Judging from the comments I read both at the original post and at the Facebook pages where this article was linked, I think I speak for all the Homegirls and Homeboys when I say, resignedly, that I really did not expect better. In fact, the Team HIllary Clinton Facebook denizens can attest that exactly a month ago, I warned that something like this would happen. Am I shocked? No. Does that make this easier to swallow? Absolutely not. It is patently outrageous, predictable as it was.
The History
Although she claims to have been a Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter, in the past year we have seen a few articles and comments from Tina Brown that ring odd coming from a self-proclaimed admirer. In summer of last year, for example she published her much circulated article Hillary, Take Off Your Burqa , AKA Obama’s Other Wife. in which she suggested that Obama was keeping Hillary in the shadows, eclipsing her, as it were, and that for sundry reasons that amounted to left-handed compliments to our Homegirl, he should let her take off her burqa. A link to The Daily Beast article by Brown appears in this post: Mean Season at the All-Star Break.
Almost a month later, in the midst of a taxing two-week tour of Africa, Hillary briefy lashed out at a question during a Townterview. She understood the question to have been about her husband’s opinion. Truth be told, many of us Homegirls actually enjoyed the little outburst. She was awesome. Tina Brown was later known to comment that Hillary was “…hot, feeling fat, and needed to go to the gym.” Many of us agree that Hillary is hot, but not the way Brown meant it. Commenting about her body, however, and what she arguably might or might not need to do was way out of line. Again, we wary Homefolks wondered about Brown’s supposed support of HRC as well as her agenda.
A month ago, Hillary generously and graciously, on a Friday night after a long, typically busy week, provided introductory remarks at Tina Brown’s Women in the World Summit’s reading of the play Seven. You can see the text here: Hillary Rodham Clinton: Remarks At the Women In The World Summit. You can also watch the videos here: Video: Secretary Clinton Introducing the play “Seven” at the Women in the World Summit 03.12.2010.
At the time I posted these, I alerted the Home boys and girls at Team Hillary Clinton that Tina Brown merited watching. Hillary did her a big favor despite the snipes Brown had taken at her. Sure enough, today a Homegirl and Team member posted a link to an article in The Daily Beast that frivolously asks Are Power Pantsuits the Solution? by Kate Betts
Solution? Is there a problem? Doesn’t look like it to me!
Now granted Brown did not write this piece of frivolous, opinionated trash, but The Daily Beast is hers, falls under her oversight, and, as we see it, she should have killed this post. Furthermore, she should never allow another article of this nature at her blog given the lovely gesture Hillary made for her just last month.
The criticism is lodged at Hillary’s style. This outfit evidently inspired it, pantsuit AND shoes.
Now I thought she rocked this look SO beautifully that I posted all the pictures I could find on Sunday here: Photos of Hillary Clinton’s Sunny Sunday in D.C. To find it savaged so thoroughly at a site belonging to someone Hillary had actually graced with her time and presence is an outrage. It is not a shock. I fully expected something like this, but the ungrateful conduct is contemptible.
To compare Hillary to Michelle Obama is apples and oranges. To compare her unfavorably to Nancy Pelosi? Ridiculous!
I REST MY CASE!
I sense envy, the green monster. Hillary Clinton puts herself together artfully, meticulously, and her natural beauty would allow her to get away with much less, but she goes the extra mile and always looks exquisite. So, Tina, call your dogs off! Here’s what we know – when Hillary hears the dogs barking, she keeps going! And so will we! Until you cease and desist in your underhanded campaign against an angel in service to her country. Her hard work alone should cause you shame in having allowed this article to be posted. Her personal favor to you? You, Madam, are an envious, wretched ingrate! (You wish you looked that gorgeous! Not to mention the brain. You would envy her sense of decency if you had any ethics.)
Some content on this page was disabled on January 28, 2020 as a result of a DMCA takedown notice from Nigel Parry. You can learn more about the DMCA here:
Tina Brown is simply following the cultural dictates passed down in history by the conventional wisdom: Males are the cultural judges; females are the cultural monitors who see that the male judgments are followed.
Any time the politicos and pundits suggest other avenues for Hillary to travel (i.e., Supreme Court), it follows that women begin to criticize Hillary for her clothing, appearance, etc.
This well-established pattern tells us that Hillary is highly effective and scaring the boots off the conventional wisdom crowd.
Mark my words: This may be just the beginning of the “Hillary is too dangerous” movement but she will survive and thrive.
LikeLike
The Daily Beast goes dumpster-diving all the time because they like to generate headlines that will be picked up by other media outlets.
Honestly, I am beginning to think they aren’t even worth all the trouble people are putting into rebutting them, myself included (in the past with Tina Brown’s Burqa articles, among others). They want to stir the pot- it’s getting near an election and red meat will be tossed everywhere to see who will go after the bait. Better to focus on the hard SUBSTANTIVE work that HRC is doing. If some people don’t like her clothes, so what? A lot of people do and we are clearly among those. But I think this is largely a distraction. As Julia indicated above, timing is everything and we’ve seen Hillary floated as a potential SCOTUS justice (that rumor just won’t die thanks to the GOP) and also huge diplomatic victories on a variety of fronts- some anti-Hillary folks don’t want to focus on that. I think we do Hillary a world of good by focusing on substance as opposed to the pettiness of the Daily Beast.
I’ve been watching Tina Brown since the beginning and have written about what she’s been up to (including her supposed forthcoming Hillary book) on my blog and also for Blog Critics. She likes to stir the pot but she’s not doing anyone, including Hillary, any favors. And the less traffic we give them over there, the better.
LikeLike
Well, my other blogs focus on her work and substance. This is a defense blog begun because people were attacking Hillary. That’s why it is here. What Brown may have done before March 12 is one thing. To allow this trash to appear after Hillary did her a favor is something else. I cannot sit still for that.
LikeLike
Haven’t I seen this all before? Criticism for nonsense like what she wears, all the sniping? Wait long enough and the tried and true “Bill and Hillary are days from divorce” rumor will show up again. Probably right around their daughter’s wedding. Yawn.
That all said, reading that article was almost laughable. This person, Kate Betts, who wants me to take her seriously no doubt, is actually advocating for our 62 year-old Secretary of State to dress like a 20 year-old socialite to every function?! A minidress? Seven inch platform stilettos? Is she supposed to be conducting bilateral meetings or going to a club? Why is it such a bad thing to acknowledge that an 18 year-old and a 62 year-old, even if they are the same size, will look different in the same outfit? It’s just life, that’s all.
A now to my last beef with this article. To compare Michelle Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi does none of them any favors. According to Wikipedia, Michelle Obama is 46, Hillary Clinton is 62, and Nancy Pelosi just turned 70 a couple weeks ago. If Wikipedia is correct, there is 24 years separating the youngest from the oldest – nearly my entire life – so what would make Ms. Betts, who I still assume wants to be viewed as some sort of fashion authority, expect these three women to have the same runway-centric style when their ages and body types are so different. Michelle Obama is very tall and can carry off things that the other, more petite ladies would have difficulty with. Even though their ages are closer, you’d never mistake Hillary Clinton for Nancy Pelosi or visa-versa – they have much different figures and there’s eight years between them. Each of these three women dress well for their respective ages (not at all a bad thing, BTW) and wear clothes that play up their strength while minimizing what they see to be their physical flaws.
Secretary Clinton dresses in a manner befitting her age and professional position with an eye toward practicality. Pumps are boring, fine, but they are good for those 60+ hour work weeks. Occasionally, her stylists will make a mistake with her outfits – color or fabric or whatnot – but the overall look works for her, I think, and she seems to be comfortable with it. No, I don’t feel the world is any worse off because Hillary Rodham Clinton won’t wear skirts or spiky heels. It also bears mentioning that, given the cultural differences the Secretary of State has to deal with on a daily basis, those predictable, much laughed about pantsuits are probably a good choice. We wouldn’t want her skirt length causing an international incident, would we?
Thumbs down for the Daily B(ea)S(t).
LikeLike
Well said! Government is not a fashion show.
LikeLike
suit yourself
LikeLike
Addressing the mission and reason – not about me, At this site, nobody gets away with a Hillary attack if I know about it. Not a suit – a purpose.
LikeLike
Hillary does not dress like a teen for a very good reason: No one would take her seriously!
I have known Hillary since 1976 and have watched her grow into a perfectly groomed and attired woman of wisdom. Anyone who says otherwise has a problem….Hillary certainly does not have a problem!
LikeLike
Wow, Julia! I would have met her in Haiti in 1975 had it not been that I went to FL for Christmas w/ family to fulfill my obligatory 3-year visit in the U.S. So I didn’t know anything about her until Bill’s 1st POTUS campaign.
LikeLike
Her male counterparts seem to love what she wears. Being jealous and envy are so ugly.
LikeLike
She always looks beautiful and professional. Everyone has a style. This is hers. She rocks it!
(Hi jillforhill!)
LikeLike
Hi!
As soon as her poll numbers go up the knives come out. Drudge had a picture of Hillary and made it seem like she was drinking and maybe tipsy. The picture was from the primaries after a victory. She did not even have the beer in her hand. She is still a threat to the rethugs.
LikeLike
Well I think it is good for the DNC to see the inferred threat. OTOH – some are still drunk on kool-aid since they think Obama fashioned all these nuke accords that Hillary engineered. And you know Hillary. She’s just glad the nukes are under control and blows off the issue of who gets credit.
LikeLike
I am so glad you wrote this piece. I was horrifed when I saw Bett’s childish, make that infantile, piece. I immediately made a commitment to remove DB from my dailly reading list and never link to that site again, and I will continuously encourage all of my readers to do the same.
Allowing a post clearly aimed at achieving no purpose except to slam Hillary on the most trivial of subjects, and to allow it to be written by an obvious child who hasn’t got A Clue about the Real World, much less what it takes to be a professional in that Real World, was very telling for me. To even think of comparing Michelle Obama to this highly accomplished public servant not only sealed my suspicions, but was my last straw. I felt I was reading some sniping gossip column in a small college campus bi-monthly. This is just one more reason we shouldn’t let children pick Presidents.
I was initially surprised that the owner of DB allowed that off-the-wall piece of trash to be published……that is until I read your post. Now, I am not surprised at all.
LikeLike
Thank you. It’s the worst kind of sniping – today we call it friendly fire. In Viet Nam they called it “fragging.” (Added you to my blog roll – actually, I thought you had always been there.)
LikeLike
Uppity Woman knows what she speaks…Here is my two cents worth added to her wisdom:
This poor young woman, Kate Betts, has been deprived and short changed by her educators.
*Does she not know what the women of this country went through to make it possible for someone like her to write her opinion and be taken seriously?
*Does she not remember those suffragists protesting at the White House gates and being thrown into jail?
*Does she not remember what Hillary and Sarah Palin went through (and Martha Coakley, et al) within the last two years? You do not have to like any of these candidates yet experienced women know what these three (plus many more) women went through during the most sexist campaigns of all time.
Perhaps Miss Kate does not know all the above; maybe she does not care.
Frankly this is a shock to find Miss Kate’s article in The Daily Beast. Has everyone there forgotten the poll conducted in November 2008 by Penn, Schoen and Berland on behalf of the Daily Beast?
Has everyone at the Daily Beast forgotten that female poll respondents (on the DB’s poll!) saw the election of 2008 as indisputable proof of the biased way women are treated after 233 years of struggling to be heard?
A personal note to Miss Kate: Brush up on your history. You can start with this YouTube video….well….just go to http://www.juliahughesjones.com and click on Julia’s video….Maybe next time I write I will remember the address for the video!!!
LikeLike
WOW! Terrific response, Homegirl! You are spot-on! Woefully, it is partially the fault of educators (my gang). There appears to be (even from comments I hear from Hillary about young women) a false sense of equality. A sense that they can say, do, or be anything. That sense of confidence is fine, but you need to know what foundation it rests upon. That would be history.
Everybody knows what Santayana said.
“Those who have not learned from the past are destined to repeat it.” (There are many paraphrases)
Borges said “The past is indestructible. Sooner or later things turn up. One of the things that turns up is a plan to destroy the past.”
There are young women out there who blow off so much – even their right to vote! Yet they seem to feel invulnerable. One after another I have seen them go down the tubes with this attitude.
Two groups we need to get under the tent next time around: young women and the LGBT community. Hillary is in their corner. They need to know what corner to lay odds on.
LikeLike
When I say “educators” I am referring to society in general, not just teachers. In addition, book publishers have a role in this lack of attention to women’s history.
Unfortunately, this is just another sign that women’s inferiority is locked into the collective unconscious described by Jung.
A footnote to your comment: It is not simply the young women who do not know about false feminism. When I started researching a book on women’s history I discovered older women who do not know what false feminism is. One in particular has recently experienced the ramifications of being female in an economically depressed world; now she has her eyes open.
It is possible that Hillary did not recognize false feminism as applied to her until the 2008 election. Now she does and so do we all! Her work on behalf of the world’s women is a major step toward change.
By the way, here is the You Tube video link:
TheSecretLifeofWeeds.mov
LikeLike
Well 2008 uncovered a lot. When you refer to women’s inferiority as embedded in the collective unconscious, that would explain so much of what we saw. Some of what we witnessed was disguised as generational which is why I am not as optimistic about young women as Hillary is. I know they are confident, but I do not see what has changed in the world to support that confidence. On the other hand, I have this distaste or distrust for feminism as dogma. Hillary seems to have it right by making it policy based on stats.
Thanks for the video link.
LikeLike
Mrs Hillary, I remember your Democrat’battle to civil rights of Healtcare and also for child and women need, named “Hillarycare” : why Mrs Pelosi is now so stong and so importantin public opinion for healtcare ?
Thanks
LikeLike
Test
LikeLike
Wow, so it went through. Finally. wordpress has been eating up every comment I tried to leave here in recent weeks.
Re: Kate Betts… Wanting to dress up the Secretary of State in a “pouf dress” ? What is this? “Fugly” Bottom? A Grey’s Anatomy season finale? The stupid…it burns!
Hillary looks radiant in a hot pink pantsuit and she’s got more pressing concerns than following whatever current fad will please the Daily Bullshit.
LikeLike
Sorry to hear you were having that problem! And well said!
LikeLike