CFB’s

by digby

Memo to reporters: when George Will, Chris Matthews and other pundits complain that Clinton’s major problem is being too “strident” it’s a similar type of slur as saying Obama is “articulate.” This is a dogwhistle term; in this case it means “castrating feminist bitch.”

I’ve never heard any of them ever complain that tub-thumping, preaching Republicans, male or female, are “strident” even though they most certainly are if you look at the literal meaning of the word:

stri·dent

1.making or having a harsh sound; grating; creaking: strident insects; strident hinges.
2. having a shrill, irritating quality or character: a strident tone in his writings.

For some reason it’s only liberal women who evoke this word among the chatterers.

You’d think that Hillary Clinton, of all people, would have put that stereotyping to rest, considering her painfully public marital problems and centrist-ish policy positions. But no. She’s the top Dem-Fem and therefore any passion or strength sounds “harsh” and “grating” to the delicate ears of the beltway mavens.

Poor lil fellas; it sure doesn’t take much to make their little minds shrivel, does it?

.