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When Conservatives Are Mean
Some online conservatives’ distaste for leftist and Democrat policies has spilled over into personal insults of prominent politicians, and I think the carping hurts our credibility. Here are three examples:
First Lady Hillary Clinton’s Pantsuits: There’s a lot one could say about Hillary Clinton without resorting to snark about the pantsuits she chooses to wear. Yes, Clinton went on to become Secretary of State, then a senator and then a candidate for president–all the more reason to keep our critiques sharp and substantive. Parroting the pantsuit observation makes it seem like we can’t offer any concrete commentary, so we resort to seventh-grade tactics. I understand how pantsuits seem to be an outworking of Hillary’s angry rejection of traditional female roles. Maybe they are and maybe they aren’t, but perhaps we let her wardrobe choices speak for themselves while we tackle topics such as healthcare, foreign policy, e-mail protocols, etc. (Note: I tried to locate examples of Hillary’s regalia online and found that most of her pictures cut her off at the waist. The incriminating garment has been edited away.)
I actually really like pantsuits, and at least in the ’90s, many women wore them. They’re more comfortable than dresses and often look sharp. From what I can tell, Clinton’s clothing choices were savvy and flattering. I wish our fashion trends would drift toward the kinds of pantsuits worn in Vietnam and India–these are stunning. Western pantsuits are at least a cousin of these feminine varieties, and in my opinion, dresses are not the only womanly accouterments out there. I see no problem with a First Lady sporting a pantsuit in her White House portrait.
Michelle Obama’s Looks: With Mrs. Obama as a potential contender for a national office, we would be neglectful to not say anything about her worldview and political stances. These have implications for the future of the U.S., for our freedom and prosperity. But I’ve read petty Internet comments about her appearance, and these are often harsh personal remarks. I think these comments come from an overflow of negativity and frustration toward leftist policies in general, and they may have been a bit of a reaction against the wave of worshipful enthusiasm for President Obama. (And a touch of tart raisins, too.)
Honestly, however, to many of us, Michelle Obama is beautiful, and she knows how to dress to accentuate that trait. An online commenter on Reddit or wherever is free to believe otherwise, but it would be best for that individual to turn his or her gaze toward more important topics than someone’s looks or lack thereof. Appearance is a delicate subject, as one can’t help what she was born with. It would be rude for me to walk up to a lady and tell her she has an ungainly body part or an unattractive face–harshly announcing my opinion in a public forum would not be classy, either.
A Couple Sideways References to a Crude Older English Verb Referencing Joe Biden: One of the earlier incidences of this vulgarity, at a sporting event where the reporter claimed the crowd was chanting “Let’s go, Brandon” in support of the guy she was interviewing, was kind of funny for its strangeness, especially since the reporter was clearly trying to cover up what was actually going on. But the crassness of chanted phrase, and the happy conservative recycling of “Brandon” and “FJB,” reflects a devolution in our discourse that, in my opinion, doesn’t help anyone. It’s crude and small-minded. It hurts our cause and further closes the ears of folks whose stances we don’t like.
Conservatives care deeply about the country and where it’s headed. Many of us are thoughtful and well-informed. Let’s put our brains to use in this desperate conversation and not talk as if the national stage were an episode of Donahue.
Published in Politics
I don’t make fun of Hillary’s pantsuits. I don’t even make fun of her for making $100,000 on a $1000 investment in cattle futures.
I make fun of her supporters for never asking themselves “if she could score $100,000 on a $1,000 nut, why didn’t she ever do it again?”
Maybe the “well-informed” part doesn’t apply to me, because I’m not sure what you mean here. I did expect clever jokes in response to the OP, though, and I suspect you may be delivering. ;-)
I think you may have fallen into a trap here regarding Hillary and Michelle. Neither are relevant to the current political situation and, to my mind, what anyone says about how they look or dress is no different than any other female celebrity and in this culture to be expected. (Also, I think the pantsuit controversy is no longer an issue. I only saw Harris wearing pantsuits.)
As to the vulgar language, unfortunately it is a sign of the times, and sometimes I wonder why a liberal cannot get through a single sentence without the fxxx word. I don’t hear that nearly as much on the conservative side so an acronym is in a sense ‘family friendly.’
It would be lovely if everyone followed the maxim, if you can’t say something nice … , restricted criticisms to policy matters, and used civilized language, but we are all human. Even conservatives.
Personally the vulgar language bothers me the most, and I will remind people talking to me to clean up their vocabulary. But when Hilary goes around wearing a bedspread, well that’s a little tougher.
Never mind me. I’m just old and I remember stuff.
It seems like I’ve seen a recent reference, maybe in the last couple of years to Hillarys pantsuits. And Michelle Obama was emerging as a possible contender for president in 2024. These things have been on my mind for a long time. Although we will never live in an ideal world, remarks like that have consequences. Discussing figures in fashion and pop culture is a little different.
Oh, and I think it’s perfectly fine to make fun of that kimono thingy.
I’m trying to think of the expression/quote, something about perfectly adequate women making terrible men when that’s what they try to do.
But not OK to make fun of the pantsuit thingy? Where is the line venturing beyond which is “mean” and “hurts our credibility”?
Credibility to whom?
One of the things I like least about the Left is their utter humorlessness. The ability to laugh at yourself is foundational to a sense of humor. Since they won’t do it, I volunteer for the job.
Robin Williams had a great line when someone showed up dressed in an unusual fashion: “Ooh, Sears had a sale!” When I saw that Hilary picture, I thought, “Ooh, Bed, Bath and Beyond had a sale!” On shower curtains, apparently.
Prediction: The first woman president will wear dresses, not pantsuits.
Can you imagine Margaret Thatcher or Golda Meir in a pantsuit? Me neither.
Part of the reaction vs HRC and Michelle was due to the fawning press coverage they received (vs say Melanie and Nancy Reagan). The Vogue covers with heavy airbrushing and near worshipping…..the adoration of the media was near blasphemy. The funny thing is Melanie didn’t need any airbrushing, yet they kept her off the covers. While criticizing First Ladies physical attributes is childish – the press certainly treated Democrat spouses much differently than Republican ones- and let’s be honest- Nancy, Barbara, Laura, and Melania are not only significantly more attractive than the average First Lady, they were also classy & elegant.
PS- if you don’t like HRC’s commodity investment, you won’t like Michelle’s employment record at Univ of Chicago either….
Why are they “suits” when men wear them and ‘pantsuits” when women do? If there’s a skirt as the bottom piece, why aren’t they called “skirtsuits”?
You mean the “leadership post” that didn’t exist until BarryO became a senator and ceased to exist when Michelle became First Lady? Her leadership was so good that the University of Chicago Hospitals had no more need of it.
Rush and Shanklin had parodies about Hillary’s pantsuits way back. Called them Mao suits, as I recall. It’s all part of being in the spotlight. And I think @mimac is on to something when he says it is part of the way the press reacted to them.
I love the “has information implicating Hillary Clinton” jokes. People associated with Hillary or Vlad Putin do seem to fall out of windows and commit suicide often. Are there any pictures of them in the same room together?
Comment of the day.
Adults? A mean 3rd grader can point at someone and say, “Ha-ha, you’re ugly.” For some conservatives, it seems to be important to run down the looks of female Democrats. Hit AOC all day long for her stupid policy proposals, but you’ve lost my attention when someone puts up an unflattering picture of her and says, “See? She’s not good-looking. She looks goofy!”
Must . . . resist . . . Hillary . . . picture search . . .
I had never read that detailed story. What a scam.
And still look statesman-like. Think Mrs Trump on State visits. Elizabeth whenever she left the house.
No, she wasn’t.
Chatter on twitter isn’t reality.
I put the question to some brokers I know. “How often does a thing like this happen? The consensus was “Approximately never.”
@gpentelie Good question. I had to think about that after I’d posted this comment. I was playing a bit, but also, it’s this: a heavy Eastern-looking garment worn for the public is far out of the norm. I don’t know that my first response would be to poke fun–I’d leave that to the experts–but I’d certainly have questions in my mind as to why she chose that. Did it befit the occasion? And if I think further on it, this seems to betray an avoidance of traditional Western women’s dress at all costs. An out there wardrobe choice like this does communicate that she is trying not to look like June Cleaver. And then my question becomes: what’s wrong with June Cleaver?
Honestly, it would be easy for me to have a double standard. Feel free to point it out when you see it. I got to thinking about my series of posts on categories of beauty. I don’t think I’ve done it yet–or maybe I have–but at some point, an actress or two renowned for stunning looks could be mentioned by me as being “attractive,” but not “beautiful.” And that I don’t see in her what others see. To me, this is analysis and not attack. EDIT to add: Actresses trade on their looks (and in my series, being simply “attractive” is not a bad thing, and can play very well on screen).
I don’t think it would come across as mean and petty if someone said, “Michelle Obama is not as amazingly beautiful as the press is making her out to be. And the hubbub around this is annoying, as we’ve had plenty of attractive first ladies that the press ignored.” Instead, some conservatives responded to the coverage by saying awful things about her, making cheap shots that I won’t repeat here.
precisely- six figure salary position created after a certain Senator arranged assistance for the University & then when he was elected president & Michelle resigned, the position was terminated.
Corruption, fraud. Did anyone in the MSM try to address it?
Well there are some pretty obvious style differences. I suppose one could just make the assumption depending on who is wearing one. Or maybe you’d prefer different names, such as “mansuits” or “womansuits?”
The public looking on who, at best, already have a caricature of Republicans and conservatives as good old boys who slap each other on the back and think up new ways to keep women in their place and funnel more money to corporations. Fresh, solid takes on issues might get the attention of a few of these onlookers–or at least show that conservatives have well-developed ideas, while harsh personal remarks makes it look like we have little to add to the conversation. Even if the Republican image continues to be unjustly skewered (and it will be), we don’t need to stoop to using bad language. Civility won’t always work, but crass words will be even less effective.
At some point, the hype of anything becomes self-parodying.