Kirsten Gillibrand ends her empty suit, fake feminist presidential campaign by Kimberly Ross

Posted By on August 30th, 2019

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/kirsten-gillibrand-ends-her-empty-suit-fake-feminist-presidential-campaign

To no one’s surprise, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, ended her presidential campaign on Wednesday. Her short tenure on the national campaign stage was notable for abysmal poll numbers and mediocre debate performances. Though Gillibrand was one of only a handful of female candidates in a crowded field of men, she lacked star power and any real voter base.

Her failure might come as a surprise: Democrats have long pushed for more women to hold elected office. Yet Gillibrand’s campaign reminds us that a woman’s physical characteristics don’t automatically make her any more — or less — suitable for office, and that any other conclusion is just woke sexism masquerading as progress.

Before her departure, Gillibrand’s RealClearPolitics polling average stood at only 0.1%, hardly a blip on the screen. But it’s all she deserved, as her campaign consisted of little more than identity politics largely focused on feminism. Most especially, she voiced loud and consistent support for abortion rights.

In short, the Gillibrand 2020 campaign was an empty pantsuit. On paper, a leftist, female senator should have done better, right? But even Washington Post writer Monica Hesse noted Gillibrand’s almost singular focus on women’s issues:

During the two official debates she participated in, Gillibrand vowed to prioritize women so often that an average woman watching from her living room might feel bashful in the face of such attention, overwhelmed by the audacity of Gillibrand’s support.

She put together a platform based on the revolutionary idea that ‘women’s issues,’ affecting fully half of Americans, are not some fringe side note to our culture; they are American issues.

The candidate’s strategy clearly backfired.

It’s difficult to say exactly why other female presidential candidates in the 2020 race, such as Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, have fared better than Gillibrand. Perhaps it’s because voters view them as having more comprehensive campaign platforms that don’t seem so gender-specific. Perhaps it’s because they enjoy better name recognition. Regardless, it’s clear that just seeking higher office does not mean a woman will be rewarded with support from female voters. And unsurprisingly, it has nothing to do with misogyny.

A very small percentage of voters will always exist who don’t believe a woman should be president. But the majority of Americans, both Republican and Democrat, reward their support to those who seem highly capable and bring a vast amount of experience. Most of all, a candidate’s platform must align with what voters truly believe is the best path for the country — gender is, largely, not a consideration.

Gillibrand’s turn as a presidential candidate was not a very memorable one at all. When a female politician seems to concentrate almost exclusively on issues affecting women, the message rings a bit too lopsided in such a diverse country. Gillibrand got her messaging all wrong. And as polls showed, the electorate wasn’t interested.

Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner‘s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.

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