Did Hillary Clinton DESERVE Any of the Abuse She Received in the Democratic Primary?

Listening to the election coverage on network TV and PBS last night, I heard pundits marveling from time to time about Obama’s success in gaining the votes of working class whites and other former Hillary Clinton supporters in places like Scranton, Pennsylvania. To my knowledge no credit was given to Sen. Clinton for working her heart out to win over her supporters for Obama.

That’s why I was so eager this morning to read what I thought was a tribute to Sen. Clinton over at MotherJones in a post by Kevin Drum titled simply, “Hillary.”

Kevin wrote:

“I'll have more to say about Obama tomorrow, but for now I want to end the night with a word about Hillary Clinton. She ran in one of the toughest Democratic primaries ever, against one of the party's most talented politicians in recent memory, and she took a lot of abuse during that primary — some of it deserved, most of it not. But in the end, despite what must have been a bitter and searing loss, she campaigned tirelessly and wholeheartedly for the man who beat her. This is something that a lot of people doubted she'd do, and frankly, we all owe her some recognition and gratitude for her role in tonight's victory. Hillary has always been unambiguously dedicated to the Democratic Party and the cause of liberalism, and I think she proved that in the most concrete way possible over the past two months.”

I choked on the phrase, “she took a lot of abuse during that primary — some of it deserved, most of it not.”

Here's my response to Kevin's appalling statement:

Kevin,

I was stunned when I read your words about Hillary Clinton: "She ran in one of the toughest Democratic primaries ever, against one of the party's most talented politicians in recent memory, and she took a lot of ABUSE during that primary — SOME OF IT DESERVED, most of it not."

No one deserves abuse, Kevin. According to Mental Health.Net, "Abuse occurs when people mistreat or misuse other people, showing no concern for their integrity or innate worth as individuals, and in a manner that degrades their well being. Abusers frequently are interested in controlling their victims. They use abusive behaviors to manipulate their victims into submission or compliance with their will."

Hillary Clinton was certainly subjected to a tidal wave of sexist abuse throughout the Democratic primary. It's tragic that most of Obama's millions of supporters, including their allies in the media, aren't even aware of their horrifying misogyny - they don't know the difference between respectful and abusive behavior. And Kevin, I suspect from your casual statement justifying the abuse of Hillary Clinton, that you, too, are unaware of your misogynistic tendences.

I am one of those Americans unable to wholeheartedly celebrate Obama's win today knowing that he passively stood by while benefiting from the trashing of both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.