Half of white women continue to vote Republican. What's wrong with them?

[niyad]

(a lengthy, depressing, informative read)


Half of white women continue to vote Republican. What's wrong with them?
Moira Donegan

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Some 53% of white women voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election – the real story of white women voters is both more grim and more complex than the figure reveals
@MoiraDonegan



For the past two years, the American left has been haunted by a number: 53. It is the percentage of white women who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. In the sectors of the left where the figure and its implications have become a perennial theme, the number is treated both as disappointing and darkly unsurprising, a reflection of the conventional wisdom that white women would rather choose the racism espoused by the Republican party than join in the moral coalition represented by men of color and other women. On the left, this number can elicit exasperation, rage, and even suspicions about the moral legitimacy of the feminist project. It casts doubts on the political convictions of liberal white women, colors leftist perception of female-coded liberal political projects like the Women’s March, and has prompted long-overdue calls for increased political leadership by women of color.

The real story of white women voters is both more grim and more complex than the 53% figure reveals. The truth is that the 53% of white women who voted for Trump in the last presidential election was actually an improvement on even worse numbers from previous cycles. White women supported Mitt Romney at 56% in 2012, and supported George W Bush by 55% in 2004. Even these robust showings by Republican white women were down from their previous highs: Ronald Reagan won a staggering 62% of white women in 1984. All of these totals were lower than those for white men, who continue to support Republicans at alarming rates, but they were solid majorities nonetheless.



Preliminary results from this week’s midterm elections seem to suggest that the trend is continuing, with Republican candidates slowly losing the support of suburban white women across the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, white women’s overall support for Republicans slipped from the infamous 53% in 2016 down to 50% in 2018. CNN’s polling places white women’s support for Republicans just lower, at 49%. As the Republican party has shifted its rhetoric away from drab Romneyite fiscal conservatism and towards the sadistic racism that is Donald Trump’s stock and trade, there is some evidence that growing numbers of white women are turning away, repulsed.
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This shift makes white women at once one of the largest voting blocs in the nation and also one of its most divided, least ideologically coherent demographics. No other race and gender group is so split. There is a battle on for the soul of America, between the peevish, racist cruelty of Trump and his supporters and a vision of inclusion, justice, and decency forwarded by an increasingly diverse coalition on the left. Much of that battle is being waged in white women’s hearts, with the left hoping that more and more of them will break with their historical loyalty to white supremacy and embrace a kinder, more sustainable model for the future.

. . . .
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/09/white-women-vote-republican-why

[nycbos]

1. They are racist

[MountCleaners]

19. Racist, and authoritarian/conformist, too

In the right-wing mindset, the Republicans are "authoritative" because they "talk tough" on crime, the military, etc. They "support the police" no matter how bad they are. They're always saying "blue lives matter". You'll notice that Trump uses these themes when making endorsements.

Women are no different when it comes to authoritarianism than men. They need to see a "strong man" in power, and that "strong man" authority figure is never going to be anything other than white. They practice this authoritarianism in their churches, too. Right-wing white Christianity is a cult, and you question that authority, you get socially ostracized. Join the group and you get rewarded - with connections, husbands, jobs. To them the benefits of doing this are preferable to being feminist.

The biggest problem in my family now is that my family is very liberal, and my brother married a woman who grew up in a very conservative family. This woman calls all the shots in the family - what job her husband will have, how much he will make, where he will live, what church they attend, what schools they go to. There is a "right" way to do all of these. The thing is, it's very clear at family get-togethers that where it all comes from is that her father is not to be disagreed with or disobeyed. And the guy is dumb as a box of rocks and a shitty "Christian", too. But he can't be disgraced by his daughter living in the wrong neighborhood or whatever.

It's causing a lot of tension because there's always this implication at family get-togethers that my mother has been too liberal and has encouraged her kids to think for themselves and speak out against injustice. Like, they thought it was horrifying that my brother left his church because they fired a gay music director. You just don't "make waves" or disagree with authority on ANYTHING. They are less educated than we are, their dad made less money than mine, but they are super snobbish and think we are "trash" because my parents were too permissive and just "let their kids do anything." Did I mention that they are a hell of a lot WHITER than my family? And apparently, to them, being "white" has all sorts of rules that come with it. Like voting Republican. All Democrats are going to hell.

[StuckInTexas]

21. This

There is no need to dig any deeper on something that is clear as day.

[Pantagruel]

53. Fact is

not all repubs are racist but curiously EVERY racist votes for the GOP.

[Mariana]

2. They're Christian.

Most Christians vote Republican.

[CozyMystery]

4. Yeah, and this still doesn't make sense to me. This is not Christianity as I used to know it. nt

[Mariana]

9. I don't see why not.

Think about who are the most popular and influential Christian leaders in the US, the ones with the most followers. What do they preach? See? It really does make sense.

There are more than 1000 denominations of Christianity. Who knows how many "nondenominational" and "independent" churches there are, plus individual practitioners who have their own unique interpretations. A person can believe or disbelieve pretty much anything and still be considered one flavor of Christian or another.

[CozyMystery]

29. Well, let me give you some personal experiences I've had lately

I know one white woman who acts like a Christian all the time, and I've had frequent contact with her. She never preaches -- she leads by example. Her influence is far-reaching as she works for a very large and busy food bank that is run by a Christian organization. I don't know or care which denomination she belongs to.

On two trips to the Bible Belt recently, I was helped out by 8 different African-Americans. They did not look at the color of my skin, but at my grey hair. I did need help. I could hear my mother saying in my head, don't give anyone your suitcase, they will steal it. Well, I gladly and gratefully accepted the help. Each of those people said Bless You or Have a Blessed Day. They also chatted with me and were very friendly. Not one white person offered to help me.

I'd guarantee you that these folks were Christians. It is the Bible Belt after all. They each reminded me of the white woman I mentioned above. They walked the walk.

I am good friends with a Muslim family, there in the Bible Belt. I have not known many people who stand ready and willing to help whoever needs it! They are the most warm, welcoming people I know. Yet in Wal-Mart, the wife (who does not wear a head covering) was asked by a white man if she is a Muslim. She said yes. He yelled at her to go back to her own country; she is not welcome here. She is a spirited Democrat and told him off - including that the USA is her country. She's a citizen. Immigrated as a refugee. I assume that her accent gave her away as an immigrant to the US, because her appearance and behavior did not.

I guarantee you that these folks are Muslims. They walk the walk.

For decades I was a devout Christian who studied the Bible. I am the same person I was then -- just without a god. I see self-described Christians all the time -- and they are not anything like the real thing in their attitudes and beliefs. I think greedy, hateful people corrupt Christianity to meet their own needs and goals. That is not Christianity. But what do I know, I'm an atheist!

[Mariana]

32. I'm an atheist myself.

Pretty much every Christian is certain they're right and everyone who disagrees with them is doing it wrong. Given all the variations, it must be a very complicated business indeed figuring out what Christianity is supposed to be. I don't presume to know whether this or that person is actually a Christian. I take them at their word.

At any rate, most Christians in the US vote Republican. It's a pretty good bet that most female Republican voters are Christian, and that their Christianity is what motivates them to vote Republican.

[CozyMystery]

34. I guess I'm still stuck in the rut thinking that Jesus would have been a Dem. nt

[Mariana]

37. I suspect most Christians imagine Jesus to be a lot like themselves.

From what you say in this post, I gather that's how you felt when you were a Christian.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

33. Untrue! and although I am not religious lumping all Christians, Muslims or Jews together is wrong...

They probably watched Fox News with their sexist husbands, which causes ignorance, misconception and eventually brain damage.

[Mariana]

35. I certainly did not lump all Christians together.

I said: "Most Christians vote Republican." Most does not mean the same thing as All.

Most Christians in the US (better?) vote Republican. That's just a fact.

[JI7]

40. no, most black and latino Christian's vote democratic

[Mariana]

58. That is true.

Nevertheless, overall the majority of Christians vote Republican. It sucks that the white Christian Republican voters still outnumber the nonwhite Christian Democratic voters, but they do.

[ismnotwasm]

3. Bigots

Good article

[nini]

5. Racists, evangelicals. obsessed with the fetus, stepford wives

uneducated, greedy, mean.... lots of reason I will NEVER understand.

[Tumbulu]

6. they are the ones who married those kinds of men and believe that they cannot survive on their own

and they think that most men are better at survival than they are. Because within the population we have a range of capacities. These are the ones with diminished capacity for survival and need their men to navigate this harsh world. They think that all women are like this. Or should be happy and grateful to be protected by strong men, as they are. They resent the more intelligent, more independent women.

They do not understand anyone wishing to live outside of the protection that this system provides to them. And they think it is dangerous for their children to emulate such behavior.

That's my theory, for the time being.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

22. Yeah, that's a good description

I believe you are right because I know some women who are like this. Religion reinforces it too.

[qwlauren35]

31. I 100% agree with your theory.

When I think about Playboy bunnies, the "Housewives", etc., I am convinced that these women count on having wealthy white husbands and don't want to do anything to mess that up. Similarly, expensive call girls and escorts are counting on it. In general, attractive women who know that they have what it takes to get a crème-de-la-crème white husband, lover, John, etc. are not going to want to mess up the system. In fact, they are counting on that system, because if white men lose power, then other women will be considered more attractive, and their ability to navigate the world crumbles.

Now, in addition, we have our BBQ Beckies and other white women, like the white woman who got Emmett Till killed, who are simply not willing to accept that minorities are part of the US, and on a level playing field. THey are convinced that minorities do not belong in their space.

Those women also vote for Trump.

Christian my ass, there are lots of racist white women in America. Their racism is less violent (except for the cop who shot her upstairs neighbor who played loud music and annoyed her), but their conviction that minorities don't belong in their space is disastrous, painful, dangerous. Especially when it convinces white men to go to bat for them, and then harm minorities to save their "honor".

As minorities, we have seen with a growing frequency that many white women are not our friends. It's just not getting talked about and labeled.

Maybe now it will get talked about.

[smirkymonkey]

43. I think you are on to something.

One of my other pet theories has been that many of these women, who resent other strong women and hate feminism and feminists do so because they know they can't really compete with other educated, competent women and men if they had to be out there on their own. They don't want to leave their little protected bubbles because they don't want to ever have to be exposed as "not good enough".

Bottom line is that they are cowards.

[Yavin4]

7. Sad to say this, but nominating a woman to be president does not mean that we will win the women's

vote. That bullshit about Hillary's ethics costing her the woman vote is pure bullshit. We could nominate Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a majority of women won't support her.

[apnu]

11. This.

Hillary had unique negatives. Namely the stench of the 90s GOP smears. Its unfair to her, but she had them all the same. And its the reason why the GOP cheered when Hillary won the nomination.

But its true that a large block of christian women in America will consistently vote for the GOP. Its what they've been taught to to, and there's no reaching them today. Now with social media and the echo chamber.

[lindysalsagal]

39. I'm afraid you're right. Sad to say.

[Justice4JFK]

8. Is It Fear?

Wonder if they have been convinced/brainwashed to believe that voting otherwise would mean a loss of their comfortable lives as they know it...

[Initech]

24. No I think it's religion.

Trump has an astonishingly high approval rating among the hardcore religious. It's pretty sickening.

[Botany]

10. 2 words

GEZZZZZ US

[BumRushDaShow]

12. "white women's overall support for Republicans slipped from the infamous 53% in 2016 down to 50%"

Well that is a bit heartening. Some are finally "getting it".

And from the OP -

There is a battle on for the soul of America

And the motto of said United States of America is - "E Pluribus Unum" (Out of many, one). And the "diversity" is the "many" to represent "one" America.

The GOP only wants E unum unum (Out of the one, one). I.e., they want a strictly homogeneous society down to the racial/ethnic/religious level and everyone else should be purged.

[Awsi Dooger]

18. Independents on our side in 2018, and Silent Generation dying out

That explains the 3% swing more than anything else.

Older white women from the Silent Generation were imprinted to think like Republicans. Again, this is more often than not. Obviously there are liberal women from that generation, many posting here.

I don't have much confidence in this voting block. It shifted right after 9/11 due to national security concerns. Security Moms then, now whatever you want to call them.

White women who do not marry are more favorable to our side

[BumRushDaShow]

44. My mother (although black) was from the "Silent Generation"

(she was born in 1930 and would have been 88 this year)

And that generation were children during the Depression. Mom used to tell us that as a child, she remembered adults starving and falling out on the streets. During that time, Roosevelt was President and he was elected for 4 terms. Although he never lived long enough to make it through his 4th term, he probably would have been elected for a 5th if the did (this resulted in a Constitutional Amendment to limit the Presidential terms). So many in that generation were "Roosevelt Democrats" and not so much "thinking like Republicans".

IMHO, the generation that you are seeing embracing the GOP are who I call the WWII babies (pre-baby boomers) and the oldest boomers, many of whom jumped on the Nixon bandwagon in the late '60s, and Rayun sealed the deal for them. These groups are in the 72 - 80 age group.

As a sidenote, Ari Melber has 2 of them (WWII babies) on his show right now - George Clinton (from Parliament Funkadelic) who is 77 and Carole King, who is 76.

[maxsolomon]

13. Multiple factors:

Last edited Fri Nov 9, 2018, 08:11 PM - Edit history (1)

'Bortions
Fear of black men
Fear of black women
Fear of black children
Fear of Latino men
Fear of Latino women
Fear of Latino children
Fear of Muslim men
Fear of Muslim women
Fear of Muslim children
Fear of Gay men
Fear of Gay women
Fear of (having) Gay children
etc.
etc.
ad nauseum

The main factor in White voting patterns, male or female, is the Bubble THEY live in. Rural whites are isolated and ignorant of the (imperfectly so, but largely) tolerant, diverse Urban America that the majority of us live in.

[BumRushDaShow]

45. ...

[Corgigal]

14. I read an article about this before.

White southerner women vote for their husbands. They believe if he gets more money then she gets more in the house. Northern women vote for their children.

If I can find the article I will put it on here.

[Awsi Dooger]

20. Many articles like that

People becoming more conservative as they age is largely a myth, but women taking on the politics of their husband is anything but a myth

[Corgigal]

23. The author

https://www.c-span.org/video/?416749-3/arlie-russell-discusses-strangers-land

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

30. That's not really true.

I live in New England and I know white women who will just vote the way their husbands do. Usually it is because of religion. They think their husband rules the household, so they are just going to be obedient wives. These are the kind of women that are the stay at home wives. They don't want to work outside the home. They figure they have a good gig with their husband supporting them and they don't have to get a job. They pay their husband by voting the way he wants them to and being agreeable pretty much all the time when he is present.

[Ohiogal]

54. I've been a stay at home mom

for a long time, and I'm as liberal as they come. In fact, my husband recently said to me, "I can see ME telling YOU how to vote.". I took that as a compliment.

[dustyscamp]

15. They probably hate feminism, pc culture, love dominant men and listen to rightwing bullshit

[struggle4progress]

16. That's not credible:

According to the Census Bureau, there were about 98 million self-identified white women aged 18+ in the US in 2016; about 91 million being citizens; about 67 million registered to vote; and about 59 million actually voting

If half of the citizen "white" women 18+ in the US were voting Republican, that would be over 45 million female GOP voters. Trump only got about 63 million votes; and it's just not true that 45 million of those votes can from women

What's perhaps true is that exit polling (in 2016, say) showed that over half of the 59 million "white" women who voted went for the GOP: that might be about 30 million women or about a third of the citizen "white" women 18+ in the US

[Ohiogal]

55. You are exactly right. struggle 4progress

The 53% statistic represents 53% of the white women WHO VOTED.

Actual number is more like one third to one fourth of ALL white women voted for trump.

This statistic is bandied around a lot, and it's very misleading.

[bluestarone]

17. Probably because their husband told them too????

They just do not see the light here!

[ck4829]

25. K&R

[dawg day]

26. I heard a statistician say that 53% is suspect.

Wish I could remember why, but the numbers didn't add up.
Anything based on exit polling is suspect (I won't answer an exit poller, specifically to reinforce the "secret ballot" idea).

However, I live in a red state where most of the non-urbanites voted for Trump, so in my experience, how many voted for Trump? TOO MANY.

[at140]

27. 3 Reasons...

1) they are against abortions
2) they are latent racists
3) they are hypnotized by the job gains & stock market gains.

[Basement Beat]

28. Republicans directly and indirectly-

push an agenda to preserve a white majority- so they are voting in their perceived self-interest.
Equality and equal representation for all strikes fear in the hearts of white people who are frankly racist.

Grateful for the white allies that are fighting the good fight for a better union for all.

[KatyMan]

36. they're:

otnay ootay ightbray....also racist.

[lpbk2713]

38. I would have thought Trump's contempt for women would convince most.

If that doesn't do it I don't know what will.

[allgood33]

41. Over half of them have the same contempt for other women.

[JCMach1]

42. Wrong question, "What's Wrong With White Men"???

that they continue to fall for fascism and lies

[qwlauren35]

46. No, it's the right question.

There are more white women than white men. *IF* we could count on white women voting as Democrats, this country would be very different. But we can't count on them. Not only can we not count on them, but easily half of them are just as racist as their husbands. We have seen them in the past two years, shouting at minorities in stores, calling the police on minorities on college campuses, shooting neighbors who play loud music. So far, none of them have been mass murderers, but there have been multiple incidents of white women cops killing innocent black men.

It's the right question.

There are a LOT of attractive white women who have nothing else going for them, and they cannot afford for white men to come down in the world, because they are riding on his coat-tails.

This bullshit about white women voting for Trump because they are Christian is just that. Bullshit. There were somewhere between 7-11 different Republican candidates in the 2016 primaries. They picked Trump. The one who was on The Apprentice. The one who had the most money. The one who bragged about his dick size. The one who married a model - a woman they could relate to. The one who promised to keep immigrants out, to keep blacks down, to keep women subservient, and put the white man back on a pedestal.

Don't hijack this thread and make it about white men. Start another thread if you need to. But the reality of racist white women needs to be talked about. They can never, ever be counted on to vote Democratic. So there has to be a way to nullify them, until they die out or get a clue.

[Yavin4]

47. See numerous stories about White women calling the cops on innocent African Americans

And you will have your answer.

[pansypoo53219]

48. there are 2 kinds of christians. old testament vs new testament.

democrats actually follow the new †estament. GOP follows the old.

[elmac]

49. hmmm

[Hermit-The-Prog]

50. it's the schlafly

White women are still visited by Phyllis Schlafly. I suspect that Ann Coulter makes some evil incantations every night and the Schlafly rises up to go forth and infect GOPer brains.

Prove me wrong.

[byronius]

51. Both my psychotherapist aunts call it 'bonding with the offender'.

Sometimes oppressed, abused, and marginalized people get so used to it they start to expect it -- and need it.

It's why they call him 'Daddy'.

[Cha]

52. They're brainwashed repubs.. true story.

[Nay]

56. A lot are anti-abortion nuts. Others are pretty vicious 'Christians,' the rest want their men

to do well so they can do well -- as in, be rich and dominant.

[Blue_true]

57. Not all White women.

The 10 wealthiest congressional districts elected democrats on Tuesday. 41 of the 50 wealthiest districts elected democrats on Tuesday. My guess is there are a lot of White women in those districts and they likely vote majority democrat. What I see in Florida is poor White women vote republican because of dependency on their boyfriends or husbands, wealthier White women are more free in their votes.

[betsuni]

59. Republicans: Daddy, flag, Bible, anti-abortion, military, guns, family/morals/values, tax cuts

Brainwashed.