Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump 2016
There’s a not-so-secret weapon looming in the likely 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Want to guess what it is? Here are a few hints: it’s very powerful, it exists in large numbers, and one of the presidential candidates is one. What’s the secret weapon?
If you answered “women,” you’re right. In 2016, there are three factors that could create a perfect storm for women voters, and for the Democratic Party:
Women make up a majority of the electorate
In the 2012 elections, for example, women voters outnumbered men to the tune of 53 percent of the electorate. And women typically vote more for Democratic than Republican candidates. In the 2012 presidential election, this “gender gap” was quite pronounced, as Willard Mitt Romney lost women voters to President Barack Obama by 10 points.
The Democratic Party nominee is a woman
Not only is Hillary Clinton on the verge of wrapping up the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, she is the front-runner to win the White House. There is even talk of having two women on the Democratic Party ticket, with names like U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis being discussed as possible Clinton running mates. Either way, 2016 will be historic for women, as Clinton is about to shatter the ultimate glass ceiling by becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major U.S. political party.
Donald Trump has a huge problem with women
Several months after the Republicans’ 2012 election losses, the Republican National Committee published an “Autopsy Report” which called for outreach to various groups in order to improve the GOP’s chances next time around. Chief among such groups were women, blacks, Latinos, Asians and gay Americans. Since then, however, the Republicans have done a horrendous job in reaching out to these voters, and indeed, have succeeded in alienating them even more. And no one has alienated these voters more than the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Here is some of Trump’s record on women:
–Going through three marriages and two divorces, including a public fight between his then-wife, Ivanka, and his mistress, Marla Maples, both of whom he brought to Aspen, Colorado;
—Saying about his then-24 year-old daughter, Ivanka: “she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
–Humiliating and disparaging women, from his contestants at his Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants to fellow GOP presidential competitor Carly Fiorina (“look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?”) to New York Times columnist Gail Collins (“the face of a dog!”);
–Calling TV talk show host Rosie O’Donnell a “fat pig,” a “slob” and a “disgusting animal.” Trump also used the term “pig” against Hillary Clinton, describing her eating cake at his wedding.
–Complaining about debate questions from Fox News host Megyn Kelly, Trump said: “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”
–Disparaging GOP competitor Ted Cruz‘s wife Heidi‘s looks;
–Accusing Hillary Clinton of “playing the woman’s card” in the current election.
Not surprisingly, Trump’s favorability rating among women is truly abysmal. And Democrats are not shy about feeding this narrative, using Trump’s own words. For example, pro-Hillary Clinton PAC Correct the Record released this ad several days ago, hitting Trump on his disrespect of women. We can expect more such material in the near future.
Given these factors, 2016 truly could be the Year of the Woman. That should make Republicans very nervous.
Photo by Marco Verch, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/hSVtqo
