Bernie Sanders on the
night of the New Hampshire primary.
Readers dissected the
influence of gender, generation and political agenda in response to recent columns
and editorials about Senator Bernie Sanders’s lopsided victory over former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary.
“People are tired of
old saws, they hate the establishment with a passion, they are fed up with the
lack of attention to our borders,” Stephen Light of Grand Marais, Minn., wrote in response to an
editorial. “There is one message that Hillary must understand — both the
Democrats and Republicans want radical change.”
Many readers noted that
Mr. Sanders prevailed among almost every demographic group in the Democratic
race. Others said Mr. Sanders’s strength among independent voters is important.
“It is Bernie who
attracts the independents, not Hillary,” Maro wrote from Massachusetts. “The
goal posts have been moved in the current election cycle. Income inequality and
independence from corporate interest have become the two most significant
signature issues for the voters in Democratic primaries.”
Women reflected on the
symbolism of Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy. To some, the prospect of having a
longtime feminist elected to the White House carries a powerful promise of
change.
“The glass ceiling
still exists and electing Hillary will finally shatter it. She is the smartest
and most experienced presidential candidate in the race today and she is a
woman,” Karen Kucinski wrote on Facebook. “Elect Hillary precisely because she
is a woman — this country needs a woman’s perspective and leadership style to
thrive.”
“I am a woman in my
30s, currently pregnant, desperately aware of how much gender has affected and
will continue to affect my career compared to my partner’s. I am surrounded by
women with everyday stories about injustice and abortions that fully equip us
to understand the lived reality of sexism,” PHD wrote from California. “I want
my daughter to grow up in a fairer world. And yet all of this does not compel
me to vote for Hillary, nor should it compel older women to command that I do
so from a perch of assumed intellectual and ethical superiority.”
Some women wrote that
they had experienced overt discrimination in the same era as Mrs. Clinton, but
their history did not make them want to vote for her.
“I once had to go to a
business lunch through the kitchen, because women weren’t allowed to enter by
the front door. I was told that ‘of course’ my work would decline during
pregnancy, and when on maternity leave, they replaced me with a man,” Karen
wrote from Boston. “This was Wall Street in the 70s and 80s. And you know what?
I’m voting for Bernie.”
Some wrote of a deep
distrust of Mrs. Clinton, documented in poll results, that they see around
them.
“I live in Texas and
Republicans hate, hate Hillary Clinton. She has little chance of winning over
voters from the other side,” Kane wrote from Houston. “Bernie Sanders did very
well with the 40 percent of New Hampshire residents who declared themselves
independents.”
A national
anti-establishment mood is changing politics, many readers said.
“I myself am very, very
angry at what this country has become since Reagan’s voodoo economics started
the downward slide of the middle class,” Maryse wrote from Mystic Island, N.J.,
in response to an op-ed by Jennifer Finney Boylan. “The political system is
rigged. Who wouldn’t be angry?”
Some readers said that
Democrats need to stress unity in the end, even as candidates compete for
primary votes.
“For the sake of the
party and to improve the tenor of the ongoing debate, I sincerely hope Clinton
reboots her campaign by focusing less on her biography and more on substantive
policy proposals,” Jean wrote. “At the end of the day, I will vote Democratic,
but I remain a solid, feminist supporter of Sanders.”
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