Kamala Harris Gets Hillary’d

by Anita Finlay in Sexism, Women in Politics



When speaking of Hillary Clinton, anyone who ever bought or sold the line: “I’d vote for any woman just not THAT woman” can now put that twaddle in the dustbin where it belongs. This week, we saw accomplished career prosecutor, former California AG, US Senator and Democratic rising star Kamala Harris shushed by several of her male colleagues when questioning both AG Jeff Sessions and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein at the Senate Intelligence hearings. Yes, she hit them with rapid fire questions – the kind you use when you know you are getting deflective, circuitous B.S. in response. Da Senate Boyz didn’t like that and shut her down. Senator Harris is now being referred to as “hysterical.” She was not. Yet branding powerful women as shrieking harpies is a time worn technique to get the populace to reject them.

For Sessions, the Attorney General of the United States, our nation’s top law enforcement officer, to carry on like a flustered naïf while saying Senator Harris made him “nervous” was one of the most pathetic, manipulative displays I have yet seen. How many times did he say he could “not recall”. Nor could he name the policy upon which he relied to refuse to answer questions. Imagine any woman snaking away with this behavior. Furthermore, if Jeff Session is incapable of reciting the policy upon which he relied to refuse to answer Senate questions and cannot “recall” events that happened in the last year, he has no business having the job of AG and needs to resign forthwith.

By the way, if you are telling the truth, it should not make you nervous, but flow out of you effortlessly – unless you know telling that truth would land you in federal prison. AG Sessions’ behavior, therefore, did little to alleviate Senator Harris’ suspicions.

Remember Hillary Clinton being rudely grilled at the farcical Benghazi hearings for 11 hours straight by Rep. Gowdy and company? Not once did she say “I cannot recall.” Not once did she say she was nervous. Not once was she “hysterical.” At the end of 11 hours, she was fresh as a daisy. Committee Chairman Gowdy, however, was covered in flop sweat and sputtering – or should I say, hysterical.

Tell me if these words sound familiar to you: “strident,” “shrill,” “unhinged,” “harping,” “flawed,” “inauthentic,” “untrustworthy,” “ego-driven,” “power-hungry.”

Likewise popular to delegitimize powerful women, such terminology is not ever used to describe male politicians, yet women’s voices have been marginalized for eons with sexist dog whistles.

I don’t know what it’s going to take until all women as well as men figure out that the way Hillary Clinton has been demonized by the press and GOP for the past 25 years is not peculiar to her for any reason – not personality, not record, not behavior – other than her proximity to power. The closer she got to becoming our President, the louder her opponents and corporate owned media shrieked her alleged “negatives” in an effort to run down her poll numbers.

Ms. Harris, a bright light on the Democrat’s side, is now getting a taste of being Hillary’d.

As well stated by Sady Doyle in Elle Magazine:

“Sexists refer to every female political opinion as “hysterical,” just like they refer to every word a woman says when she opens her mouth as “shouting,” and for the same reasons — not because the women are actually being loud or unreasonable, but because women are not supposed to have opinions or voices at all. They don’t just want women to be more genial or hushed. They want women to leave the room.”

“Which is to say, there is actually no way for Kamala Harris to do her job, let alone be good at her job, without being called aggressive, loud, and “hysterical.” There’s no way out for Sheila Jackson Lee, or Elizabeth Warren, or any other woman, either. The only thing they can do is keep soldiering on, regardless. One hopes, at least, they can occasionally pause to savor all the old white dude “nervousness” and very male, very real “hysteria” they manage to inspire.”

One of the rules of political engagement is to define your opponent early. Sexists on the right and left (Senator Harris is currently being attacked by both) see her as a threat to take the reins of power, so they are working to demonize her before she even gets started.

Like any woman standing up to be heard, she is entitled to be judged on her merits.

Don’t let those with an agenda convince you otherwise.