As Friday's CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello devoted a segment to discussing the reasons so many young women are siding with Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential race instead of Hillary Clinton, Daily Beast columnist Keli Goff oddly claimed that Hillary Clinton has been a "victim of her own success" as she theorized that there is less hunger for electing a woman President because it has become so commonplace for women to be elected to offices since the 1990s.
Goff did not explain why other women getting elected constitutes a "success" for Hillary Clinton.
At one point, host Costello surprisingly brought up Hillary Clinton's history of helping her husband cover up sexual misconduct, vaguely alluding to his sexual assault history with the words "infidelity or worse." Costello:
So Clinton called Monica Lewinsky a "narcissistic loony tune." She worked behind the scenes to discredit the women who accused her husband of infidelity or worse. So how can young feminists reconcile this with Clinton's talk of, you know, like, "Every woman deserves to be heard"?
After recalling that several liberal female celebrities have endorsed Clinton, Costello began by posing the question: "So these liberal feminist stars are lining up behind Hillary Clinton. So, Keli, why isn't Hillary Clinton resonating more with young women?"
The Daily Beast's Goff spun for Clinton as she began:
Well, I think, in some ways, Hillary Clinton is a victim of her own success. And here's what I mean, Carol. Of the 278 women who have ever served in the American Congress in our history, more than half of them have been elected since 1992. So just think about that for a moment. That was not only the year that a lot of these millennial women were actually born, but it was the year when Hillary Clinton really burst onto the national stage.
Goff then added:
So the problem, in a sense, is that 73 percent of Americans believe they will see a woman elected President in their lifetime. That's across party lines. That's across gender lines. But that's a reality that's much more tangible to a lot of these younger women because they don't really know a pre-Hillary Clinton era when a woman didn't have the right to choose and when women were struggling just to get into the halls of Congress. So, for a lot of them, they don't see it as, "If it's not Hillary, we'll never see a woman elected President." They see it as, "If it's not her, it'll be someone else."
Costello wondered by Clinton has failed to gain traction with younger women on the "equal pay issue" as she turned to Joanna Rothkopf of Jezebel. Costello:
I totally understand that, but, Joanna, I'll ask you this, you know, you have Jennifer Lawrence coming out and talking about, you know, the disparity of wages in Hollywood. Doesn't that resonate with young women? Because Hillary Clinton, you know, she talks about equal pay all the time.
After Rothkopf contended that Clinton is viewed as advocating more for wealthy or celebrity women than average women, the CNN host turned to the issue of Clinton covering for her husband's transgressions:
So Clinton called Monica Lewinsky a "narcissistic loony tune." She worked behind the scenes to discredit the women who accused her husband of infidelity or worse. So how can young feminists reconcile this with Clinton's talk of, you know, like, "Every woman deserves to be heard."
Goff repeated the "victim of her own success" claim as she responded:
But I think this goes back to the larger point I was making, which was her being a victim of her own success. The point Joanna made, I thought very eloquently, is that a lot of younger women don't see feminism as wrapped in one package. Which is another woman who has proclaimed herself a feminist for decades. A lot of these women, you know, when you hear why they're supporting Bernie Sanders, they actually think that he's better on specific issues.
And one young woman said, in fact, I thought she said it really well, which is, "If I were to vote for Clinton primarily because of her gender, that's just as bad as someone else voting against her because of her gender." So for a lot of these women, they're comparing exactly what you said and saying, "For me, I think Bernie Sanders is better."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Friday, January 22, CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello:
10:40 a.m. ET
CAROL COSTELLO: Sex scandals aside, Hillary Clinton is banking on women voters. Among Iowa women who are likely to caucus, she leads Bernie Sanders by 56 percent to 38 percent. Older women are solidly behind Clinton, but younger women seem to be feeling the Bern. So Clinton is trying to coax them back. Check out her campaign store. There's a "Girls Just Want to Have Fun-damental Rights" tote bag, and a throw pillow that says, "A Woman's Place Is in the White House." And then there's the millennial superstar stumping for Clinton.
DEMI LOVATO, SINGER: I'm voting for her because I truly believe that there is nobody more qualified to run this country, our country, than our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
COSTELLO: That's Demi Lovato. Amy Schumer is along for the ride. So is Katy Perry, Lena Dunham and more influential millennial women declaring, "I'm with her." So why isn't it working? Here to talk about this is Joanna Rothkopf. She's a staff writer at Jezebel. And Keli Goff. She's a columnist for the Daily Beast. Welcome to both of you. ... So these liberal feminist stars are lining up behind Hillary Clinton. So, Keli, why isn't Hillary Clinton resonating more with young women?
KELI GOFF, DAILY BEAST COLUMNIST: Well, I think, in some ways, Hillary Clinton is a victim of her own success. And here's what I mean, Carol. Of the 278 women who have ever served in the American Congress in our history, more than half of them have been elected since 1992. So just think about that for a moment. That was not only the year that a lot of these millennial women were actually born, but it was the year when Hillary Clinton really burst onto the national stage.
So the problem, in a sense, is that 73 percent of Americans believe they will see a woman elected President in their lifetime. That's across party lines. That's across gender lines. But that's a reality that's much more tangible to a lot of these younger women because they don't really know a pre-Hillary Clinton era when a woman didn't have the right to choose and when women were struggling just to get into the halls of Congress. So, for a lot of them, they don't see it as, "If it's not Hillary, we'll never see a woman elected President." They see it as, "If it's not her, it'll be someone else."
COSTELLO: I totally understand that, but, Joanna, I'll ask you this, you know, you have Jennifer Lawrence coming out and talking about, you know, the disparity of wages in Hollywood. Doesn't that resonate with young women? Because Hillary Clinton, you know, she talks about equal pay all the time.
(...)
COSTELLO: Okay, so let me run this by you. Hillary Clinton called Monica Lewinsky -- you know, you all know who that is -- she called Monica-
GOFF: Who? Sorry.
COSTELLO: Actually,
GOFF: But this could be part of it.
COSTELLO: You never know. But I'm sure people have heard, even young women have heard of Monica Lewinsky and what happened there. So Clinton called Monica Lewinsky a "narcissistic loony tune." She worked behind the scenes to discredit the women who accused her husband of infidelity or worse. So how can young feminists reconcile this with Clinton's talk of, you know, like, "Every woman deserves to be heard."
GOFF: But I think this goes back to the larger point I was making, which was her being a victim of her own success. The point Joanna made, I thought very eloquently, is that a lot of younger women don't see feminism as wrapped in one package. Which is another woman who has proclaimed herself a feminist for decades. A lot of these women, you know, when you hear why they're supporting Bernie Sanders, they actually think that he's better on specific issues.
And one young woman said, in fact, I thought she said it really well, which is, "If I were to vote for Clinton primarily because of her gender, that's just as bad as someone else voting against her because of her gender." So for a lot of these women, they're comparing exactly what you said and saying, "For me, I think Bernie Sanders is better."
COSTELLO: And see, for those older white women you talked to, they should, like, cheer that because that was the goal. So I'll ask you, too. What do young women see in Bernie Sanders that they don't in Hillary Clinton?
