When it comes to feminism, you think a bunch of over-educated, humorless, eeyores that ruin almost everything with some needless lecture about how x, y, or z is a construct of the so-called patriarchy. It’s a cornerstone of the liberal elite. And yet, there are a few voices that are sick of feminism’s intellectual torpor, the man hating, and the inability to create a coherent agenda. In fact, the same could be said for the Democratic Party as they prepare for the 2020 election. Camille Paglia is a feminist, a left-winger, and is not afraid to shoot inside the ship. For one thing, as a flurry of female candidate announce their 2020 ambitions, the first being Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Paglia trashed Warren and virtually the entire 2020 Democratic field before they even made their intentions known.
In early December, Spectator USA did an interview with Paglia, where she said that Warren “doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell” to appeal beyond the urban and professional elites that dominate the Democratic Party. In other words, she won’t be able to beat Trump. She also felt that until the Democratic Party comes up with an agenda and a message that doesn’t center on humiliating and denigrating half the country, they’re going to be stuck in neutral:
You’ve been a sharp political prognosticator over the years. So can I start by asking for a prediction. What will happen in 2020 in America? Will Hillary Clinton run again?
If the economy continues strong, Trump will be reelected. The Democrats (my party) have been in chaos since the 2016 election and have no coherent message except Trump hatred. Despite the vast pack of potential candidates, no one yet seems to have the edge. I had high hopes for Kamala Harris, but she missed a huge opportunity to play a moderating, statesmanlike role and has already imprinted an image of herself as a ruthless inquisitor that will make it hard for her to pull voters across party lines.
Screechy Elizabeth Warren has never had a snowball’s chance in hell to appeal beyond upper-middle-class professionals of her glossy stripe. Kirsten Gillibrand is a wobbly mediocrity. Cory Booker has all the gravitas of a cork. Andrew Cuomo is a yapping puppy with a long, muddy bullyboy tail. Both Bernie Sanders (for whom I voted in the 2016 primaries) and Joe Biden (who would have won the election had Obama not cut him off at the knees) are way too old and creaky.
To win in the nation’s broad midsection, the Democratic nominee will need to project steadiness, substance, and warmth. I’ve been looking at Congresswoman Cheri Bustos of Illinois and Governor Steve Bullock of Montana. As for Hillary, she’s pretty much damaged goods, but her perpetual, sniping, pity-me tour shows no signs of abating. She still has a rabidly loyal following, but it’s hard to imagine her winning the nomination again, with her iron grip on the Democratic National Committee now gone. Still, it’s in her best interest to keep the speculation fires burning. Given how thoroughly she has already sabotaged the rising candidates by hogging the media spotlight, I suspect she wants Trump to win again. I don’t see our stumbling, hacking, shop-worn Evita yielding the spotlight willingly to any younger gal.
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Most Democrats have wildly underestimated Trump from the get-go. I was certainly surprised at how easily he mowed down 17 other candidates in the GOP primaries. He represents widespread popular dissatisfaction with politics as usual. Both major US parties are in turmoil and metamorphosis, as their various factions war and realign. The mainstream media’s nonstop assault on Trump has certainly backfired by cementing his outsider status. He is basically a pragmatic deal-maker, indifferent to ideology. As with Bolsonaro in Brazil, Trump rose because of decades of failure by the political establishment to address urgent systemic problems, including corruption at high levels. Democrats must hammer out their own image and agenda and stop self-destructively insulting half the electorate by treating Trump like Satan.
So, Paglia just decapitated the core of the 2020 field. Still, let’s not get comfortable; we can’t ever become complacent. The Left is gunning for the president. Sanders and Biden, while they may be “old and creaky” could siphon some critical white working class support in areas that Trump has to maximize turnout in throughout the Rust Belt. We’re many, many months away until Election 2020. It’s too early to make definite calls, but the field, so far, looks like it’s going to be more liberal and more insane than ever.
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