Sanders Agrees Sexism Remains a Problem for US Women Running Elections
Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders on Sunday said that sexism is a problem for female candidates who seek nomination in the Presidential race. The statement came from him after two of the leading women in the field recently resigned from the race. Talking to Jake Tapper on State of Union, Tapper questioned Sanders if he thinks “sexism and other forms of bigotry remain hurdles for candidates appealing for not just the general electorate but for the Democratic votes.”
“The short answer is yes, I do. I think women have obstacles placed in front of them that men do not have,” replied Sanders. He also added that United States in the first half of the century has made progress in terms of more women in politics.
“On the other hand, we have made progress in the last 40, 50 years in terms of the number of women who are now in the Congress. You can remember it wasn’t so many years ago — few decades ago — that Barbara Mikulski of Maryland was the only woman in the United States Senate, and we have made some progress,” the Vermont senator said. “But the day has got to come sooner and later that women can see themselves equally represented in Congress — half or more members of Congress, president of the United States, leaders of companies all over this country.”
“We have got to get rid of all of the vestiges of sexism that exist in this country, which is still pretty rampant,” the Democratic social added.
The comments from Sanders come three days after Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the frontrunners in the Democratic race dropped her bid to eventually endorse Joe Biden after a heartbreaking finish in the primary contests on Super Tuesday. Senator Amy Klobuchar, earlier that week was the first of the two to stop before time.
Only one woman, Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is left in the race that once hosted six women vying for the bid to White House final nomination. The early exit of the five ladies has raised concerns about the challenges women face when they contest for a political position as big as President’s office. Author Marianne Williamson was the first to resign from the race earlier this year followed by California Senator Kamala Harris and Kristen Gellibrand of New York who left the primary battles in December and August respectively.
Warren in a public comment herself addressed the issue while speaking to media outside her residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Thursday.
“You know, that is the trap question for women,” she said after a reporter asked what role gender played in her campaign. “If you say, ‘Yeah — there was sexism in this race,’ everyone says, ‘Whiner.’ And if you say, ‘No, there was no sexism,’ about a bazillion women think, ‘What planet do you live on?'”
After Warren’s confirmation of a report revealing that Sanders told her private 2018 conversation about the upcoming presidential election that he didn’t believe a woman could win and two don’t have ideal terms as rivals since then.
Sanders is now facing a tough battle from Biden who now has double-digit lead over the fellow Democrat. The Vermont Senator on Sunday said that he would love to have endorsement from the Warren.
“Well, I’m not going to speculate. We would love to have Sen. Warren’s support and we would love to have the millions of people who supported Sen. Warren in her campaign on board,” he said.
Sanders is now locked in a tight race for the nomination with former VP Joe Biden will look to mend his relationship with the Massachusetts Senator. However, Warren public comments are hinting that she will either support Biden against Sanders or may not endorse anyone at all.
