Taibbi discusses Shattered, the book about the 2016 campain

[lollycunt]

There is a critical scene in Shattered, the new behind-the-scenes campaign diary by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, in which staffers in the Hillary Clinton campaign begin to bicker with one another

Comments

[hikerpoet]

(I haven't read the book.) I don't disagree with a lot of this. She was flawed. She was overly reserved. She had a branding issue. And while some of Trump's true business acumen may be dubious (seems he's more just a con man) the one aspect he does get and does seem to be very skilled at is branding, selling his brand of...whatever, even though most of us here despise his particular brand

[moonshaz]

*APPLAUSE*

Omg, yes, to ecvery word of this! I can't think of anything to add, because you covered it all.

I an really weary of the "Hillary is the personification of evil and solely personally responsible for Trump's win" trope that's been expressed here and elsewhere so many times. Yes, she made mistakes, but I have seen a tendency to blow some of them WAY out of proportion while at the same time sweeping other equally significant factors (including misogyny) under the rug and pretending they either don't exist or don't matter.

I'm NOT saying she is not to be criticized. I'm just saying everything, including her errors, needs to be looked at in the proper perspective, as individual elements of a large and complex picture. I see nothing to be gained by focusing on one tree while ignoring the entire rest of a sizeable forest.

[rainbows_]

Part of me still sees sexist roots, though. She only wanted to run because she "felt it was her turn"?

Can’t believe I thought “I’m with her” was the most uninspiring possible messaging when this gem was actively considered pic.twitter.com/DD3olWV2vm
- Rocketpilot 🎸 (@ABillionSuns) April 21, 2017

Based off of this quote:

@ABillionSuns @unclesahm @OrrChris the following two paragraphs include the quotes he (presumably) based that on pic.twitter.com/8P1yaPOZqF
- Keshav Kini (@ffee_machine) April 21, 2017

[hikerpoet]

I admit I'm biased as well, and while I might read something longer and documented and first hand that may make me "read" this differently, this doesn't convince me she was only in it for power and money and evil, tho?

We've established she's not great at branding (although some of that comes from what we're conditioned to "expect" from those seeking power) and both winning and losing candidates have had some clunky or oddball slogans.

If it *was* being discussed in a serious, high-level way, I'd personally read it more as a feminist rallying cry, as in "It is HER turn" collectively, as as a jab against the patriarchy, not just in reference to her specifically or the symbolic office.

[rainbows_]

I'm biased as well too! I wouldn't describe Clinton as "evil". I think this is where diversity, not only of gender but politics is really important. Hillary is (probably) the most well known female politician, understandably some women feel very connected and protective to her. If only she wasn't the only well known female politician, what if she ran against a female Bernie Sanders? I think the more well known female politicians we have, the less that sexism/misogyny will have an impact as women in power will become more normalized.

With the whole "It's her turn" and "America is already great" a lot of that is just really bad messaging and branding. "It's her turn" is a great slogan for people who already support and like her, not so great for people who are on the fence. This also ties in with the fact that her + her campaign couldn't figure out/articulate a clear vision of why she should be president and what her vision for her presidency would be.

lol pic.twitter.com/0QCCgu5o3n
- robbymookisafraud (@garbagekate) April 20,

[hikerpoet]

"What if she ran against a female Bernie Sanders?" I get you. Part of me really really does. As I've mentioned in here before, if he won the primary I would've enthusiastically voted for him. Some consider Warren the female Bernie Sanders and she's my senator and there is a lot I love about her. I also agree with much of the criticism: "She's a limosine liberal!" "She was a Republican until her 40s!" "The Cherokee stuff is REALLY problematic" "She eventually enthusiastically supported Clinton, so we're going to jump off that ship" (Okay, that last one I don't sympathize with so much). And there are many others besides her, I know, who I would also be really happy to vote for. But right now I'm feeling really disenchanted and...I'll believe it when I see it. I'm in my 40s and I'm REALLY skeptical about it happening in my lifetime. I really am