The many moves to make with the ‘woman card’

Hillary Clinton speaks at a January 2016 campaign stop at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Photo Credit: Matt A.J./Flickr

Hillary Clinton speaks at a January 2016 campaign stop at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Photo Credit: Matt A.J./Flickr

Nichola D. Gutgold | Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Schreyer Honors College Associate Dean for Academics

 

As the contentious primary contests draw to a close, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the likely Democratic and Republican nominees for president, and, as such, they have begun to shift to a general election rhetoric. Trump has accentuated the gender of Clinton, asserting that it is an unfair advantage for her to play the “woman card.”

Nichola Gutgold

Nichola Gutgold

Women have figured prominently in the 2016 campaign, and as President Barack Obama optimistically noted in his commencement speech at Howard University, “… to deny how far we’ve come would do a disservice to the cause of justice.”

A review of the many ways to play the “woman card” — if that’s what you want to call it — reveals that no longer are women relegated to “staying home and baking cookies” (though, that is a nice option, if one chooses). The women who are part of this election are proof that unlike the small sphere of influence not that long ago relegated to women in the political world, the role of women has expanded and the real possibility that we may elect a woman president is only one part of that expansion.

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly has sparred publicly with Donald Trump after challenging his characterizations of women as “fat pigs, slobs — and disgusting animals” in the first presidential debate. Barbara Bush, former first lady and mother of former presidential candidate Jeb Bush, publicly wondered how women could vote for Trump and encouraged her son to interrupt more.

Melania Trump, business woman, former model and wife of Donald Trump, has encouraged her husband to act more “presidential” while his daughter, Ivanka Trump, business woman and former model who just gave birth to her third child, is one of the more articulate spokespeople for her father’s campaign — especially when juxtaposed with Sarah Palin, former governor and vice presidential candidate who commented that Paul Ryan may well be “cantored ” — referring to the ousting of former Rep. Eric Cantor in a 2015 Virginia primary — for not supporting Donald Trump.

The Hillary Clinton campaign started issuing actual "woman cards" after Donald Trump said Clinton owed her success to playing the "woman card." Image credit: hillaryclinton.com

The Hillary Clinton campaign started issuing actual “woman cards” after Donald Trump said Clinton owed her success to playing the “woman card.”
Image credit: screenshot from hillaryclinton.com

Chelsea Clinton is a surrogate on the campaign trail for her mother while feminist icon Gloria Steinem and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright have had their moments in the spotlight during this campaign. North Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley endorsed Marco Rubio’s failed presidential effort and is considered as someone to watch on the national Republican stage, and actress America Ferrera publicly insists that “I am a female, millennial voter … and I’m not only voting for Hillary, but I really like Hillary.”

And, of course, there is Hillary Clinton herself — the front runner in the Democratic party and the Rorschach test of what it means to be a woman in America. She is a former “Goldwater Girl,” first lady, senator, secretary of state, mother and grandmother.

So what do the voters who are women really think about a woman president? Most of course love the idea, but they are not voting for Hillary because she is a woman. They are, however, donating to her campaign. The New York Times noted that close to half of Clinton’s “bundlers” — the volunteer fundraisers who solicit checks from friends and business associates — are women, compared with about a third of President Obama’s 2012 bundlers.

As Gail Collins noted in her five decades-long review of the women’s movement, “When Everything Changed,” no woman would want to turn back the clock to the “Mad Men” or “Apollo 13” days when a woman needed to be thin, perfectly made up with floors that gleamed to be worth anything.

So, yes, the woman card is playing out in lots of different ways. It is definitely not your mother’s woman card and positive proof of progress.

Why it’s time for Bernie Sanders to support Hillary Clinton

"[Sanders] has brought millions of young people into politics. According to CIRCLE, more youth have voted for Sanders than for Clinton and Trump combined," writes Christopher Beem in a recent Fortune article. Photo credit: Penn State

“[Sanders] has brought millions of young people into politics. According to CIRCLE, more youth have voted for Sanders than for Clinton and Trump combined,” writes Christopher Beem in a recent Fortune article. Photo credit: Penn State

Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy Managing Director Christopher Beem wrote an op-ed for Fortune Magazine this past weekend. Here’s a excerpt from his piece:

“Bernie Sanders has achieved astonishing things in the 2016 U.S. presidential race. He has single-handedly resurrected socialism in American political discourse. He has moved Clinton to the left on virtually every issue. Most importantly, he has brought millions of young people into politics. According to CIRCLE, more youth have voted for Sanders than for Clinton and Trump combined.

Christopher Beem

Christopher Beem

“But Bernie Sanders is not going to be the Democratic nominee for president. He isn’t going to quit or suspend his campaign. But barring the impossible, he is going to lose.

“What Sanders does between now and the end of the Philadelphia convention this summer will largely determine whether he is able to consolidate all his achievements. In fact, these next few weeks will decide whether his message and movement will continue to impact American politics.

“Even after Tuesday’s massive defeat in a string on Northeast states, Sanders insisted that ‘we are in this campaign to win.’ But he also gave his first hint of a different agenda. He said that he is out to ‘win every delegate we can,’ so that he can ‘fight for a progressive party platform’ at the Convention in July. Sanders could score some real victories here, including commitments to a $15 an hour U.S. minimum wage, universal health care, and tougher regulations for Wall Street.”

Read more on Fortune.com.

Clinton’s place in history a long time coming

Hillary Clinton speaks at a January 2016 campaign stop at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Photo Credit: Matt A.J./Flickr

Hillary Clinton speaks at a January 2016 campaign stop at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Photo Credit: Matt A.J./Flickr

Nichola D. Gutgold | Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Schreyer Honors College Associate Dean for Academics 

 

Recently, Frank Bruni of The New York Times noted that Hillary Clinton is “preternaturally determined, resourceful and patient. It was a relatively positive column in a primary season of so much vitriol that the bright side can be difficult to see.

Nichola Gutgold

Nichola Gutgold

“Hillary Haters” are pointing to the ongoing Clinton drama. “Hillary Lovers” are rejoicing that she will be recognized for her historic presidential bid. I believe that it is good for all Americans to note that Hillary Clinton’s bid — whether it is a winning or losing one — is tremendous progress, simply because she is a front runner who has significant foreign affairs experience and most importantly for a female candidate, one who no one doubts would be tough enough to be president.

A quick review of two other notable female presidential candidates who made it to their political conventions reminds us that this particular moment in history has been a long time coming.

Margaret Chase Smith
At the Cow Palace in San Francisco on July 15, 1964, Margaret Chase Smith, the reserved Republican senator from Maine who made a bid for the presidency, was greeted with cheers from a reception of supporters who declared: “She is still in the race!”

Vermont Senator George Aiken nominated her at the convention, and one admirer noted, “Every woman, Republican and Democrat, owes a debt of gratitude to Margaret Chase Smith because she has opened the door for a woman to serve in the presidency.” By the end of the convention, Margaret Chase Smith came in second with 27 delegates. She offered advice to future candidates when she said, “If I were to run again, I would organize every state and go for the delegates at least two years in advance.”

Shirley Chisholm
Eight years later, a New York congresswoman — the “unbought and unbossed” Shirley Chisholm — received 151 of the delegates’ votes at the convention in Miami. She wanted to effect political change with the power of her delegates.

At a speech she said: “I’m just so thankful that in spite of the differences of opinions, the differences of ideology, and even sometimes within the women’s movement the differences of approaches, that here we are today at a glorious gathering of women in Miami.”

Hillary Clinton
Fast-forward to 2008. Hillary Clinton had her name placed in nomination at the Democratic National Convention. By doing so, Barack Obama honored her remarkable achievement, recognizing precedence for this, and paying a proper tribute. In addition, the 18 million voters who chose Clinton deserved the recognition.

In 2008, Hillary Clinton almost won the nomination. That is something no other woman in American political history has come close to accomplishing.

A woman could be president
In a poll I conducted of college-age women in 2009, more than 65 percent of the students believed that the 2008 presidential bid of Hillary Clinton made them think that a woman would be president in her lifetime. Whether a person is for or against a candidate, the presence of an outsider encouraged members of the same group to believe that it is possible for that person to become elected.

After eight years in the White House as first lady and nearly eight years as senator from New York, she served as secretary of state. Whether you are a “Hillary Lover” or a “Hillary Hater,” it is undeniable that her bid for the presidency has given presidential politics a major shove forward, something that’s easy to forget amid the rancor. After her impressive Super Tuesday win, she is likely to be the democratic nominee at the convention in Philadelphia.

Whether you are for her or against her, it is difficult to deny the historical magnitude of her successful strides. It’s good for all Americans to revel in the undeniable progress.

Nichola D. Gutgold, professor of communication arts and sciences, researches the rhetoric of women in non-traditional fields and is currently revising and updating her 2006 book, “Paving the Way for Madam President” to include the 2008 and 2016 election years.

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