaotic. They tried to paint him as mentally unstable too. Trump, they tell us is a Nazi sympathizer, a racist, a white supremacist, and an anti-Semite. That's right, the President whose favorite daughter is now Jewish and some of whose grandchildren are Jewish supposedly hates Jews. The President who has been more supportive of Israel than any president I can recall hates Jews. It's nonsense, but by repeating the charge over and over, the media hopes that some people will internalize it and it will color their view of Trump. Trump, of course, has provided his own definition for himself, and the media is stumped as to how to get their message embedded in the minds of the American people.
In 2020, the horde of relatively unknown Democrats who will run in the primaries will all be subject to being quickly categorized by the media. Beto O'Rourke was proclaimed a star by the reporters even though the voters of his state rejected him. He was "cool". Will Joe Biden be a tired old fool? Or will Biden be the "voice of experience" and "the adult in the room"? Will Bernie Sanders be "crazy Bernie" or a "visionary"? Will Kamala Harris of California be a "schemer" who got her big break in politics by sleeping with a powerful man or will she be the harbinger of a new multicultural future? We will have to wait and see how all this plays out. One thing is certain though: no one ought be able to use political correctness to limit the debate. The women should be treated the same as the men. The candidates of color should be treated the same as the whites. Everyone should be treated equally. In fact, those candidates who try to use the ploy of political correctness ought to be snubbed by voters. America needs a good leader, not someone who is adept at playing the victim.
But this raises a bigger question: should a political candidate be able to use political correctness to silence criticism? We went through a long period of this with Obama; criticism of the president was automatically "racist" during his first few years in office. That ploy worked for a while until, as expected, the Obama supporters and the media (actually that's the same thing) labeled so many things as racist that everything became racist and then nothing became racist. For example, when Obama lied about Obamacare ("if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor...etc.") the media and the Democrats claimed that pointing out the lie was racist. It became obvious to millions of people that this was not just wrong; it was total nonsense. In the later part of his term in office, Obama was unable to use the "racist" charge to prevent criticism. It still provided some insulation, but not much.
When Hillary ran in 2016, she tried to use claims of sexism in the same way that Obama had used racism charges. It didn't work. Calling Hillary "unlikeable" or "dishonest" was just the obvious truth; her gender was irrelevant.
In American political campaigns, candidates are often reduced in the mind of the voters to a few phrases. The campaigns are often about getting to pick those phrases and thereby determine the outcome. That's why the media has spent the Trump years constantly speaking about a few themes. They tell us Trump and all he touches is chaotic. They tried to paint him as mentally unstable too. Trump, they tell us is a Nazi sympathizer, a racist, a white supremacist, and an anti-Semite. That's right, the President whose favorite daughter is now Jewish and some of whose grandchildren are Jewish supposedly hates Jews. The President who has been more supportive of Israel than any president I can recall hates Jews. It's nonsense, but by repeating the charge over and over, the media hopes that some people will internalize it and it will color their view of Trump. Trump, of course, has provided his own definition for himself, and the media is stumped as to how to get their message embedded in the minds of the American people.
In 2020, the horde of relatively unknown Democrats who will run in the primaries will all be subject to being quickly categorized by the media. Beto O'Rourke was proclaimed a star by the reporters even though the voters of his state rejected him. He was "cool". Will Joe Biden be a tired old fool? Or will Biden be the "voice of experience" and "the adult in the room"? Will Bernie Sanders be "crazy Bernie" or a "visionary"? Will Kamala Harris of California be a "schemer" who got her big break in politics by sleeping with a powerful man or will she be the harbinger of a new multicultural future? We will have to wait and see how all this plays out. One thing is certain though: no one ought be able to use political correctness to limit the debate. The women should be treated the same as the men. The candidates of color should be treated the same as the whites. Everyone should be treated equally. In fact, those candidates who try to use the ploy of political correctness ought to be snubbed by voters. America needs a good leader, not someone who is adept at playing the victim.
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