Earlier today, someone asked why Republicans seem to hate Hillary
Clinton so much. “From what I’ve seen in the last day, the hatred seems rooted
in racism, misogyny and . . . jealousy,” they said. It’s completely out of
proportion to anything she’s ever said or done.
I have a different take on it.
I think Hillary Clinton is the very personification of
feminism to many conservatives. She won’t sit down. She won’t shut up. She won’t
be disrespected. And she won’t “know her place”.
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It's undeniable that there have been many accomplished, professional women of both parties who became prominent in government and politics after her, but there's a compelling case to be made that she was the first. Hillary was a household name before Condoleezza Rice, before Elizabeth Dole, before Sarah Palin, before Kamala Harris, and before our current cast of right-wing mouthpieces whose main qualifications seem to be complete and total obedience to their boss. Hillary came along at a time when the most popular woman on television was Roseanne Barr and the portrayal of Murphy Brown as both a successful, professional reporter and a single mother was something audiences were still coming to grips with.
When Bill was elected in 1992, there was still a significant
glass ceiling that prevented women from holding positions of authority or
prominence in politics, let alone in the White House. Hillary was a force to be
reckoned with in her own right, not just as First Lady, but as an accomplished
lawyer and political activist at a time when first ladies were expected
(particularly by conservatives) to conform to the role of demure, supportive
wife and homemaker. She even had her own office in the West Wing of the White House,
not far from the Oval Office, and actively participated in policy discussions
and decisions.
In 1992, Nancy Reagan was the ideal image of first ladies in
conservative circles, and Hillary was nothing like her. She wore pantsuits
instead of skirts. She wanted to leave a mark on the world all her own. And in
doing so, she earned the eternal ire of conservatives, an ire that has only
grown and taken on a life of its own in the years since, leading to some truly
spectacular myths about pizzeria basements that didn’t exist and child
cannibalism that never happened. What she did do was successfully run
for a United States Senate seat, accept a position as Secretary of State, and
then very nearly mounted a successful run for President of the United States,
three unforgiveable sins as far as conservatives are concerned.
She doesn’t deserve anywhere near the amount of hate and
disdain that gets thrown at her by conservatives, but the unfortunate truth is
that it was always bound to happen to whichever woman decided to push those
boundaries first. To her credit, Hillary has never once backed down from or
tried to avoid the mostly fictitious “controversies” that have surrounded her.
She’s always been direct, to-the-point, and fearless. She doesn’t deserve the
way she’s been treated, but she’s shouldered it admirably, and for that she’ll
always have my respect.