Don't Dismiss Those "Crazy Feminists"

One of the big stories at the Convention this week is the ongoing rift within the Democratic Party between the House of Clinton and the House of Obama. Adding fuel to the fire is a recent CNN poll showing that 27% of Hillary Clinton supporters plan to vote for John McCain in November. The default interpretation of these numbers is that they show the stubbornness of die-hard feminists who are planning on voting for McCain simply to vote against Obama. I find this hard to believe. My sense is that feminists are only a small fraction of the 27%; most, I believe, are folks who simply prefer McCain to Obama for reasons that have nothing to do with Clinton. But let’s assume for the moment that the pundits are correct, and that this poll highlights the bitterness of feminist Hillary supporters, who certainly are out there and certainly are vocal.

What is to be done about these seemingly “kamikaze” voters? Many Democrats believe they should simply shut their traps and get their butts in line. And if, heaven forbid, Obama were to lose the election by a thin margin…well, then these crazy feminists should be blamed for the loss and excommunicated from the Party! It would be a replay of 2000, when Nader voters were blamed for losing the election for Gore.

I do agree that the “cut off your nose to spite your face” strategy of voting for McCain in order to exact revenge upon Obama and our sexist world is pretty much total insanity. But blaming feminists for voting this way would be unfair and undemocratic. I believe it is impossible for someone to vote “incorrectly.” Your vote is your voice, and you can (and indeed should) use your vote to give expression to whatever message, cause, stance, or policy you deem important.

Back in 2000, the received wisdom was that Nader voters “lost” the election because they didn’t vote for Gore, the candidate they “should” have voted for. Many Democrats felt that, because Bush was so clearly an evil conservative, Gore deserved the votes of all liberals simply by default. But this is nonsense. The real story was that, by tacking hard to the center, Gore lost the support of those liberal voters who, by voting for Nader, wanted to give voice to their reservations about Gore and his centrist policies. Instead of respecting this voter expression and adjusting policy and rhetoric to appeal to this liberal constituency, the Democratic Party dismissed these voters and blamed them for voting “incorrectly.”

A similar scenario is playing out with Clinton’s feminist supporters today. By saying they will vote for McCain, these voters are quite clearly giving expression to their anger. They are saying that Obama has failed to address their concerns. This, in my mind, is the beauty of democracy in action. Politicians must earn each vote. But instead of hearing what these voters are trying to say, many Democrats are dismissing them as “crazy rabid feminists.” While I’d certainly prefer that Clinton supporters express their discontent in a way that doesn’t require them to vote for McCain, I have absolutely zero say in the matter. It is their vote to cast for whatever reason makes sense to them, however crazy that reason may be. Obama missed a chance to earn their vote when he chose not to put Hillary on the ticket. He must now try to earn their vote some other way.

P.S.: after watching Hillary’s speech tonight, I imagine most of her feminist supporters will now vote Obama or at the very least won't vote for McCain. But for the few still left out there who are thinking about voting for McCain, I respect your desire to hold out. I’m sure Barack will find a way to bring you on board by November.