CommentsMY TURN-Those of us that have watched and followed the horrendous anti-female GOP agenda over the last number of years have often been quite shocked that any woman would support such a party.
Their appalling voting record against all legislation that would open the gates from their male dominated control has been the very basis for their existence. When you add to this formula the blatant sexist behavior of the orange asshat in the White House, who has a number of sexual assault accusations lined up even before he began his campaign, we have all wondered exactly what will be the tipping point when some of these women finally see the light?
Maybe the underlying current for women was simply brewing, but when we witnessed the credible and well-formed testimony of Dr. Ford and weighed it against the ranting, angry, shouting and accusatory comments by Brett (aka “boof”) Kavanaugh, many women stood up and began distancing themselves from the GOP, even those that have historically supported the Republican Party.
A NY Magazine article copy of the Daily Intelligencer confirms what we are finally seeing: New Poll: Kavanaugh, Trump Losing Support of Republican Women
“Public support for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat has dropped to its lowest point since President Donald Trump nominated him in July, driven in large part by a sector of the president’s base: Republican women …
[Since last week] Kavanaugh’s net support among Republicans — the share who oppose his confirmation subtracted from those who support it — dropped 11 points, with 58 percent now in support of his confirmation and 14 percent opposed. The shift was driven by an 18-point fall in support among Republican women, with 49 percent now in favor and 15 percent in opposition.
And the growing aversion to Kavanaugh among Republican women seems to be tainting the man who nominated him:
[V]iews of Trump over the past week have been dragged down alongside those of his nominee. Seventy-two percent of GOP voters now approve of the president and 23 disapprove, down 16 points since the poll last week. (The results for GOP voters have a 4-point margin of error.)
Among GOP women, the drop was 19 points since last week, with 68 percent approving and 26 percent disapproving.
As a lifelong liberal I have pondered exactly “who” these women are. After all, they have devoted their vote to a known sexist, racist, bigot whose entire campaign was based on hate and lies that fact checkers can barely keep up with. A Pew Research report confirms what many of us have always assumed: the more educated the woman, the more likely she is to lean towards the liberal view; and conversely, the less educated, the more they are likely to support conservatives. The study also takes into consideration that there are now a higher percentage of people in general that are identifying themselves as independents, but it still doesn’t explain why these very same women would support such a viciously anti-female agenda of the Republican Party.
Another article in the Atlantic validates the fact that Republicans really don’t care about the votes of women: Here’s Why White Women Are Abandoning the GOP.
The party’s endorsement of Kavanaugh — and its general dismissal of the #MeToo movement — won’t do it any favors in November.
“For more than 40 years, college-educated white women have formed a substantive bloc for the GOP, the key constituency in establishing the party’s hold on suburbs and exurbs across the country. Indeed, the modern conservative movement was built, in part, by the very type of women who may now be fleeing the Republican Party.”
It continues with:
“Since the 1970s, Republican activists and leaders have successfully convinced white women that theirs was the party of economic security and national safety. Yet the politics of safety and security may be what is now driving white women to the Democratic Party.
Some traditionally Republican women may be turned off by the party’s steadfast support for the National Rifle Association and its unwillingness to pursue gun reform, arguably a threat to their children’s lives. Others may feel that the party dismisses their concerns when it comes to the most personal and intimate matters of their bodily integrity.”
The GOP and trump are Alienating College Educated Women
While we may be astounded that it took a final situation of the Ford/Kavanaugh testimony, it appears that one condition stood out amidst all of the circus: Dr. Ford presented herself as well-informed, educated, respectful and dignified and college educated women identified with her.
While this may be stating the obvious, this is also something that the Republicans simply couldn’t fathom, and they have been ignoring the wave of college educated and professional women as part of their voting segment.
CNN offered an exception overview of this situation in their article: Educated white women were already recoiling from Trump. Then came Kavanaugh.
“Coming even as many professional white women are already recoiling from President Donald Trump’s definition of the Republican Party, and Democrats have nominated an unprecedented number of professional women for Congress, the collision between Kavanaugh and Ford — a professional herself — has the potential to reinforce a lasting shift in loyalties that could tip the partisan balance in white-collar suburbs around America.
‘College-educated white women have identified very strongly with Dr. Ford and relate to her as a person, and will be turned off by the angry diatribes of Brett Kavanaugh,’ says Democratic pollster Ben Tulchin. ‘This dynamic will likely further boost college-educated women’s engagement in this election.’
New polling released Monday showed how the confrontation over Ford’s allegations could reinforce these dynamics. A national Quinnipiac University survey found that 61% of college-educated white women said they believed Ford over Kavanaugh; 58% of such well-educated women said the Senate should reject his nomination, according to detailed results provided by Quinnipiac.
By contrast, just over half of white women without degrees said they believed Kavanaugh and the Senate should confirm him.”
Republicans Sat Silent as Kavanaugh Exploded with Male Anger and Disrespect
During the testimonies of both Dr. Ford and Kavanaugh, it became painfully obvious that Republicans that were on the committee, such as Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley, could care less about the absolutely unacceptable behavior that Kavanaugh displayed. Their “silence” was an approval of his conduct and in doing so, they were simply accommodating their own male tribal cult attitudes.
This male dominant situation is something that we typically see in third world countries. I cover a bit of this topic in my article: Trump Tells Republicans: Step Up the Idiot Behavior
“Unlike Dr. Ford’s testimony which was viewed by millions around the world and agreed to be credible and respectful, Kavanaugh waved his 1980’s calendar that he has creepily kept all these years and in the next breath made weird accusatory comments about how this entire situation was a conspiracy by the Democrats to get him back for his interrogation of President Bill Clinton, the 2016 election results.
Meanwhile, during his entire charade of antics, the all-male Republicans present, said nothing. In fact, during the breaks, they were reported to be ‘energized’ by Kavanaugh’s bizarre behavior. This was/is apparently part of the male tribal cult that was completely missed by many of us and when we heard about it we realized:
The only thing the male Repubs and Kavanaugh missed doing was peeing on all of the corners.”
In this day and age, when women make up a larger percentage of the voting group, disregarding women, and the #MeToo movement, comes at a high price. While there may be a small percentage of the conservative base that will always support the GOP, no matter how bad they are towards women, there seems to be an awakening to a majority of women that these men have absolutely no interest in support for anything remotely related to women’s issues, and in fact, have a desire to turn the clock back, forcing women to be stuck in kitchens producing children that they may not want. In other words, pushing their right wing extreme religious beliefs on an entire country and placing women as second-class citizens.
It appears that supporting a pro-rape stance has been the final exit for the Republican Party, and the ironic thing is…they don’t even see it.
A journalist that worked in the media and continues to seek out truth and integrity. A liberal and one that is suspicious of cults and empty promises.
(S. Novi is a journalist that worked in the media and continues to seek out truth and integrity. A liberal and one that is suspicious of cults and empty promises. Her posts originate at Medium.com.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.