And Then There Were None

The 2020 presidential field started out as the most diverse in history in terms of gender, race, and sexual orientation.

Six women were among them, four of whom had solid political chops. One by one they dropped out.

And we are now left with two white male septuagenarians running for president. 

Despite the fact that women make up a majority of the population, we are still in the grip of a misogynistic, racist society, exacerbated by Donald tRump, another septuagenarian, and his minions.

We were excited when Hillary Clinton was nominated and stood her ground despite relentless bullying from tRump and the last-minute email debacle. I shed tears of happiness when I left the voting booth and tears of outrage when she lost the election despite winning the popular vote by almost 3 million votes.

We were delighted at the turnaround in the 2018 midterms when Democratic women took back the House in record numbers, while Republicans remained mired in their misogyny and continued stonewalling the Senate.

That misogyny is abundantly evident in the Republicans’ drive to restrict access to safe, legal abortion, whether it’s limiting the term or closing clinics; undermining social safety nets; and attempting to erase the Affordable Care Act. Two of those issues – doctors’ privileges in Louisiana abortion facilities and the legitimacy of the ACA – are now before the Supreme Court, which is stacked most recently with tRump sycophants.

But now that’s spilled over to the Democrats: After a crowded field that included six women, people of color, an Asian, a Latino, and a cadre of white males, of course. Latecomer billionaire Michael Bloomberg tossed a half a billion dollars into the election in an attempt to sway voters, as did Tom Steyer. And now we’re left with the two aforementioned septuagenarian men.

Zerlina Maxwell of SirusXM and an MSNBC commentator, said that Elizabeth Warren was the “literal woman that people would support if she ran. She did run with other women and we rejected them one by one for different reasons, but fundamentally because we can’t see a woman president until we see a woman president… It’s sexist.” 

Another commentator said that people just can’t handle an intelligent, politically savvy woman. Warren was all that and more. She took down Michael Bloomberg and his big bucks in a single breath. She could have taken down tRump, who proceeded to tweet his usual insults after her withdrawal.

What the hell are people afraid of? Has the dumbing down of society as evidenced by the likes of Marriage Bootcamp and Love After Lockup, so poisoned us that we fail to recognize competence and hope for fixing tRump’s travesties when she’s standing right in front of you in black slacks and a bright jacket?

Well, pundits figure that we can choose a woman as vice president, a runner-up, something that Warren rejected during her interview with Rachel Maddow. Why not president?

Just pat her on the head and throw her a bone and that will satisfy those uppity feminists. 

Warren was optimistic about the future and encouraged the “pinkie promise” with little girls: “I’m running for president because that’s what girls do,” as they entwine their little fingers.

The irony of Warren’s decision is not lost, given that it’s on the heels of the death of Rosalind Water a/k/a Rosie the Riveter (“You can do it!) and International Women’s Day.

“Not THAT woman” was the excuse used for rejecting Hillary Clinton. Well, America, you had four women senators to choose from – all of whom are light years ahead of tRump.

And you blew it. Shame on you.