Monday, March 21, 2016

Lena Dunham: Hostility From Bernie Supporters Is Worse Than Anything She's Received From Right Wing


Lena Dunham -- whose "Girls" I have upgraded from hate-watching to merely hating -- is spot-on when discussing the vitriol she's received for having the audacity to support Hillary Clinton:
“I have received more hostility for voting for a qualified female candidate than I have ever received anywhere from the American right wing,” she said at a Clinton campaign event at NeueHouse in Hollywood. “The fact that other members of the Democratic Party have spoken to me like I was an ill-informed child for voting for someone who represents everything I think this country should be is outrageous.”
I hear ya, Hannah. And the millennials are the real rub. I'm not saying young people can't be informed. But to be lectured by someone who just learned about a Bernie Sanders speech from the '90s via YouTube that I remember when it happened in real-time is a bit hard to stomach. (I helped Rep. Major Owens of New York research speeches and legislation in the late '80s before Bernie was elected to the House of Representatives, for crying out loud.) Where were you people during the f**king midterm elections?

I'm not saying all Bernie supporters are misogynists. But just as Obama's rise "mysteriously" brought out an ugly side in some people, I can't help but see a parallel to what's happening now. Suddenly EVERYBODY -- many of whom never had an opinion about politics at all as far as I remember -- is left of Che Guevara? A similar thing happened during the New York mayoral race in 2013, which just happened to be between a well-qualified woman who was cast as the devil (Christine Quinn) and a left-leaning man who was suddenly impervious to criticism (Bill de Blasio). The parallels are jaw-dropping and shouldn't be ignored.

1 comment:

The Polar Beast said...

While I find Bernie Sanders' goals admirable and supportable, (healthcare-for-all and eliminating the concept that money is a form of speech) I am still surprised that so many people forget the importance of facts. Specifically here: we are traditionally as a nation a right-of-center country. And considering that the Center has moved Right over the last 40 years*, a course of incrementalism is needed. Moving the Center toward the Left will take many election cycles with regular attendance by devoted voters, e.g., like the old and the Republicans. Younger voters are notoriously fickle.

*Let me illustrate my point about the Center moving Right. Over forty years ago Richard Nixon signed legislation creating the EPA. It is now the mission of the Republican Party to restrict the EPA so we can have more situations like Flint, Michigan. The Right in this country has no concept of the idea that the air and water and publicly held lands are meant to benefit all. Where is Teddy Roosevelt when you need him?