This presidential election cycle has a record number of women running for commander-in-chief. Still, these female candidates must navigate the question of "electability," a double-standard ー one former Hillary Clinton staffer says ー that they will have to beat back throughout the campaign.
"The ultimate answer is that to be electable, you have to win," said Amanda Litman, the executive director of Run for Something, a political action committee that aims to elect young Democrats. Litman previously served as the email director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
"It's important to step back and realize what we're talking about when we talk about electability. It's the understanding of what voters think that other voters wants. It is an entirely faulty premise based on racist, sexist, and classist understandings of what a president looks like."
"It is total garbage," she argues.
Litman says that in order to challenge the conception that women can't win higher elected offices, it will require support for different types of female leaders, finding ways to make voters and donors comfortable in expressing support for their favored-candidates, and building a stronger pipeline of qualified female politicians through state and local races.
"We saw Kamala Harris in the debate really take on her opponents in a way that was sort of masculine-coded leadership. We've seen Elizabeth Warren whip out plan after plan after plan. We've see Kirsten Gillibrand be aggressive with interviewers who she doesn't think are giving her a fair shake," said Litman. "Each of them is showing a different way of being a female leader."
"Over the last two years, the number of women of color in state legislatures has more than tripled. The number of women in state legislators writ large has gone up by huge numbers," added Litman. "This means, down the line, there will be more qualified women to run for Congress, for governor, and for president."
A record number of women were elected to Congress in the 2018 midterm election, and a record number of women of color were elected to the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, women hold nearly 30 percent of state legislative seats ー totaling more than more than 2,100 ー according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers.
"Women need this experience in order to be considered serious leaders," Litman said. "A woman couldn't get away with a weak resume like a man could."
She pointed out that the serious female contenders for president ー Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Sen. Tulsi Gabbard ー are all current lawmakers. The exception: author and public speaker Marianne Williamson, who has qualified to participate in the second round of the Democratic debates.
Litman says that women can beat male competitors by being willing to work harder and engaging on issues like child care, health care, school, and the opioid crisis. "Mediocre women don't tend to run for office. Only excellent women do," she said.
"The ultimate answer is that to be electable, you have to win," Litman added.
A new report by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China warns that press freedom in the most populous country in the world is declining at an alarming speed. Cheddar News speaks with Steven Butler, Asia Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, about the hardships journalists face in China.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C. 1st District) joined Cheddar to discuss her cannabis legalization bill, the States Reform Act, and the prospects for gaining bipartisan support for a bill that has garnered the endorsement of e-commerce giant Amazon. This legislation is supported by businesses large and small, Amazon obviously being the most recent and largest business to support it," Mace said. "They don't want to sell pot. But what it does do is it affects their working employment pool." She stated that 10 percent of eligible new hires for Amazon are affected by restrictive marijuana laws. The representative also explained that the bill leaves equity provisions up to the states rather than mandating them on a federal level.
After a number of tragic subway incidents, the MTA is facing increased pressure to install subway platform screens to help prevent injury or death. However, according to an earlier report from the MTA, installing these prevented measures isn't feasible. New York City Council Member Keith Powers, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Across the country, states are working to redraw their congressional lines in what is often known as gerrymandering. These news lines are expected to determine the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans within the next decade. Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, Michael Li, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The state of California is officially planning to close its death row in the next two years. That state's governor Democrat Gavin Newsom says the plan is now to move all condemned inmates to other prisons and turn it into, as he calls it, a positive healing environment. Former U. S. Assistant Attorney and Legal Analyst, David Katz, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Anthony Saccaro, Founder and President of Providence Financial, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on why he is excited that the market is beginning to rebound and believes February has the potential to be a good month after a turbulent January.
Cryptocurrency is expected to become a part of our daily lives — but what sort of environmental impact does it have? As the U.S. becomes the crypto mining capital of the world, climate advocates are worried about mining companies reopening old coal plants, using massive amounts of energy, wasteful hardware, and more. Congressional Democrats led by Senator Elizabeth Warren are demanding answers from mining firms about their electricity use and waste levels. John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna Computing, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss the congressional letters, how crypto mining can become a green industry, and more.
The Supreme Court will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The court will examine admissions policies at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which count the race of applicants as a factor in admissions. The court has upheld affirmative action policies in the past, saying it helps to create more diverse student bodies. However, the conservative Supreme Court could be skeptical and even possibly hostile to such policies. Nick Anderson, Higher Education Writer, Washington Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
