“She’s Was Not the Right Woman!” Shut Up!

I am still upset about the sexism in the presidential election. I will never get over it. I imagine on my death bed, my last words will be: “Clinton was unlikable? But Trump was despicable. She had baggage? He had entire storage spaces full. She was the most qualified. He was the most unqualified. He got a pass for everything. She got a pass for nothing! Don’t tell me that being a woman had nothing to do with it! Okay, I’m ready to meet my maker.”

During the election, it was not just the signs at rallies and posts from Trump backers and let’s face it, sadly some Sanders supporters, that had the c-word written all over them. There was subtle sexism too. This one still gets to me: “I do want a woman president. But I want the right woman. And she is not the right woman.” As if we’ve always had the right man. Yes, Rutherford B. Hayes was the right man. “Everyone stop. Look no further. We’ve got Franklin Pierce. He’s the one.”

Let me get this straight. Conveniently, when a woman is the front runner, we now need the exact right person? Suddenly, that’s the criteria? We have never had that standard before.

So you’re saying: “If it’s the unqualified Trump, so be it. But I will not be responsible for putting in … the wrong woman! My conscience will not allow it.” “Well, is Trump the right man?” “You don’t seem to be following. It doesn’t matter if it’s the right man. It matters if it’s the right WO-man.”

Maybe these people could hear how obnoxious they sound if they substituted the word “woman” with something else. They should try: “I want an Asian. But I want the right Asian. He’s not the right Asian. Oh yea, I do sound like a tool.”

Then there was the famous Elizabeth Warren defense. “It’s not about gender. I would totally support Elizabeth Warren.” Congratulations on finding precisely one woman on the face of the entire planet whom you deem worthy and who just may meet the threshold of someone like Michael Dukakis. Get your honorary woman’s badge on the way out.

To those who say, “It’s not about gender, I respect Elizabeth Warren more than anyone,” I have one question: Then why didn’t you listen to the woman you respect most when Warren begged you for five months to support Clinton? “Because I don’t listen to that hag. ‘Vote for Hillary. Vote for Hillary!’ What does Liz Warren know?” Okay, I didn’t hear people say that. The point is: They won’t even listen to the woman they worship, even when she pleads.

It makes me wonder, if Warren is the front runner in 2020, which other woman who is not running will they claim they support?

What I want most of all is for people to admit it’s more difficult for a woman to become president. Just say it. Instead, people deny it. And it drives me crazy — clearly.

When people talk about 2020, I hear the same people who insist it’s not harder for a woman also say that we need to play it safe with a nominee. Then the examples they give are always white men. So, what they’re really saying is, “It’s not harder for a woman. It’s just next time we can’t try a woman. It’s too hard.”