Perhaps ready to abandon him for President Hillary, feminists have come out of the woodwork to accuse President Obama of “sexist” behavior after committing the mortal sin of…calling a female senator by her first name.
Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren have been battling it out over the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, and liberals are lining up behind Warren and her populist arguments. In an interview with Yahoo Saturday, Obama said, “The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else. And you know, she’s got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that.”
The comments seem benign, but it was that pesky use of the senator’s first name that rankled critics. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, was the first to suggest that Obama had crossed an invisible line. “I think the president was disrespectful to her about the way he did that,” Brown said Tuesday. “I think the president has made this more personal than he needed to.”
Brown’s criticism was echoed by Terry O’Neill, the president of the National Organization of Women. “I think it is sexist,” O’Neill told The Hill newspaper. “I think the president was trying to build up his own trustworthiness on this issue by convincing us that Senator Warren’s concerns are not to be taken seriously. But he did it in a sexist way.”
It’s not often this site finds a reason to defend President Obama, but seriously? Once you get past the visceral thrill of watching the lions eat their own, a dull headache remains when you realize we’re in for almost two years of this crap leading into the 2016 presidential election. The language police are armed and ready for battle, and they’re sharpening their knives on Obama before going on full-time Hillary Patrol. Sorry, Clinton Patrol.
This is the second time in less than a month that Obama has caused a liberal firestorm with his phrasing. After calling the Baltimore rioters a bunch of “thugs,” bleeding hearts were all over the news accusing him of using racist language. Many on the left have decided that “thugs” is just another version of the N-word. Surprisingly few commentators stopped to consider just how absurd it was to accuse Obama of racism.
These episodes afford us a terrifying glimpse into the future of American politics. Those in the public eye have been forced to watch their words for decades, but things are getting worse. When a liberal president can’t use words like “thugs” and “Elizabeth” without causing a minor controversy, how are prominent Republicans going to fare? Ideas and debates will be cast aside as we pick apart every term, every word, and every phrase they use, looking for “dog whistle” racism, hidden sexism, and all the other nonsense that passes for social justice. And the American people will eat it up, because it’s easier to digest this type of soap-opera drama than it is to evaluate complicated matters of policy.
Grab some popcorn. If this heralds the demise of our democracy, we may as well have a snack while it burns.
