'White male privilege': Top N.H. women fume over Buttigieg's Iowa speech [View all]

[RandySF]

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Pete Buttigieg returned to New Hampshire this week riding a wave of momentum generated by his surprisingly strong Iowa finish. But he was greeted by pushback from some of the most powerful women in the state, who saw a double standard in his declaration of victory in Iowa late Monday.

In their view, the 38-year-old mayor’s unexpected assertion — a calculated political statement delivered without any accompanying evidence at the time — smacked of “white male privilege,” “hubris” and a lack of equanimity that a female candidate would be criticized for.

“In a moment where he should show composure and measure, he’s not doing that,” said Jenn Alford-Teaster, a Sen. Elizabeth Warren supporter and Democratic activist running for state Senate. ”But he’s going to get away with it because that’s what happens when you’re a man. You can do whatever you want. For women, we’re held to a different standard and it’s demoralizing as a candidate and it’s demoralizing as a voter.”

In his speech to supporters in Des Moines on Monday night, Buttigieg went beyond where any of his rivals were willing to go in the wake of the vote-counting debacle, essentially claiming first place based on what his campaign said were internal numbers showing him edging out Sen. Bernie Sanders. He might be right — the Iowa Democratic Party is still trying to figure out the official winner. But even without those results, his performance exceeded expectations.

“We don’t know all the results,” is how he started his speech, looking downwards with a slight grin. “But we know by the time it’s all said and done, Iowa, you have shocked the nation, because by all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious.”



https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/06/buttigieg-iowa-new-hampshire-women-111746