I know that people in my social circles, most liberal and progressive, have been joking about the Republican Primary "clown car" debate last week and I agree to an extent.
But, I also think it's sad that Donald Trump, who during the debate "joked" about calling Rosie O'Donnell various misogynistic and fat-hating slurs, has been leading the polls among Republicans right now. I believe his popularity is mostly explained by him reflecting the unapologetically misogynistic, angry, and privileged petulance of (probably) millions of people.
Like conservative Supreme Court Justice Scalia, this is a man whose political popularity seems to stem from the "non-politically correct" bumper sticker "zingers" he brings to the public discourse, rather than for thoughtful examination of complex issues - a certain, "I'm just telling it like it is, folks" smugness that is neither as brave or smart as it purports to be.
We are worse off for it.
I'd also like to note that both Scalia and Trump are men (obvs) and that I often find their rhetoric to be highly emotional, snarky, and devoid of intellectual reasoning - a charge often leveled at women.
Now, imagine the reverse of Trump: a zinger-throwing, non-conventionally-attractive, angry, uncivil, misandrist woman polling at 25% of Democrat voters. An interesting thought experiment only because it is so obviously unrealistic, which therefore illustrates the male privilege and misogyny alive and well in US culture.
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