In her latest Salon column (seriously, she’s the only reason ever to click on that website), outspoken social critic Camille Paglia suggests that “savvy Democratic strategists have surely known for months that [businessman Donald] Trump was by far the most formidable of Hillary Clinton’s potential opponents.”
Her evidence for this? The fact that Democrats (especially those in the media) have “been playing the race and riot cards against him to the max.” Included in the charges against Trump, of course, were accusations of sexism.
But Paglia suggests that, far from sexism hurting her campaign, Clinton has benefitted from the fact that she’s a woman (and Clinton takes great pains to remind everyone of that fact at every chance).
“At the early debates, for example, Martin O’Malley was paralyzed by his deference to her sacred womanhood and hardly dared raise his voice to contest her brazen untruths from three feet away,” Paglia wrote. “Meanwhile, in debate after debate, unconstrained by the sycophantic media moderators, Hillary rudely interrupted, talked over both O’Malley and Bernie Sanders, and hogged airtime like it was going out of style.”
Paglia also condemns those who claim sexism keeps women from running from office, suggesting it has more to do with women wanting to keep their private lives private.
“[Sen. Dianne] Feinstein and [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi, to all reports, enjoy a rewarding private life that they do not want violated and blown to hell,” Paglia wrote. “But Hillary, consumed by her own restless bitterness, has no such tranquility. The wheels must grind! The future must be conquered! Past slights must be avenged!”
The constant claims that everything in America is caused by sexism and racism have grown tiresome, so it’s always good to read Paglia dismantle them. I urge you to read her whole column.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
