Male Anchors Prefer to Talk about Male Presidential Candidates

My favorite presidential candidates are Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, in that order. I love Sen. Warren's policies, her determination to break up monopolies and enforce the anti-trust laws that have been ignored for decades. She understands that the United States is now not so much a republic as a corporate oligarchy. To accomplish anything, whether it's recognizing and doing something effective about climate change, stopping the robocalls that annoy us all so much, lowering the prices of expensive medicines advertised on TV, we have to destroy the dominance of corporations that buy our politicians' votes. Elected officials don't listen to their constituents, as polls clearly show. They listen to their wealthy donors.

The National Rifle Association, to my amazement, is considered a "non-profit" yet acts like a corporation buying off politicians by the hundreds. I thought that legally, non-profits weren't allowed to be partisan. The NRA contributed $30.3 million to President Trump's 2016 campaign. The NRA contributed over $3,124,000 to Sen. Joni Ernst's (R-IA) campaign and over $707,000 to former 3rd Dist. Rep. David Young (R-IA), who hopes to sup at the Congressional trough again by challenging current Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA) for his old, oh-so-lucrative seat.

I love Kamala Harris' calm, professional, astute cross-examination of men like Brett Kavanaugh, an alleged sexual assaulter who doesn't have the temperament or character to be on the U.S. Supreme Court and William Barr, who should not be U.S. Attorney General because he misinterprets his role as being Donald Trump's personal attorney when he is supposed to represent the people of the United States.

How often are female presidential candidates mentioned in the media in proportion to their character and qualifications? Not as often as they should be.

Kathleen Parker, a Washington Post columnist who wrote "A female president is coming soon, just not in 2020," five days ago touched on the hyping of male Democratic candidates by male journalists ("Democrats have filled their bench with enough declared women — six at last count — that one wonders why we’re always talking about men. Given the bulk of media coverage, one would think the only candidates were Joe, Bernie, Beto and Pete."), and then proceeded to list disparaging comments known or alleged about each female Democratic presidential candidate. How helpful (sarcasm). I've never liked Kathleen Parker, and her latest column is a perfect example of why.

She may have a point though when she predicts that a Republican will be the first woman president. Why? Republicans are a male-oriented team. They favor controlling women's bodies and oppose pay equity in the workplace. Republican men support the patriarchy, and Republican women largely agree. Those who don't are leaving the Republican Party, including a friend of mine who watched the Brett Kavanaugh hearing and changed her registration from Republican to Democrat.

Remember Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)? She's coming up for reelection in 2020. She's on the men's team and on the NRA's team. She's on the Koch Brothers' team. She's bought and paid for. She supports Trump all the way. During her first campaign she promised to support a bill in Congress that would support independent judges separate from the military chain of command in cases of sexual assault in the military. When that very same bill came up for a vote, she voted against it.

Republican women who buy into misogynistic values are more likely to be voted for by sexist people of both genders who support the patriarchy.

I can't abide misogynists myself. That's why I no longer listen to Iowa Public Radio, National Public Radio, and Chuck Todd on MSNBC. I no longer participate in groups where men do all the talking either. I've had enough.