Tuesday’s primary race was closely followed in New York by Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, powerful House Democrats who have been in Congress since 1990. They are both over 70 years old.
Despite some mudslinging between Nadler and Maloney, at one point Nadler calling Maloney “cowardly”, over some of her past stances, and Maloney calling Nadler “senile and half dead” in the final days of the campaign, it turned out that what many observers thought would be a close race was a rout for Nadler. According to numbers from Decision Desk HQ, Nadler easily defeated Maloney, and Obama alum Suraj Patel, for the Democratic nomination for the newly drawn 12th Congressional District.
Wasn’t even a contest. (h/t @DecisionDeskHQ) #NY12 pic.twitter.com/mC7WfZdp7R
— Sister Toldjah 🌻 (@sistertoldjah) August 24, 2022
As I stated before, I didn’t have a dog in this fight except to see fellow Democrats destroy one another and cause a lot of bad blood along their way that could potentially spill over into future races. And that is exactly what will happen after Maloney’s bitter concession speech Tuesday night, in which she blamed Maloney and “sexism, misogyny” and the Boys Club for her defeat.
Maloney complained that she was being victim to “sexist systems, misogyny”, as her supporters vented fury at her victorious opponent.
Maloney said, “I’m really sorry that we don’t have a woman representing Manhattan now in Congress,” and later added: “In Congress, it is that when women sit at the table, great decision-making happens.”
Maloney also thanked prominent female New York leaders like Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, and Geraldine Ferraro. Maloney stated that they “fought sexist and misogyny today as we know from our own campaigns” — clearly a dig at Nadler.
Watch:
Maloney praises the NY women in politics who paved the way and criticizes the sexism and misogyny that she says still plays out in politics, including in this campaign. pic.twitter.com/txEdjz2hXN
— Samantha Max (@samanthaellimax) August 24, 2022
While I don’t like Nadler’s or Maloney’s concession speeches, they were just plain awful. Think about it. The woman has been in Congress since 1993. She will be in office for 30 years after the expiration of her term. New York voters chose her to serve for multiple terms. But, the only race she loses is due to sexism.
This kind of BS, which defaults to “sexism,” when women lose/get dismissed/are not taken seriously, sets back other women for 50 years or more. It shows an inability and inability to accept the possibility that their failures are rooted in their capabilities and/or qualifications (and/or a lack thereof), rather than people rejecting them simply because they’re women.
Women, especially Democratic women, want to be treated equally to men. They need to learn to accept rejection like a woman and then move on.
Maloney and other feminists should stop complaining about sexism when it actually happens because it makes it more difficult for the actual victims to believe that they are being excused.
Carolyn Maloney, after all her years in office, should be aware of this. However, Democrat women feel so trapped in victimhood that they feel they are betraying their fellow women.
Women can be brave, strong, and courageous in facing all obstacles. They can also be big girls when it is time to lose/reject and can accept defeat gracefully, just as men have done in U.S. politics for centuries.
Isn’t this what true equality and feminism are all about?
