This morning ThinkProgress reported on the sexist tweet by a Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin in response to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s admission of responsibility for the attacks in Libya. Making a reference to Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, Rubin wrote:
First Bill humiliates her and now Obama does.. Hillary no feminist, more like doormat
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) October 16, 2012
But she was not alone in making a gendered assessment of Clinton’s decision to take the blame. Other conservatives joined in, either sexualizing the situation, pointing to Clinton’s physical appearance, or citing the fact that she is a woman as a way of mocking her:
So after shoving her aside in 2008, Obama now hides behind Hillary’s pantsuit. #Leadership
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) October 16, 2012
Obama throws Hillary under the bus, blames Libya on her. And they say it’s the GOP waging a war on women!
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) October 16, 2012
Hillary Clinton is the Democrats’ battered woman.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2012
Hillary has Obama’s manhood in a vise. He fires her, he loses. He doesn’t, her “falling on the sword” means nothing, and he loses.
— benshapiro (@benshapiro) October 16, 2012
Rush Limbaugh, who has perhaps the longest and most sordid history of sexist claims against powerful women, piled on to the gendered criticism of Hillary Clinton, calling her a “doormat.” Listen:
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