Is the Democratic Party too “Feminine?”
From the notion that the party of liberals who have been accused of being ‘coastal elites’ comes a new cry or lament that has been circulating. It’s been older white males, mainly, who have dared to utter this out loud, but it’s been said enough to become a legitimate issue or talking point. I had an older white male voice this opinion to me recently, and James Carville, the Democratic strategist, has also lamented about this.
The argument is this: The Democratic Party has been seen as a party that caters mostly to females. It’s too feminine or feminist, depending on your point of view. And that means that those who are given a permission slip may just leave the party and join a more ‘balanced’ approach to the masculine Yin and Yang view of life with the GOP?
The Theory of the Case
It seems that the emphasis on so-called ‘women’s issues;’ that deal with home life and families and pregnancy and birth-control are all too feminine for many to swallow. They prefer a more balanced look at the problem of reproductive rights with the GOP asserting that there is no reason for alarm.
Abortion bans are not really happening and birth control is not under threat. And these are the same people who said that Roe would not be overturned.
A Reason to take exception to the Feminist Assertion
There are plenty of things that can be said about the Democratic party. They cater to their base of liberal elites at times to the point that common sense goes out the window. One case in point was in Senator Al Franken’s forced removal from the party because he made a joke on an airplane and it offended women. So that was reason to just let a great voice for progressive issues simply to be shown the door!?
And the fact that while the GOP has taken the gun to a knife fight from the time of the Southern Strategy, where they play hardball the Dems usually play by Marquis of Queensbury rules and end up shocked and deeply saddened when they lose elections. They write stern letters to the Supreme Court justices instead of airing one-hour programming on friendly networks and online that tell the nation what is wrong with the Supreme Court!
There are plenty of problems with the Democratic Party’s approach to politics and governing. But to sum it up by saying they are ‘too feminine’ is almost laughable. Women are the ones laughing at this, because it’s like saying that we need to balance things out because women have had their way for too long now.
Since the voting rights were given to women way back in 1920, and the USA was NOT the first country to allow women the right to vote, it seems over the top to say that women have just dominated political life for too long now.
About those “Women’s Issues’ in the Election!
There is a point to concede that women’s issues are front and center in the coming Election. But it’s also fair to add that women’s issues are family issues and men should also be champions of women’s rights. Their daughters and their wives have equal say in this country. And family planning is not just a woman’s issue. Men should have a role in the debate about IVF and about birth control. It’s not such a feminist issue to deal with unplanned pregnancies or to want to save the life of a mother when a pregnancy suddenly becomes unviable.
It is a medical issue and it’s also a human rights issue. It’s about freedoms and about what type of country we want to live in. If we want to turn into an autocracy or a fascist state with ‘Papers Please’ laws about leaving your own state, then we have moved into the realm of the absurd when simply dismissing the abortion rights fight as a ‘woman’s issue.’
Women can be feminists but they are also citizens and voters and workers and human beings. They make up one-half of the voting electorate also. No, the Democrats are not too ‘feminine’ or feminist or simply not masculine enough. The Democrats, and hopefully Independent voters and some non-MAGA Republicans, are more interested in protecting the freedoms and rights for future generations than they are in playing semantic word games or becoming obsessed with labels. Labels that are thrown out come from some who, in many cases, do not have a clue about what they are talking about!
