Democratic Primaries

He and I are in the same age group, although he is a few years older than I am. The Silent Generation led the 1960s leftist political movements. Bernie is, and always was, part of that. Socialism of one form or another was a big factor in the anti-war, labor, and civil rights movements. That's where the thought-leaders of the day were situated politically. It was still a patriarchal movement. Feminists were mistrusted by that movement and many women moved away from it and found other directions to follow.

As a second-tier organizer and part of the anti-war movement in the Washington, DC area, one of the things that stood out for me was the male-dominated leadership of that movement. Men of Bernie Sanders' age ran things, pretty much. Women were relegated to lesser, supporting roles, almost entirely. I was a few years younger, and was also somewhat excluded due to my lack of experience.

It was a patriarchal movement. The shift to a less sex-based leadership simply had not happened yet. Some of the leaders of that time became less patriarchal in the following decades, while others maintained their disdain for women's points of view.

Bernie Sanders strikes me as one of those who did not make that transition. That might be why he doesn't have the full support of women in general. He remains a patriarchal leader in a time that is rejecting the patriarchy.