I want your sexism
Whether Dave Reichert's "job interview ad" is sexist or not, it's still asinine. But that's the way the game is played by Republicans.
It's a reflection of the inherent sense of entitlement they have. We saw it after the election of Bill Clinton, when the right went went into paroxysms of outrage over things like black UN helicopters.
Large segments of the Republican base cannot grasp that others might legitimately disagree with them, and many cannot grasp the idea that people who do not fit their vision of "leaders" could actually do a good job. And all the while they ignore the tremendous failings of their own leadership.
To conservatives, Bill Clinton could never be a legitimate president because of his moral failings - as they put it. And to Reichert supporters, Darcy Burner cannot be in Congress because she hasn't met their twisted, narrow definition of leadership.
The ability of conservatives to feign outrage or anger over any perceived flaw in a Democratic politician is well known. And when reform-minded candidates like Burner get up off the couch and decide to change the country, they are doubly offended. Burner is a threat to a particular, insular GOP constituency that likes its world view replete with codpiece and hairspray.
Truth be told, there is some advantage to having experience in any job. Darcy Burner has a little bit of a bar to pass on that front, but given how she has conducted herself in the campaign, it's pretty clear she is up to the task.
And I know the Patty Murray comparisons wear thin, but there really is a similarity between the two. Murray faced many of the same charges as Burner when she ran the first time - that she was too inexperienced, that she couldn't serve as ably as others could, that she should wait...and so on.
I remember people asking me what Murray was really like, and I would honestly tell them that the media characterizations of her as a lightweight were all wrong. Time has born that out.
There are undertones of classism, ageism and sexism in Reichert's campaign, but that's not the point. The Reichert campaign would likely have reacted the same way to any challenger who has so threatened him, albeit with a different message, but still mocking and arrogant.
I'm sure that Darcy's campaign will respond to the Reichert ad in a prompt and efficient manner, but I can't resist putting in a long-shot plug for a mocking ad against Reichert based on this bit of silliness by yours truly.
It would certainly give Burner a bimp in the polls.
It's a reflection of the inherent sense of entitlement they have. We saw it after the election of Bill Clinton, when the right went went into paroxysms of outrage over things like black UN helicopters.
Large segments of the Republican base cannot grasp that others might legitimately disagree with them, and many cannot grasp the idea that people who do not fit their vision of "leaders" could actually do a good job. And all the while they ignore the tremendous failings of their own leadership.
To conservatives, Bill Clinton could never be a legitimate president because of his moral failings - as they put it. And to Reichert supporters, Darcy Burner cannot be in Congress because she hasn't met their twisted, narrow definition of leadership.
The ability of conservatives to feign outrage or anger over any perceived flaw in a Democratic politician is well known. And when reform-minded candidates like Burner get up off the couch and decide to change the country, they are doubly offended. Burner is a threat to a particular, insular GOP constituency that likes its world view replete with codpiece and hairspray.
Truth be told, there is some advantage to having experience in any job. Darcy Burner has a little bit of a bar to pass on that front, but given how she has conducted herself in the campaign, it's pretty clear she is up to the task.
And I know the Patty Murray comparisons wear thin, but there really is a similarity between the two. Murray faced many of the same charges as Burner when she ran the first time - that she was too inexperienced, that she couldn't serve as ably as others could, that she should wait...and so on.
I remember people asking me what Murray was really like, and I would honestly tell them that the media characterizations of her as a lightweight were all wrong. Time has born that out.
There are undertones of classism, ageism and sexism in Reichert's campaign, but that's not the point. The Reichert campaign would likely have reacted the same way to any challenger who has so threatened him, albeit with a different message, but still mocking and arrogant.
I'm sure that Darcy's campaign will respond to the Reichert ad in a prompt and efficient manner, but I can't resist putting in a long-shot plug for a mocking ad against Reichert based on this bit of silliness by yours truly.
It would certainly give Burner a bimp in the polls.
