Democrats glance warily at rise of 'security mom'

[Gloria]

Some of this could make a person puke....


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/front/2301277

Dec. 17, 2003, 7:44AM
Democrats glance warily at rise of 'security mom'
By JULIE MASON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

(snip)

A step beyond the soccer moms of earlier election seasons, the security moms are a threat to Democrats, because their priorities have expanded beyond pocketbook and social concerns toward issues that favor Republicans, such as national security.

While polls have shown national security to be a rising issue with women voters, neither party has managed to gain meaningful traction on that issue alone.

SNIP

In the 2000 election, Democrat Al Gore won 54 percent of the female vote, to President Bush's 43 percent. This year, Bush is looking to improve his odds with women, in what is expected to be another close election.

"He has brought compassionate conservatism to a different level, he has reached way beyond his base," said Bob Stein, Rice University political scientist and pollster. "Medicare is a good example, working with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on a stalker bill is another."

The way Bush has begun talking about the war in Iraq also is aimed at appealing to women, said Stein.

"He is defining the war not as a John Wayne macho thing, but more along the lines of what President Clinton or Carter would have said, `Because it's the right thing to do,' " Stein said.

The strategy may already be working to Bush's advantage. In 2002, the first national elections after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, election results showed the gender gap narrowing. More women were voting Republican, and helped Republicans gain control of the Senate and key governorships.

MORE

[elfin]

1. All the more reason for Clark to appeal to this niche eom

[AP]

4. No. Must fight the Who Loves Raymond Repbulican strategy.

http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/03/12/int03326.html

Read this article and you can see what Bush is doing to cultivate this demographic. What it says is that bush is appealing to blue colar white men be acting like he's the head of his household, by puting women in their place, etc. The women who see the same actions and feel scared and feel like they need a man to protect them are part of this security mom demographic.

Democrats can't latch onto it and think they can ride it to a different outcome.

This is my biggest problem with Clark. I feel like Clark sees the wind blowing to the right, so he's opened his sail and he's riding with the wind, but he thinks he's going to cross a finish line on the left.

The other candidates are tacking into the wind, which is a harder way to go, I admit. However, I just don't think riding the wind that creates the security mom demographic is going to win.

What the Democrats need to do is what Clinton did. 1992 was 11 years ago. More women are working. More women are primary income earners. More women expect more from life. Bush has the bully pulpit and can drive this mixture of fear and anti-feminism. But the Democrats need to remind people that it's all better when men and women work together, and when your daughter has a chance at college, and an athletic scholarships and to get paid for the full value of her labor.

In my opinon the candidate best able to do this is Edwards. And this largely has to do with his wife. She's very interesting because she left work to have two kids, so she makes stay at home moms comfortable. But she's clearly liberal, she works harder for her husband than any spouse of a candidate works, she's INCREDIBLY well spoken. She's more likeable than HRC.

Edwards is the only candidate who's part of spousal team that has the ability to remind women about why it's important to vote for Democrats, and why this Bush submissive-woman think is total BS.

[mikehiggins]

2. The right thing to do

unless its YOUR son or daughter who has to go do it.

Strange how quickly attitudes can change on issues like that.

I'm as patriotic as anyone else, but send my son to die for George Bush's fantasies? Not in a million years.

ABB

[Redneck Socialist]

3. Pee your pants funny!

This line almost caused me to have an accident "He has brought compassionate conservatism to a different level, he has reached way beyond his base," whoooo...that's funny.

Sorry

More to the point voters feelings of insecurity (stoked by the misadminstration every chance it gets) are a real issue, but I am not so sure that women are feeling anymore insecure than men. Nat'l security will be an issue in the general election but this thing is still gonna swing on the economy and how people perceive things in Iraq are going.

[asthmaticeog]

5. Can anyone say "trial balloon?"

This is a big steaming heap. Any evidence that this "security mom" phenomenon actually exists? No. It's an assertion - an attempt to stick a meme into the broader discussion. If it takes, the puke shills have won another framing victory. Nothing to see here - this is just a tactic to counter the popularity of the "soccer mom" catchphrase by attempting to redefine the people to whom it's presumed to apply, in the hope that if they hear it enough, they'll start to believe it themselves.

See: "psyops."