SEN. HILLARY Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has shown herself to be a hypocritical, dishonest and unethical individual. She's abused her power and jumped at every political opportunity that has come her way. She is, in the worst sense of the word, a true politician. Nothing should be so refreshing for this country.
There's nothing unique about her behavior. Clinton is following in the corrupt footsteps of many politicians before her. What makes this so refreshing is the fact that she's the first woman to tread this path.
There's no doubt that Clinton is one of the most controversial women in history. Here is a woman who has been personally involved in countless scandals - Whitewater, Travelgate and the impeachment, to name just a few. Conservatives charge that her marriage isn't just one of convenience, it's a business arrangement. She ran for office in a state where she'd never lived simply because the political winds blew her way. Even moderate Democrats have trouble agreeing with most of her extreme liberal agenda.
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Since she's been elected, Clinton has managed to stir up controversy and scandal. There are allegations that the former first couple exchanged pardons for votes in her Senate campaign. Her brother successfully lobbied for the pardon of two drug dealers, and the American public is supposed to believe that Clinton had nothing to do with this. And despite the fact that she has fought for a ban on soft money, since the election Clinton has raised millions of dollars of these funds for her party.
She's a woman of questionable morals, obsessed with power, and a political opportunist. Clinton's motivation and actions are shameful to say the least. But as a woman, this behavior breaks the stereotype of submissiveness and passivity that plagues female politicians today.
In "Representing Women: Congresswomen's Perceptions of their Representational Roles," a report by Susan Carroll of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, Carroll concludes that "Many women members [of Congress] also perceive that women have a work style that grows out of their gender-related experience and that differs from the dominant work style of men."
According to the report, many congresswomen agree with this. Sen. Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR) said that overall, "Women are good at compromising ... they learn how to work as team members." Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) agrees, claiming that women "are more prone to try to find ways to work together, to bring people together." And according to former Rep. Jan Meyers (R-KS), women are more likely than men to "want to develop consensus more than fight it out."
This means that generally, women in Congress are more civilized than men. They act more mature, refrain from getting into petty squabbles, and generally work toward finding a constructive solution rather than focus on politics. Good for them.
But by being less aggressive and confrontational, women in politics unwittingly reinforce many stereotypes of their gender. From the movement for women's suffrage to the rise of feminism, women have spent the past century trying to show that they aren't merely pacifists, and they don't need to succumb to men.
Women never have had it easy in politics. According to the Senate Historical Office, there have been 1864 senators in our country's history. Of these, 31 have been women, and 13 of these were appointed to fill vacancies and served less than two years. In a country where women are in the majority, only 13 females currently serve in the Senate.
Hillary Clinton is the antithesis of the stereotypical female senator. By conservatives' accounts, she's a power-hungry, manipulative and depraved bureaucrat. Because of this, she breaks down the gender barrier in politics, letting the country know that women can be scoundrels too.
This doesn't mean what she has done is to be condoned. Such behavior is not to be respected, it's to be condemned. However, if Clinton were a Republican male in the same position, it's doubtful that her ethics and morals would be under as much scrutiny.
Politics is a dirty game. And to the benefit of all women in this country, Hillary Clinton has shown that she can play this game just as well, and just as dirty as any man can.
(Brian Cook is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at bcook@cavalierdaily.com.)
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