A Very Special Anti-Clinton Episode of ‘Last Man Standing’

October 10th, 2015 4:47 AM

After last week's Last Man Standing just name dropped Hillary Clinton, this week's episode "Ping-pong" got even more specific, turning into an entire anti-Clinton episode that brings up everything from Benghazi to draft dodging. 

The show begins with Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) surprised at finding a fundraising letter from Hillary in the mail. It's no mistake, his wife Vanessa (Nancy Travis) reveals, which leads to a confrontation with her junior ROTC daughter Eve (Kaitlyn Dever) over Hillary that will carry on throughout the episode.

-Wow. Hillary Clinton's asking us for money. Will her string of mistakes never end? 
-The hits keep on coming, but she'll never top Benghazi. That's her "Stairway to Heaven." 
-Yeah, that's the kind of screw-ups that happen when you spend all your free time deleting e-mails.
-It's not a mistake. I donated to Hillary. I think it's time. 
-Well, I think it's time to pierce my broken heart with this knife. 
-Mom, I know you love the show "Scandal," but do you really want to watch it every night for four years? 
-Yes, I do. And every night, I will be in a different pair of pajamas. 

Vanessa lamely tries to make the case for Hillary because it would “really mean something” for a woman to win. The positions don’t matter, she would vote for any woman. Meanwhile Eve has real, valid reasons for opposing Hillary – while getting in a bunch of good hits at Bill's expense in the process.

-Uh, listen. I wanted to talk to you about your reaction to my political donation. 
-Look, I still love you. Are we cool? 
-Sit. 
-Ugh, fine. 
-Evie, look. For the first time in the history of this country, the president might not be a man. I mean, think about that. There's never been a more exciting time to be a woman. 
-It's always an exciting time to be a woman. That's why we're always so happy. 
-No, come on. Electing a woman now would really mean something. 
-I just don't think Hillary's that strong. I feel like congress could cheat on her, and she'd just look the other way. I mean, do you even agree with any of her positions? 
-It doesn't matter. I would vote for any woman. 
-Oh, really? So, like, Mrs. Hitler? Mrs. Stalin? 
-I think it's safe to say that they would have done a better job than their husbands. What I mean is I would vote for any woman with the necessary experience and a real shot, like Hillary. 
-Whatever. Support who you it's a free country. Thanks to the army Bill did such a good job dodging. 
-But he got to be president, and even though Hillary got better grades at Yale law school. 
-Yeah, and that's probably the only time he didn't cheat. 

Vanessa is upset that she "can't explain feminism to Eve” and even tries to get her to read “The Feminine Mystique.” Then she foolishly invites a black friend over in an attempt to show Eve how much it means to people when their identity group is elected. But that blows up in her face. The money line: "Why would I do that -- vote for someone just because we had something in common without taking into account their positions? That's ridiculous!"

-Evie, look what I found for you. "The Feminine Mystique." It's a landmark text in women's history. I read it in high school, and it changed my life. 
-Who wrote "Mrs. Tom Selleck" 100 times? [ Knock on door ] 
-Hey, Mr. Larabee. 
-Ah, hello, nice Baxters. 
-Hey, Chuck. What are you doing here? 
-I got your text. 
-Oh, right. Right, right, right. Um, uh, so, so -- come in. 
-I'm in. 
-Yeah, uh... What's up? 
-Vanessa, my dinner's getting cold.
-I don't -- all right, all right, all right. Chuck, um, I-I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind explaining to me and Eve what it was like for you on election day, 2008. 
-Oh, it was a great day for the country. 
-MM. But -- but specifically, what was it like for you? 
-Well, as an American...I'm always happy when the best candidate wins. 
-Of course. We all are. But -- but the election of 2008 must have had a special resonance for you. 
-Why? 
-What my mom is trying to say is that you must have been happy because a black guy won. See?
-Oh! No. I was happy because a smart guy won. 
-A smart, bla--frican American. 
-A smart American with smart policies. 
-Yeah, but, Chuck, you might have voted for him even if you didn't agree with his positions, right? 
-Why would I do that -- vote for someone just because we had something in common without taking into account their positions? That's ridiculous. 
-Chuck, your dinner's getting cold. 
-Yeah. [ Chuckles ] "Bla-frican American." Not cool.
-That didn't go as planned, did it, mom? 
-Honey, why the hell don't you care about this? 
-Because I don't worry about stuff that happened a million years ago. The only problem women have is that they can't let go of the past. 
-So, you don't think that after 240 years of doing things one way, it's not time for a change? 
-Look around, mom. Our lives, this house, this kitchen -- I mean, the old way seems to work pretty well for us. 
-Sweetie, we're more than just cooks and servants. We can do more than shop and clean and bake things and -- [ timer Dings ] Not now, cookies!

The mom is a feminist stereotype, blindly voting for Hillary because of her private parts. She only has vague notions of it being “time” for a “change.” When have we heard that before? Harkening back to Obama is a terrible idea, we do NOT want another Obama experience where people vote to prove they're not racist or sexist.

Vanessa gets Eve to take a look at the feminist book by voicing concern that if she thinks "there's nothing left for women to fight for," that her future daughter "will probably end up losing some of these things that we worked so hard to get." In the end Eve is won over by the old military battle axiom that says, "if you aren't advancing, you're retreating." It's a slightly disappointing conclusion that would have been better if instead the mom had admitted she's being ridiculous for blindly supporting Hillary and promised to look at all the candidates and issues. 

But hey, any show that raises Benghazi, the deleted emails, and Bill's cheating in an anti-Clinton episode is 1000% better than anything else on TV so I really can't complain.