Because we insist on an idiotic nominating system that gives a bunch of Iowa corn farmers 20x the influence of any Democratic voter in any urban area in the country. Because the fever swamp, in the end, is getting the last laugh.
I agree it's ridiculous to give any one or two states such an edge in determining the Democratic nominee. But I don't think Iowa is just a bunch of corn farmers. The caucus I went to had 494 attendees. It was urban and there were middle-aged and young people and minorities. It looked like my neighborhood caucuses in Denver (Ok, Denver isn't New York or LA or DC but it's not the hinterland either.)
While Taylor says women everywhere get what's going on, I'm not sure that's true. Check out this e-mail I got from a a gay male observer:
I have a question that I don't see anyone talking about right now and that is the disturbing behavior I see from women toward Hillary Clinton.
I belong to other on-line forums -- Democratic forums -- and I see women referring to Hillary as "bitchy", "catty", "shrill", "ugly" and some too bad to mention. Most of these come from women supporting Obama. The idol worship and willingness to throw their gender under the bus in order to elect Obama is disturbing.
My question is, what happens when the campaign is over and women realize that they have set themselves back ....Will they be surprised?
I am a gay male and I could NEVER set aside my sexual identity to promote a candidate. Imagine if I, as a gay male, attacked a gay male as inferior because he was gay -- or used terms like fag to put him down just because I favor a non-gay candidate.
What do you think? Is it worth it to women to take two steps backward in their fervor to promote a male candidate? How will women feel when this is over?
Obama did better in Iowa with women except in the age group of 60 and older. David Yepsen of the Des Moines Register told the Examiner,
Older, blue collar women liked Clinton while younger and professional women liked Obama."
So, are women hostile to or just uninspired by Hillary? Is Hillary losing ground due to the media hype over Obama or because she's Hillary Clinton? And is it even true that women voters will not support Hillary?
Personally, if I decide to support Hillary, it won't be because she's a woman but because I think she will make the best President. I could care less whether the best candidate is male or female, white or black. My decision will be based on which candidate I believe is the best qualified and most equipped for the job. The Presidency of the United States is too important to reduce to a historical marker or game of "firsts", whether it's a female or African-American. Neither gender nor race will affect my decision.
That said, the gender-based slamming of Hillary, both in the media and online, is very disturbing.
