>>509175132Yeah, she was posed and placed into that portrait for sure.
The whole thing was indeed scripted. But she’s pulled it off well. It’s hard to say at this point if she’s got potential to be a player on the national stage. She’s not going to have strong appeal to regular Hispanics. She’s white in their eyes. And, interestingly, whatever appeal she would have with that community will be voided by her ideological posturing. Hispanics are both socially and economically conservative. They’re hardwired that way.
Her principal appeal will be to young white progressives. And I don’t terribly mind her taking a leading role in that space. I find her energy and attitude to be a breath of fresh air. Ideology notwithstanding, people are fed up with the crazy-eyed bossy bitch archetype…even women have had it with that crap.
And though she does get feisty, the tone of her energy comes off sorta sweet, girly and earnest. That’s a powerful essence in a world starved for authenticity.
Also Bernie seems to like her. Bernie has incredibly keen political instincts. Anyone who has observed him over the years knows this. If you understood Vermont, you’d understand how significant his tenure there is. People have a very flawed conception of Vermont. Sure, there is that festering nest of menacing lesbians in Burlington, and they are formidable. But Vermont itself is basically conservative. What others interpret as “socialism” is instead the Vermont ethos of community. Community is VERY real in Vermont. It’s a place where every issue is decided in 18th century town halls where neighbors meet up to hash things out.
The reason you get senators as juxtaposed temperamentally as Sen Lahey and Senator Sanders is that there’s this fierce defense of the idea that every opinion counts and gets a fair hearing.
Bernie embodies all that stuff so well. And most importantly, he respects the opposition. I’m hard core pol. But even I like Bernie.