April 10, 2008
Elton: Hillary "Still Standing," Despite America's Misogyny
Photo via WireImage
Are Americans misogynistic? Elton John thinks so, and he thinks it may be hurting his friend Hillary's shot at the Oval Office. He addressed the problem to over 5,000 Clinton supporters at Radio City Musical Hall last night, saying, “I’ve always been a Hillary supporter. There is no-one more qualified to lead America. I’m amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country. And I say to hell with them... I love you Hillary. I’ll be there for you.”
Elton continued the love-fest, saying of the Clinton family, "They are true, loyal friends, I love them dearly, and Hillary should be the next President of the United States." Hillary punned it up by adding, "I think all of us can conclude the answer to the following question, 'Can you feel the love tonight?'".
The event, billed as "Elton-Hillary: One Night Only," raised $2.5 million for Clinton's campaign -- with ticket prices ranging from $125 to $2,300 (some video of Hillary from the night can be seen here). The audience at the "cash bash," which lacked bold faced names, were treated to a 2-hour Elton show along with all the backpatting.
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That's swell. Now if only she could get that kind of endorsement from someone registered to vote.
J knows that the best way to get votes is to insult people.
He's right about the misogyny. I will never forget the concert organized by Paul McCartney after 9/11 for the firemen and policemen. It was a benefit for all these men -- and they BOOED her when she was introduced! What had she ever done to deserve it?? It was the most ungracious, ungrateful reception ever. Never mind that she went on to capture mega$ for them and the recovery of the city from the feds. It cemented my loyalty and admiration.
I’m amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country.
Maybe many people just don't like her policies or her abrasive attitude? If a woman like Madeline Albright were running for president, she'd have my vote before any other recent candidate of record.
There's something about her that many people just don't like, and I'm not sure that it's based upon gender for all of them.
Whatever. I would not be a mysogynist for voting for Barack nor would I be a racist if I voted for Hillary. Further, I would not be both if I voted for McCain!
Wah, wah... now Hillary's a victim because of her sex? Yeah, that's the reason.... Cry me a river....
"He's right about the misogyny. I will never forget the concert organized by Paul McCartney after 9/11 for the firemen and policemen. It was a benefit for all these men -- and they BOOED her when she was introduced!"
It didn't show much class to boo her, but honestly, misogyny? Can you think of many other women, let alone women in politics, who would have received that kind of reception? Libby Dole? Nancy Pelosi?
Great. First the race card and now the gender card. I guess white boys like me should just forget all manner of doing anything so that we're not labeled as some kind of hater by the group we supposedly aren't supporting because of that group's gender/race/ethnicity/sexual orientation/blah blah blah.
Also, someone needs to put a cock in that queen's mouth and shut him up.
While I do not deny that Hillary Clinton grates on people's nerves for a variety of reasons, to claim that a lot of complaints about and attacks on her haven't taken a distinctly misogynistic bent is... I'll be kind and call it "naive". I'm not a Clinton supporter--I didn't vote for her in the primary, and I'm not disappointed that there's pretty much no way she's getting the Democratic nomination--but whether it's HRC specifically or women in power in general that get(s) people so riled up, there's been a lot of free-floating misogyny during, and even before, this campaign season.
According to that Daily News article, she's had support from Elvis Costello as well. If only she could get some Americans on her side...
Did I read that correctly? Did they just criminalize monogamy?
If Hillary's only problem was woman-hate, she might have had a chance. Misogyny is a genuine issue. But being a misanthropic, lying, warmonger has probably hurt her more than her gender.
funny how elton john talks about misogyny when he pens a song called "the bitch is back"
"whether it's HRC specifically or women in power in general that get(s) people so riled up, there's been a lot of free-floating misogyny during, and even before, this campaign season."
Is there mysogyny? Yes.
In politics? Absolutely.
Is it possible that some of the genesis of hatred for Hillary is related to some misogynistic tendencies? Sure.
But to explain the bulk of her public image on misogyny seems misplaced. I reiterate my point above -- I can't think off the top of my head of any other major female politicians who get the kind of ire that Hillary gets, the ire that some people subscribe to misogyny. Pelosi doesn't. Condi Rice doesn't. Barbara Boxer, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Libby Dole, Mary Landrieu, Olympia Snowe -- I just don't see it.
Maybe they would get the same kind of crap if they had the spotlight to the degree Hillary does. But I think what's unique about Hillary, and the more likely explanation, is that she is amazingly tone-deaf and has a real problem with being straightforward.
I didn't say that it was the cause of the bulk of her public image problem. I was responding to the comments that were pretending it's not an issue at all. Even people who probably have other reasons for disliking and/or distrusting her have a tendency to couch their criticism in misogynistic language. It's disgusting and unacceptable.
And, incidentally, whenever the women you've listed do something specific to upset people, the criticisms of them tend to go the same way. They just don't face the same kind of ire on a daily basis that Clinton does. (Just as an example, after Condi Rice made some mildly approving comments about Obama's speech on race, I saw one comment dismissing her by saying that "she has bad teeth and no boobs".)
Men yell "Iron my shirts" at Hillary. We don't hear whites yelling "Shine my shoes!" at Barak. And I can't even think of the equivalent deliberately demeaning thing one could say to McCain or a white male.
Why don't other political women receive the same treatment? Because they haven't been out front like Hillary.
She may be disliked for many other legitimate reasons. But that does not make it alright to put her down in ways that demean all women (and men in the process).
Right, and voting the black girl off American Idol was racist.
Stick to singing, Elton.
I think a lot of Americans, men and women, don't want a woman (Hillary) to exhibit traits we normally view as positive attributes in men.
Aside to bxbrian, Madeline Albright can't run for president.
#13- It was penned by Bernie Taupin, whose then-wife inadvertently named the song after witnessing Elton throwing a hissy fit. She commented to Bernie, "..the bitch is back". He wrote the song based around that.
My goodness, MJG, you're right!
I felt like I knew she was Czech--must have forgotten.
Well there goes that bright idea. Unless she can find a way to run with Schwarzenegger.
Is her campaign in shambles because of misogyny? Is her litany of lies, because of misogyny? When she doesn't pay her campaign's vendors, is it because she's a woman? I'm a woman, and I say bullshit.
Hillary Clinton can't even run a campaign, let alone a country. Her "experience" is primarily that of her husband. She voted for a war, without taking the trouble to read 90 pages of intelligence.
There are capable, competent women who can and will ultimately run this country. She is not one of them. She is not entitled to the presidency, as she seemed to believe, and thinks 'the fun part' of running for it is the mud-slinging.
You women who believe she's a victim, are victims of your own imaginations. Misogyny exists, but it has little to do with why your Goldwater Girl is losing. She is losing because she should lose.
Geez- Elston John is a 'singer'- right?!
I can't fathom WHY someone like this would want to jeopardize his standing by alienating, say, half of his following, by mis-using his celebrity and getting involved in a public display of his politics!
While I'm sure Mr. John is intelligent- he's just not very smart! Stick to being a good singer!
Jesse Califano
fag hag.
I'm a female Obama supporter and I don't support Hillary because of her past policy decisions, but misogyny is still a huge issue world wide and especially in the U.S. There are people who don't support her solely on the fact that she's female and, sadly, it doesn't surprise me. Women make less money then men do, are criticized more often for beign assertive or over weight, and our constitution still hasn't been amended to guarantee equal rights to women.
I'm a female Obama supporter and I don't support Hillary because of her past policy decisions, but misogyny is still a huge issue world wide and especially in the U.S. There are people who don't support her solely on the fact that she's female and, sadly, it doesn't surprise me. Women make less money then men do, are criticized more often for beign assertive or over weight, and our constitution still hasn't been amended to guarantee equal rights to women.
My (female) view:
FIRST: Re that 9/11 concert -- Hillary was NOT booed due to misogyny. She was booed because the concert was just 5 weeks after 9/11; it was an emotional, family/cathartic sort of gathering; and they didn't want it to be "used" by anyone, especially politicians. (Hillary's presidential ambitions were in the air, so her appearance was doubly suspect.) In after-event comments, Hillary claimed that she understood this.
Considering the timing and nature of the event, it was the _politicians' (and other guests')_ job to be "gracious."
And it's hard to see how these folks were "ungrateful": The 9/11 funding came through _after_ the concert; was backed by both NY senators; and as an elected NY rep, Hill would have been remiss if she _didn't_ push it.
SECOND: I'm getting sick of Hill's sexism claims and posing as Ms Victim-of-the-Boys.
Most other women I know (that's a lot) aren't pro-Hill, though most are in her alleged feminist/Democrat/Boomer/white/age demographic. Some reasons:
-- They don't trust her; don't think she's qualified; resent the implication that women MUST vote for her, and her invocation of "feminism" while riding on her husband's coattails; or know that Bill will be answering that 3 am phone.
-- Some dislike her campaign's now-chronic complaints: states/caucuses don't count, the primary system isn't fair (though Bill won 2x), she's a victim of sexism, she's a poor gal who's being outspent by Snidely Whiplash (ignoring her wealth, and the fact that most of Obama's $ comes from small-time donors).
-- Others were turned off at the get-go by her campaign's non-theme, or "me-ism." Slogans like "Help Make History" and "America Needs Hillary" implied that voters "owed" her, and that our only purpose and highest ideal was to put HRC in her rightful place.
-- Some were leaning toward HRC, or were neutral ... until they noted too many HRC-campaign misspeaks, mis-claims, or alternate realities, or got sick of the perma-attack mode.
-- And others are turned off by her increasing hard-sell to women, which frames this as a Girls vs. Boys campaign. Instead of being fact/policy-focused, too many women have ended up projecting their therapy issues onto HRC.
The result is that too many of them sound cultish, or use Hillary as a proxy for themselves: "Obama is mean because ..." or "I know how HRC must feel, since ..." or "Her childhood/mom/marriage reminds me of mine ..." or "They're picking on her, because ..." There's a surfeit of fan-club-ism, like "She is the most wonderful, brilliant ... (etc)" and "if only people knew how warm and witty she can be ..." Or their talk and posts are 99.9% anti-Obama junk, often spreading some verbatim slam/innunendo-of-the day.
It's like middle-school gossip or "American Idol," and gets awfully wearing.
So HRC's big problem isn't sexism. She had negative non-gender-related issues from the start, but also had advantages -- which her badly-run campaign screwed up by being tone-deaf, ignoring the obvious, and making "negativity" an organizing principle.