Noted Democratic strategist James Carville vigorously defended himself when a CNN host earlier this year questioned his claim that “preachy women” are ruining the party.
Carville, 79, told a reporter in March that these types of women have become authoritarian, telling people how to live their lives, calling their message “too feminine.”
CNN anchor Sara Snider said he got a “blow” over the comment and asked him if the Democratic National Convention featuring “strong women” like Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton had led to further backlash.
Carville said bluntly, “I don’t care.”
He added that he sees himself as a “provocateur” trying to get people’s attention to solve the Democrats’ problems, particularly with white male voters.
Famed Democratic strategist James Carville vigorously defended himself when a CNN host earlier this year questioned his claim that “preachy women” are ruining the party
CNN host Sara Snider (pictured) asked if he had felt any backlash over the comment
“How do I do that? Do I tell Maureen Dowd of The New York Times that a careful analysis of the regression group indicates that we did not have enough support among American men? No one will remember that,” Carville said.
“So when I say something like, ‘Our culture has too many preachy women,’ you know what? Everyone remembers that. And the thing about me, I don’t care,” he added.
After answering Snider’s question, he went on to say some nice things about Harris’ campaign.
“I think the vice presidential campaign listened to what people like me were saying, that the party’s message should have included a little more masculine language, masculine contrasts and examples,” Carville said.
He said the choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as his running mate was a sign that he had been heard.
“That’s one of the things I really hammer home. I think we understand it at this conference.”
Carville, the man credited with helping Bill Clinton win the 1992 election, caused a stir when he spoke to Dowd in March 2024, when Joe Biden was still running.
Despite his general approval of the incumbent president, Carville suspected that there were too many “preachy women” in the party.
Carville, the man credited with engineering Bill Clinton’s 1992 election victory, made waves when he spoke to Dowd in March 2024, when Joe Biden was still a candidate
Carville (right) served as an adviser to both the 1992 presidential campaign for Bill Clinton (right) and the 2008 primary campaign for his wife Hillary Clinton.
He added mockingly: ‘”Don’t drink beer. Don’t watch football. Don’t eat hamburgers. This is not good for you.” The message is too feminine.’
Carville appeared to be attacking “The Squad,” a group of Democratic members seen as left-wing within the party.
Members include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.
He further complained that “woke politics is destroying us” and that the left was speaking a language Americans didn’t understand.
In one anecdote, he told of his time teaching at Louisiana State University and hearing how one of his students had been accepted into the school of her dreams to pursue a graduate degree.
He wanted to toast her, telling the outlet, “I get a $25 champagne and four plastic flutes, and I said to the students, ‘Okay. You’re not going to get out of James Carville’s class unless you know how to open a bottle of champagne properly.
“This is what you’re going to do. You don’t pop it like you see in the movies, or you’ll poke someone’s eye out.
‘You take the foil off. Now you take a tea towel and do the classic counterclockwise movement.
“The bottle goes one way; the cork goes the other. You just pull it out gently and the sound you’re looking for is the sigh of a contented woman.”
Carville added: “The next Tuesday, the dean comes into my office and says, ‘I’m going to close the door. We need to have a conversation. A student had complained about the long line.’
He told the newspaper that he wanted to tell the dean, “Her friend has never heard that sound,” but he replied, “I’ll do my best to do better.”