Hillary Clinton: Are Men Afraid To Run Against Her?
Hillary Clinton appears to be so strongly the front-runner for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president that perhaps some male politicians who might run are hesitant to jump in the race because she’s a woman, the Washington Post reports today. While no major candidates have officially announced yet for 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads in all the polls of Democratic voters.
“While the Democratic bench isn’t as full as it has been, there is still no shortage of qualified male candidates who will probably not step forward in 2016. In the Senate there are potential hopefuls who could win the hearts of the very people who consider Clinton too middle-of-the-road: Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Jeff Merkley of Oregon. There are well-regarded governors such as Jack Markell of Delaware and Andrew Cuomo of New York or former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. None of them has given the slightest hint that they might consider a run (against Hillary Clinton),” Rutgers University Political Science Professor Ross Baker wrote in a USA Today article quoted by the Washington Post.
The desire that Democrats nominate a woman in 2016 is seen as a major reason for strong support for Hillary Clinton running for president. Writing for Salon, Amanda Marcotte suggests that having women in powerful positions is “inherently anti-male,” and suggests that men are afraid to challenge women.
“Democrats are quite likely to nominate a woman for president in 2016, which would be the very first time in American history that a major political party has done such a thing. Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers, explains in USA Today that this possibility should alarm us all. Baker argues that by allowing women to have power, the Democrats ‘have scared off serious male challengers’ and created a ‘gender problem’ in the party,” Marcotte writes in Salon about the idea that men are afraid to run against Hillary Clinton.
Marcotte sums up Baker’s argument, suggesting that women have gained power more through “using the immense terror of ever challenging female power to intimidate their worthier male opponents” than via merit. She quotes Baker, “But the very elevation of these extraordinary woman has place male Democrats (who might challenge Hillary Clinton) in the position of being unwilling to challenge them. The mantra ‘it’s her turn’ has broad appeal among Democrats.”
This mantra and its appeals, Baker is suggesting, is helping gain support for Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016. Marcotte also points out how many more male politicians there are in the offices of senator and governor then that are women, and suggests women have far to go yet before candidates like Hillary Clinton are treated as equals.
The notion that men might be scared to oppose Hillary Clinton for the nomination seems to be supported by demands by many progressive activists that Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren run for president in 2016. Warren is emerging as a strong voice for progressives, and a possible alternative to Hillary Clinton, the Inquisitr reported last month. Many progressive activists see Hillary Clinton as more moderate and are demanding that Warren run for president.
[Image of Hillary Clinton from the Blaze]
