The wicked witch is back. This time, her name is Nancy Pelosi.
The
House minority leader was the prime punching bag for Republicans during
the Georgia race Jon Ossoff just lost, targeted in a series of ads
painting him as her puppet and the epitome of the reviled Washington
liberal establishment. Now a rump group in her own party has chimed in,
blaming her for a loss that could as easily be credited to a weak
candidate who had shallow roots in the district. Nevertheless, the group
is calling on her to step down, insisting she’s a liability for the
party.
Ms.
Pelosi is just the latest in a long line of female politicians — on the
left and the right — who have proved rich and resonant targets. Hillary
Clinton. Sarah Palin. Michele Bachmann, the former House member from
Minnesota. Then Hillary Clinton once more.
In
each case, gender wasn’t the only issue. There were plenty of
self-inflicted wounds, as well as genuine ideological opposition. Yet
each woman was attacked in ways that play off sometimes subliminal,
often indignantly denied, biases about women shared by men and women
alike.
Overtly
ambitious women stir unease and register as less likable, said Adrienne
Kimmell, executive director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which
has been studying women’s political races for 20 years. Voters have
more trouble relating to a powerful woman than a powerful man. Women who
are seen as political insiders — or as dishonest, which many voters
lump together — suffer more than do men. Witness the 2016 election.
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