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Clinton's under-appreciated progressive credentials

Posted: Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 11:11 AM EST - Item ID: 63

Just as Sanders made economic inequality his signature issue, Clinton has long focused on gender equality, championing equal pay, making women's rights a goal of US foreign policy, and campaigning for access to abortion and contraception.

While Sanders shares her views on gender equality, Clinton has been a leader on the issue. Plus, there is obvious symbolic power in choosing a female candidate. In 2008, casting a vote for Barack Obama was seen as a symbolic chance to oppose racism. Clinton's candidacy marks a similar opportunity to address sexism.

That is is far from irrelevant in a country where 100% of past presidents and 80% of US corporate directors, 88% of film protagonists and 83% of senators are male. And for those who believe sexism is no longer an issue, there's plenty of evidence to the contrary: The gender pay gap, the shocking underrepresentation of women in positions of leadership, and the criminal justice system that struggles to address rape and domestic violence (two crimes that affect women more than men).

Feminism is supposedly part of the progressive agenda so much so that a Suffragette movie trailer was the first commercial aired during the recent Democratic debate. So why doesn't Clinton generate the same level of emotional outpouring and fervent support as Obama in 2008 and Sanders today? One uncomfortable answer is that insidious sexism leaves even self-described progressives reluctant to champion Clinton and the fight for gender equality.

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