Women take center stage in US primaries
Ever since women were allowed the right to vote, they have been hoping and expecting a radical change in political demographics. When feminism gained strength in the 60s and 70s, the movement's leaders were convinced that women would be taking center stage, that it was time for women power. Time and time again, they were proved wrong, until the primaries of June 8th, 2010. Dick Morris and Eileen McGann have found an explanation for this shift.
Women have continually failed to take over the world of American politics. Never has there been a female president and women only constitute 18% of the House of Representatives and 17% of the Senate. Granted, gradual progress has been made but nothing particularly sensational had happened.
On the 8th of June, women won primary elections in California, Nevada, Arkansas and South Carolina. Dick Morris and Eileen McGann present some reasons for this sudden change, which stems from some polling they did for Hillary Clinton in 1990. The polling tried to gauge how women would cope in elections and it resulted in some insightful information.
The research found that most voters were not feminist enough to automatically vote for a woman or so sexist that they would never vote for a woman. However, they shared a common preconception about male and female candidates.
All voters, regardless of their gender, spot on the political spectrum or position on abortion agreed on the following points. They thought men were better suited to battle terrorism, fight wars and crime while they preferred women when it came to education, fighting poverty, the environment and reestablishing the government’s integrity.
The conclusion is simple: voters will favor men or women in function of the times at hand. In 2004, after 9/11 and with two new wars to fight, the American people preferred men. Today, in 2010, women are being favored because of the numerous scandals surrounding both Congress and the Senate. In essence, the times, not the candidates, determine how each gender will fare come election time.
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