I voted for Hillary Clinton, and not just as a lesser of two evils. I think she would have made a decent president and as a moderate liberal I agree with most of her positions. She would have had a rough time with congress, but so would most any Dem. I do agree that some of the hate is based on a misogynistic dislike of women in power, and also that some was based on absurd conspiracy and utter nonsense, like Benghazi and Vince Foster.
But.
Even if you ignore the nonsense, there is still a lot of stuff associated with the Clintons that reeks of corruption and bad judgement. The Clinton foundation was a huge conflict of interest, and smelled of pay to play, even if nothing could be proven. Lack of transparency was a real issue, and talking money from Saudi Arabia looks odd for a champion of Women’s rights. The email server showed appalling judgement and an arrogant “rules for thee but not for me” attitude. A lesser government employee would have been frog marched to the door for handling classified materials in that matter, even if it wasn’t criminal.
It’s not just right wingers that don’t like Clinton. My progressive friends really dislike her chumminess with wall street, including secret speeches and cushy jobs for Chelsea. It made them skeptical that there would be any real reform of the financial sector under her administration. They also don’t like her hawkishness and eagerness to get entangled in Middle East conflicts.
She is seen as the insider’s insider, thoroughly enmeshed in DC power structures. More and more people feel that the establishment is serving itself, not the people it is supposed to serve. The DNC basically anointed her Queen, and helped her fight off a rebellion from Bernie Sanders. When Bill ran for office, he was the governor of a small state, and had to fight his way through a primary where he was not favored at first. Now he and Hillary mingle with the rich and powerful, including Donald Trump back in the day.
And there is the Charisma thing. It’s partly misogyny, but it’s not just misogyny. There was a very charismatic woman on the trail with her: Michelle Obama. When Michelle speaks she is genuine and emotional and seems to be really speaking to you. Hillary is harsh and phony. She reminds people of the teacher who would assign extra homework on a long weekend. Her attempts at empathy seem rehearsed rather than natural. You can argue that that’s unfair, but it’s real. I’ll bet most of you, men and women alike, have encountered people you just didn’t warm to, simply because talking to them was so awkward.
You can argue against all these points, but they are real critiques, and can’t just be dismissed as the ravings of right wing crazies.