General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)I am sick and tired of seeing women like Feinstein and Pelosi attacked as "too establishment" [View all]
when the ONLY way a woman can be successful in politics is to prove herself over a number of years.
Women have not had the luxury that men have always had - to appear out of nowhere and rise to the top quickly and/or reach the top with little or no experience. Instead, women have constantly had to prove that they have what it takes to be leaders and the only way they could do that was forcing themselves into the arena, keeping their heads down, working their asses off for years.
But what happens when they finally manage to do it? They get criticized and mocked - by Republicans AND Democrats - as "too establishment," as "tools," as "past their shelf life,"etc. - and then they're told to get out of the way and make room for "new faces" (which, big surprise, are usually whiskered).
Meanwhile, men stroll (and are often carried) into the ring in and stay there for as long as they want without anyone telling them they need to get out of the way. In fact, people like McConnell and Biden and Sanders and Hatch and McCain (I'll stop here, but could list names forever) are fawned over as elder statesmen who have the experience and chops to be effective in their jobs.
I call bullshit on this.
In other words, leave Dianne Feinstein the hell alone. She has earned her place. And while I don't agree with her on everything, I respect the hell out of her for what she has accomplished at a time when women weren't even supposed to be in the room and so appreciate her now that she has the stripes she busted her ass for.
She EARNED her place. And she needs to stay right where she is.