Last week, Hillary Clinton tweeted about a new campaign outreach initiative, called the ThxBox:
Because everything Clinton does is processed through the Benghazi–Vince Foster–Whitewater paranoia filter, there was a huge social media response from conservatives on Twitter, cracking tired jokes about all the supposed misdeeds (or dead animals) she must be hiding in the box. Lest you miss the point of the jokes, the Daily Caller was on hand to spell it out, accusing Clinton of "trolling critics who would say that her mishandling of classified information should land her in a prison cell."
The box is mostly just the usual swag campaigns send out to donors, like T-shirts or bumper stickers, but as Jessica Valenti of the Guardian points out, it's also part of "Clinton’s latest push to activate female voters." Donors who sign up through the link will get "a campaign version of BirchBox" in which, instead of monthly beauty products, they get "household products that Clinton likes and uses."
This is a reminder that Clinton is running a very different campaign than she did in 2008, when she was perceived as minimizing her gender out of fear that people don't think that you can be presidential and feminine at the same time. This time, however, she's sending out a box of household products while simultaneously holding a Women for Hillary event that marked the 20th anniversary of her 1995 speech about women's rights in Beijing.
Clinton's campaign is tapping into the modern feminist zeitgeist, where a feminine interest in beauty or domestic arts is treated more as lighthearted fun than as a genuine threat to women being perceived equally with men. "A woman's place is in the White House," reads a cross-stitched throw pillow available for sale at the Hillary website. It's the kind of cheeky celebration of both the feminine and the feminist that used to exist only in hipster feminist spaces like Bust or Jezebel; it's clearly gone mainstream enough to be incorporated into a presidential campaign without missing a beat.
It's a smart move to put a woman's spin on the hip, youthful politics that got Obama elected to office twice in a row. All Hillary Clinton needs now is for MAC to name a lipstick after her, and her transformation will be complete.
Post by oscarnerdjulief on Sept 8, 2015 20:12:45 GMT -5
"Because everything Clinton does is processed through the Benghazi–Vince Foster–Whitewater paranoia filter..."
I can't speak for all conservatives, but I look at things through the "she's old-fashioned and corrupt/she fucked up her 1994 attempt at health care reform beyond all recognition and led the Republicans to an historic majority/she was an enabler and lied about her husband banging everything that moved for 25+ years and said he was ministering to a young person" filter.
I loved the way she was super-modulated in that ABC interview tonight. C'mon, enough with the fake rebranding. Just own it or shut it.
I think she would have better luck if she were to sell gourmet food and booze. Pancetta and a split of bubbly will win you more friends than citrus scented oven cleaner.
If there's a coffee mug in there, I'd get it. *blushes*
With respect to that last part I'm actually surprised that no cosmetic companies have pounced on this. Why not the OPI "Love Your Country" nail polish collection?
I want cute campaign gear, so she should send that out.
No I don't want some big ugly t-shirt! Give me a stylish top in patriotic colors with a tasteful logo (see southern ladies and monograms for inspiration). Or like cute team fan wear, which has only recently become a widely available thing.
Or send out things like those Anne Taintor napkins with the old timey ladies and funny sayings. Only she could use herself and campaign slogans.
The way people are mocking this is not how it was described to me in the email I got:
(For example, no mention of house products)
****
Friend --
Good: A heartfelt thank you.
Better: A heartfelt thank-you surprise package.
Best: A heartfelt thank-you surprise package from Hillary delivered straight to your door!
Sign up right now to get on the waitlist for a THX Box from Hillary.
THX Box is our new way to say thank you to our very best supporters. We’ll send several throughout the campaign, and each limited-edition box will include special Hillary gear, plus behind-the-scenes stories from Hillary herself.
We’ll only have a limited number of boxes, so don’t miss your chance to get one! Sign up for the waitlist right now to be first to know how to get your box:
I still think my idea is better than the official description.
I think memes based upon her sunglasses-and-Blackberry photo is even better. All things considered, though, I'm guessing the Blackberry implications are no longer haha funny. #NotClassified
eclaires if you want cute you should go buy the "A woman's place is on the white house" cross stitch throw pillow from the HRC website.
bwah! that's awesome. she should send that out to everyone.
ETA: her gear is actually pretty nicely done. I just worry that with thank you gifts like described or a monthly thing, they will be cheaper and more the standard dumb campaign gear.
"Because everything Clinton does is processed through the Benghazi–Vince Foster–Whitewater paranoia filter..."
I can't speak for all conservatives, but I look at things through the "she's old-fashioned and corrupt/she fucked up her 1994 attempt at health care reform beyond all recognition and led the Republicans to an historic majority/she was an enabler and lied about her husband banging everything that moved for 25+ years and said he was ministering to a young person" filter.
I loved the way she was super-modulated in that ABC interview tonight. C'mon, enough with the fake rebranding. Just own it or shut it.
Why does what happened in their marriage and how they handled it have anything to do with anything? People stay with cheating ass spouses every day all day long. This particular reason for not liking Hillary always puzzles me.
I've always wondered this too. I mean you can't have it both ways. You either respect the "for better or worse" marriage values or you don't.
ETA: I worded that weird. I just mean that I find it strange when folks spout off about the country's destruction of the family unit and then criticize HRC for staying married.
The way people are mocking this is not how it was described to me in the email I got:
(For example, no mention of house products)
****
Friend --
Good: A heartfelt thank you.
Better: A heartfelt thank-you surprise package.
Best: A heartfelt thank-you surprise package from Hillary delivered straight to your door!
Sign up right now to get on the waitlist for a THX Box from Hillary.
THX Box is our new way to say thank you to our very best supporters. We’ll send several throughout the campaign, and each limited-edition box will include special Hillary gear, plus behind-the-scenes stories from Hillary herself.
We’ll only have a limited number of boxes, so don’t miss your chance to get one! Sign up for the waitlist right now to be first to know how to get your box:
Thanks,
Official Clinton Campaign
Yeah I don't get this article. She's encouraging people to donate by promising them a few limited edition surprises. I'm sure some of the stuff in the box might be a bit cheesy, but I don't get why everyone is jumping to the conclusion that she's mailing laydees a box with some chocolate and a very special pumpkin spice Martha Stewart home candle. Honestly, the fact that someone would see this email from the campaign and conclude that it's some silly girly thing is just more evidence of sexism in our society.
There are a lot of people who are really excited about the prospect of seeing a woman in the White House. Even if this box is really intended to be a woman thing (which I don't see how someone got there, but whatever, let's say it is), why is it so ridiculous that she'd reach out to those people with a couple quirky things, like that cross stitch pillow?
I've always wondered this too. I mean you can't have it both ways. You either respect the "for better or worse" marriage values or you don't.
its the implication that a "real woman" knows how to keep her husband faithful
I think in Hillary's case, it's that people like to think she stayed with him only to use him to advance her career. Because there couldn't possibly ever be any other explanation for staying. Or that someone really would spend decades in an unhappy marriage on the off chance that maybe someday years and years in the future there would be a perfect opening to leverage the relationship run for Senate seat in another state.
And honestly, even if that was really the only reason, who gives a flying fuck if that's her reason? Why is staying for your career judge-worthy but staying for the kids not?
Right? Chances of me donating $30/mo to HRC anyway? Pretty f-ing good. Now I just get some HRC stickers and coffee mugs and giant unstylish tshirts with it. lol
(And possibly dish rags, Windex, or recipes. lol)
But maybe she is reading this thread and you will get a monogrammed patriotic scarf and a coffee mug with one of those sunglasses memes!
In which case, I trust all of you to report this to me so I can get paid for my ideas.
Even though this doesn't read as targeting women when you actually read her email about the box (it's not house products, it's not even a "subscription box") so what if she is targeting women with these things?! Women make up over 50% of registered voters (I think we are 53%), she's running as the first female president against an old white dude in the primary, and women will give her the victory. Not going after women would be stupid campaign malpractice. And you know what? When I first got the email I was bored. Only until the media erroneously described as a "Birchbox style subscription" was my interest piqued. I'm female. Go figure.