Funny conversation.
In 2008, a friend who loves to host Dems, names you would know, was supporting Hillary.
This is before Barry and his minions cheated her out of her primary, literally.
So She turns to me and says “America is not ready for a woman President. Men are just afraid of that”.
My instant reply was to laugh and say “You bring me a Margaret Thatcher, Jeane Kirkpatrick or someone like that and I will vote for them” “I couldn’t care less that they are a woman only that they represent my ideals”
It has been my experience with race and gender, that conservatives are much more amenable to judging people on the basis of their actual capabilities than liberals are.
Liberals try to pigeonhole people into slots that seem to fit them, and even if they pay lip service to them...they are still in a pigeonhole. Worse, they try to make people fit their assigned molds whether they are capable or not (resulting in abominations like this current administration)
A prison is a prison is a prison.
Your response in the conversation you related is exactly what I get from most conservatives.