NPR: Why Hillary Clinton May Not Have The Female Vote Locked Up

[portlander23]

Why Hillary Clinton May Not Have The Female Vote Locked Up

"Right now I am torn between Bernie and Hillary," said Elizabeth Fiske, a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire. She recently came out to see Clinton talk about college affordability. Fiske is a women's studies major and says her friends keep talking about Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent. She likes what she hears — which is causing some angst.

"I think he has a lot of good ideas, but at the same time I feel kind of guilty for not supporting Hillary because she is a woman," she said. "Because I feel like I should be 'oh we could have a women in a position of power that's really good.' But at the same time, I feel like it shouldn't matter and I should support the politics of it and not the gender or the identity."

There's a sense especially among younger women that it doesn't have to be Clinton. If it doesn't happen now, they are sure it will happen in their lifetime. But it's not just the college set.

For mother of three Elizabeth Webber, who supports Clinton, the "woman thing" has very little to do with her feelings about the candidate.

"I think she honestly has the experience and the tenacity to get the job done," she said. "I love what she did when she was secretary of state and we need that."

And Webber's three adult daughters tell the story of this campaign right now. One supports Clinton. One supports Sanders. And one is still trying to decide.

Follow the link for audio.

[Skwmom]

1. "Love what she did as SOS" I wonder how she'll feel after the Republican ads hit... n/t

[Scootaloo]

2. It's a very odd thing to say...

But then I can't say I was particularly impressed with the US response to the Arab Spring...

[frylock]

3. I'd like to see the follow-up to that asking what specifically she loved about Clinton..

while she was with the State Dept. I recall polling done several months ago that had people saying that her experience at State was part of why they were supporting her, but when asked to provide details as to what it was that she did there that impressed them, they failed to come up with any specifics.

[jeff47]

4. People seem to treat it like a checkbox,

much like they treat her time in the Senate. People cite it, then seem utterly unfamiliar with what she actually did while holding either job.

[frylock]

5. Agreed, the Presidency of course being the Lifetime Achievement Award..

she's earned it, after all.

[NCTraveler]

8. Very revealing. nt.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Voting for a candidate because she's a woman = voting against a candidate because

she's a woman.

[NCTraveler]

9. Yes. I hear reverse sexism and reverse racism are all the rage. nt.

[cyberswede]

7. "I feel kind of guilty for not supporting Hillary because she is a woman"

So is Fiorina. Does Ms. Fiske feel guilty about not supporting her, too?

Yikes.

[progressoid]

11. It's a media thing.

They said she was the presumptive nominee like they did in 08 as well.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. "No one said she has it locked up"

right.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=603541

[beam me up scottie]

14. I was just going to post that!

. All Your Female Base Are Belong to Clinton (and Will Always Belong to Clinton). Period.

My favourite part was where she compared women who'll vote for Bernie to those who would vote for David Duke.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. "....fine, but EXCEPT for the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads,

the fresh-water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"

[beam me up scottie]

16. Ayup.

[Matariki]

12. She doesn't have this female voter's vote locked up.

Unless she wins the primary. But until then I'm leaning toward the Sanders camp.

[AtomicKitten]

17. She had a 29-pt drop in support from Democratic women in 8 weeks.

Clinton’s support erodes sharply among Democratic women.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-sharp-erosion-in-clinton-support-among-democratic-women/2015/09/14/6406e2a0-58c3-11e5-b8c9-944725fcd3b9_story.html

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hillary Rodham Clinton is suffering a rapid erosion of support among Democratic women — the voters long presumed to be the bedrock in her bid to become the nation’s first female president.

The numbers in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll are an alarm siren: Where 71 percent of Democratic-leaning female voters said in July that they expected to vote for Clinton, only 42 percent do now, a drop of 29 percentage points in eight weeks.

<snip>

The steep decline among women, which is sharpest among whites, is the main force driving the poll’s overall numbers, which show support for Hillary Clinton falling from 63 percent in July to 42 percent now among Democratic-leaning voters. Her numbers among women have declined to the point where they are about even with her share among men.