Divided Democratic women must come together

With the nation’s most historic presidential primary race finally concluded, the first woman who actually had the nomination within reach, Hillary Clinton, has now come out and endorsed her former rival Barack Obama.

Senator Clinton has vowed to work as hard as she can to make sure that the Democrats take back the White House in November. The question seems to be whether or not some of her most ardent supporters — Hillary’s women — will be convinced to do the same.

Some older Clinton supporters are angry at the outcome of the primary, citing the real possibility that their dream of seeing a woman as president will not happen now, at least in their lifetimes. Others cite sexism as being at least partly to blame for Clinton’s defeat and this only feeds into the deep-seated anger and resentment.

Early in the campaign, the media was rightly criticized for their remarks in regards to Senator Clinton’s voice, or what she was wearing, or even how she might look as she aged. These were comments that weren’t being applied to any of the male candidates and were totally unfair as well as highly inappropriate.

Women across the country spoke out and eventually this type of overt sexism was at least taken out of the mainstream. When Senator Clinton was treated more fairly, the focus was brought back where it should have always been — on the issues. And the number of votes that Hillary Clinton garnered by the end of the primary, from both female, as well as male voters, made it clear that a woman could compete just as well as a man for this highest of offices. She had indeed put many cracks in that highest of glass ceilings.

There was no group of voters more enthusiastic to be involved in helping in the goal to elect the first woman president than those who call themselves feminists.

But what seemed to be surprising to some, was the fact that America’s feminists did not come out and vote in a block, which at one time in our country’s history and not that long ago, would have been the expectation.

These women rather, seem to divide along lines that didn’t necessarily make gender the main consideration. And to many observers this indicated that the feminist movement in the 21st century had grown and matured.

Clinton did lead Obama in most primaries when it came to the overall women’s vote with 60 to 36 percent. However, among college-educated women, her lead was less, 54 to 43 percent according to Associated Press exit polls.

And among women under 30, Obama beat Clinton by a margin of 56 to 43 percent. Obama advisers noted that he defeated Clinton among women in at least 12 states, due in part to overwhelming support among African-American women, according to AP reports.

Younger women who consider themselves feminists view the political landscape from a different perspective than those who were on the front lines at the beginning and had hand’s-on experience in the struggle women have gone through.

But it was not just younger, or college-educated, or African-American women who caused the divide in the feminist vote for Clinton. It was also women who resented her hawkish-support of Bush’s policies. A group of feminists known as Feminists for Peace and Obama was a significant group who did not support Clinton.

In any close primary contest, as this years proved to be, with support divided so evenly between two highly respected and well-liked contenders, it is easy to understand that right now there are a lot of hurt feelings, particularly among Clinton’s most enthusiastic supporters — older women.

There is talk among some of them that they may well vote for John McCain in the fall because they are so disappointed and even disillusioned by the final outcome of the long primary season. They need to remember that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were very much on the same page on those issues that concern women the most, particularly the economy and health care.

A vote for John McCain would mean a continuation of the war and occupation in Iraq, with the resulting exorbitant national debt, left to be paid off by our children and grandchildren, not to mention the continuation of Bush’s failed economic policies which are crushing the middle-class, while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and big corporations.

And these Clinton women also need to be reminded that one and possibly two Supreme Court justices will likely be appointed by the next president. John McCain has a long history of being anti-choice and wants to overturn Roe v. Wade.

By the time the general election rolls around in November, if the women who voted for Clinton take a close and careful look at the Republican candidate they are now threatening to support, they will return to the fold running, and vote for the party that truly cares about women’s issues.

ABOUT THE WRITER
Carol Jensen is a long-time Barstow resident, graduating from Kennedy High School and Barstow College, where she was an English instructor for many years. Much of her time now is spent writing political and social commentary. She may be contacted at cajensen49@msn.com.