THREAD: Kamala Harris is "too ambitious?"

When Mitt Romney selected Paul Ryan for VP, he, like Harris, was often described as ambitious—as a compliment.

This headline, for example, is from the New York Daily News on Aug. 11, 2012. 1/ https://twitter.com/schwartzbcnbc/status/1288561956350300166

In August 2012 the U.S. News & World Report described Paul Ryan as "a young, ambitious, athletic beltway insider with a camera ready presence."

But Kamala Harris is "too ambitious." 2/

Mother Jones described Paul Ryan in July 2011 as "the young, ambitious, visionary, Reaganesque Ryan."

But Kamala Harris is too ambitious. 3/

In a letter to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune in 2012, one reader said the "young, ambitious, and energetic" Paul Ryan was "using" the platform the VP slot gave him as "a great opportunity to set himself up for a run for president in 2016."

But Kamala Harris is too ambitious. 4/

Even in 2016, GOP donors were fantasizing about drafting Paul Ryan, "the affable mascot," to run for president because "he's young, ambitious, and prioritizes massive tax cuts for the wealthy," Slate reported.

But Kamala Harris is too ambitious. 5/

But when it comes to Kamala Harris, CNBC reported today that some establishment Dems are trying to derail her bid, with some arguing she is "too ambitious."

Suddenly, the thing that was a plus for a young white man is a negative for a black woman. 6/

This isn't new—not for women in politics, anyway.

In "The Curse of Hillary Clinton's Ambition" in 2016, The Atlantic reported that some voters didn't like her because they thought she "cared too much about winning." 7/

In this lovely 2017 piece in Newsweek, we learn how Hillary's ambition is amazingly to blame for men she knows turned out to be sexual predators. 8/

Bernie Sanders aide Jeff Weaver during the 2016 primaries warned that Hillary's "ambition" would "destroy the Democratic Party" (but never considered, apparently, that the left wing helping perpetuate sexist ideas about women candidates might hurt their party). 9/

Newspapers over the decades are littered with articles in which "Hillary Clinton" and "too ambitious" show up together.

Like this Aug. 1992 AP story.

"She is too ambitious."

"She has too big a mouth." 10/

A Missouri delegate at the 1992 GOP convention: Hillary Clinton is "not very ladylike" and "seemed too ambitious."

Marilyn Quayle drew approval at that convention when she said of Hillary: "Most women do not want to be liberated from their essential nature as a woman." 11/

I searched http://Newspapers.com  for "Candidate Name" + "too ambitious." Here are the results:

Al Gore: 18
Joe Biden: 106*
John Kerry: 112
G.W. Bush: 150
Mitt Romney: 176
Donald Trump: 380*
Barack Obama: 707*
Hillary Clinton: 1,166

*Excludes ones that refer to Hillary Clinton

Keep in mind, Joe Biden has been running for president since 1987. And still... only 106 references to him as "too ambitious." If I include articles that mention Hillary Clinton, it goes up to 154.

13/

Even with Barack Obama, the articles that include his name and "too ambitious" often seem to refer to his *policies*—not to the man himself, whereas with Hillary, it's almost always about how "she is too ambitious."

The same garbage we're hearing about Kamala Harris now. 14/

Another recent instance in which a male candidate's "ambition" was mentioned as a compliment: 15/ https://twitter.com/wolvesforkamala/status/1288652437541335042?s=21 https://twitter.com/wolvesforkamala/status/1288652437541335042

Someone asked where Bernie Sanders shows up.

"Bernie Sanders" + "too ambitious" but excluding references to "Hillary Clinton"
Results: 31

Including references to "Hillary Clinton":
Results: 82
16/

And yes, Marc Anthony's speech low-key turning the crowds against Brutus for the murder of Julius Caesar may have inspired this tweet thread just a little, as @OttawaFencer keenly noted.

But Kamala Harris is too ambitious.
16/

In January, a Fox News editor called Elizabeth Warren "too ambitious, too needy, too much."

Has anyone ever been more needy than Donald Trump? But women running for the top job in the world are "too ambitious" or "too needy, too much." (ht: @SoundsKugle) 17/