"A majority of women have voted Democratic sine the election of Bill Clinton in 1992."
Posted on 09/23/2010 6:34:54 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Singling out politics
FROM THE HART | Women without husbands rely on good ol' Uncle Sam
September 23, 2010 BY BETSY HART www.betsysblog.com
Today the "gender gap" in politics, or the trend of women voting more Democratic than men, is the accepted norm. But it's a relatively recent one. So why the change?
According to the Gallup organization, the gender gap first showed up in significant terms in a presidential race in 1984. A majority of women have voted Democratic since the election of Bill Clinton in 1992.
But Gallup shows that in 1976, a majority of women backed Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter. For the dozen or so years before that, men and women had pretty similar voting patterns. Before 1964, "women actually voted Republican at higher rates than men did," Gallup shows.
Married women actually are more likely to vote Republican than single women, though they remain a true "swing group" of voters. In contrast, single women tend to be rock solid Democrats. Never-married women and/or single women with children, more Democratic still.
There is at least a correlation between women who have a man to provide, or help provide for and protect them, favoring Republicans. While women who don't have a husband are apparently more likely to look to the government to provide and protect instead.
Sure, there is a lot of overlap here with traditional Democratic voting blocks, like African Americans and the young. Still, my hunch is perhaps best supported by the fact not just that women started voting more Democratic as families routinely broke up, but that single women are significantly more likely to favor Democrats than are single men.
Yes, I'm the first one to say women are not a monolith. And as women become more economically advantaged relative to men -- which a recent Census Bureau report and other data show may be happening -- this could shake up electoral politics all over again. By the way, the same poll also showed that women are more likely to stay home this election cycle than men, which is a switch from recent years and may show the apathy of Democrats in general.
I'll leave all that to the political consultants to figure out what this means for getting their candidates elected.
I'll just note that there has been a lot of man-bashing in our culture in recent decades, and that's too bad. Because the evidence suggests to me, and voting patterns are just one part of this puzzle, that women don't really want to "go it alone" at all.
Follow Betsy on Twitter at betsyhartspeaks.
"Single women, even more than their married sisters, overwhelmingly favor Democrats."
"43 percent of women say they will vote for the Democrat."
"A majority of women have voted Democratic sine the election of Bill Clinton in 1992."
Single women look for support- instead of man, they turn to government. Bad mistake.
I like Betsy Hart, but she makes the same mistake here that every other columnist makes when writing about the political “gender gap:” she omits one significant category...single LADIES, who are a different animal than single WOMEN. You know, there are a few of us out there who aren’t looking to be “taken care of.” We own our own homes, we are pro-life, pro-marriage and family (even if we haven’t gotten there yet, ourselves), pro-Second Amendment, pro-traditional values, and pro-Christianity. We vote CONSERVATIVELY!!!
“You know, there are a few of us out there who aren’t looking to be “taken care of.”
______________________________
“Yes, I’m the first one to say women are not a monolith.”
“43 percent of women say they will vote for the Democrat.”
Betsy Hart
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More than 4.4 million people are on welfare, an 18% increase during the recession...
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/08/coming-obama-crime-wave.html
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