Only a few hours remain for Hillary Clinton to pull out a victory in Tuesday’s New Hampshire presidential primary. If polling is to be believed, she has gone from a seven percentage point lead over Bernie Sanders in November to a 13-percentage point deficit now. And after a virtual tie in last week’s Iowa caucuses, Clinton is feeling the pressure.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton are seen during a campaign stop in Manchester, NH Feb. 8, 2016. (Reuters)
Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for his wife over the weekend, targeting Sanders for being loose with facts and accusing Sanders supporters of conducting sexist attacks.
It is among women — especially younger women — where Clinton is struggling against Sanders in New Hampshire. To that end, feminist Gloria Steinem and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright — rallied to Clinton’s defense with controversial comments.
New Hampshire voters regard themselves as fiercely independent and serious about their role as the first to vote in the presidential primary elections. Despite a snowstorm that is blanketing the state, it is heating up for the two Democrats who want to be the next President of the United States.
Hillary Battles Bernie Sanders, Chick Magnet
Maureen Dowd – The New York Times
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (L) introduces Hillary Clinton in Concord, New Hampshire Feb. 6, 2016. REUTERS
Hillary Clinton first grabbed the national spotlight 47 years ago as an idealistic young feminist, chiding the paternalistic establishment in her Wellesley commencement speech.
So it’s passing strange to watch her here, getting rebuffed by young women who believe that she lacks idealism, that she overplays her feminist hand and that she is the paternalistic establishment….
In the MSNBC debate on Thursday night, Hillary huffily said she could not be an exemplar of the establishment, as Sanders suggested, because she’s “a woman running to be the first woman president.”
But she is establishment.
The Sexist Double Standard Behind Why Millennials Love Bernie Sanders
Catherine Rampell – The Washington Post
Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, speaks during a campaign stop at Great Bay Community College, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. AP
It is precisely Sanders’s au-naturel-ness that endears him to his young fans: his unkempt hair, his ill-fitting suits, his unpolished Brooklyn accent, his propensity to yell and wave his hands maniacally. Sanders, it appears, woke up like this.
These qualities are what make him seem “authentic,” “sincere” even — especially when contrasted with Clinton’s hyper-scriptedness. Sanders, unlike Clinton, doesn’t give a damn if he’s camera-ready….
Female politicians — at least if they want to be taken seriously on a national stage — cannot be unkempt and unfiltered, hair mussed and voice raised. They have to be carefully coifed and scripted at all times, because they have to hew as closely as possible to the bounds of propriety available to both their sex and their occupation.
Why Young Democrats Love Sanders and Really Don’t Like Clinton
David Lightman – McClatchy DC
Young voters see Clinton as part of another era. She’s been in the national spotlight 24 years, before most young people were born. “She’s been there their entire life, and she’s yesterday’s news,” said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. “But no one knew who Bernie Sanders was until recently.”
In Sanders they see someone who stubbornly follows his own path. He pitches higher taxes and universal health care, initiatives long derided as woefully incompatible with Washington’s incremental, cautious ways of proceeding. He won’t take corporate contributions, and unapologetically promotes himself as a democratic socialist…
Sanders also has a huge weapon that helps endear him to young voters – his plan to make public colleges and universities tuition free.
Supporters hold signs as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign stop in Portsmouth, N.H. on Feb. 7, 2016. (AP)
Should Feminists Feel Ashamed for Supporting Bernie Sanders?
Cathaleen Chen – The Christian Science Monitor
For Boomer-era feminists such as Albright and Steinem, Clinton is a symbol of the ultimate prize at the end of a very long fight: the first – and for many, the only – qualified female candidate for presidency.
“For baby boomer women, in particular, it’s ‘I fought this whole war, and now we’re running out of time, and if not Hillary, then who would it be?’ ” Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster, told The New York Times in December.
But for younger women, most of whom identify as feminists, Clinton’s gender does not seem to make a difference. A generational tendency to participate less in collective politics and an intersectional focus on equality for all have pushed them towards Sanders’ socialist camp.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads a campaign rally in Nashua, New Hampshire on Feb. 2, 2016. (Reuters)