White voters are accused – again – of supporting their party during #MeToo

The 53% were again criticized on social media.

The figure refers to the percentage of white women who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 – a fact that stunned many progressives, who were incredulous that so many female voters lined up on the side of a man with a history of sexist rhetoric and behavior towards women a woman who was about to make history by breaking the highest glass ceiling of American politics.

The controversial battle to uphold Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court resuscitated resentment against the 53%, especially after Senator Susan Collins (Maine), whose moderate Republican profile had earned him supporters of the United States. the blue side of the division, voted to confirm Kavanaugh amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a girl while in high school.

The 53% sold their sisters again in the service of patriarchy, a particularly egregious sin following the #MeToo movement, which revealed widespread sexual harassment and assaults among powerful men in the workplace. Anger also erupted last December when prominent lawmakers, activists, and Republican experts refused to vigorously condemn Roy Moore, the GOP's Senate candidate for a special election in Alabama. Moore was narrowly defeated by Democrat Doug Jones, thanks to the presence of white women in the contest and the massive participation of African-American women.

But it should be remembered that many women who support sexually dishonest men are more loyal to their party or conservative ideology than to their sex. They are more inclined to believe that leftist forces, including "radical" feminists, are trying to bring down men who will defend the issues that are important to them, such as tax cuts or prohibited abortions.

[Tina Fey tells college-educated white women who voted for Trump: ‘You can’t look away’]

Survey after poll, the polls revealed that Trump supporters were more concerned with advancing a conservative agenda than with his personal behavior. star to keep quiet about a sexual case in 2006.

But Melissa Deckman, a professor of political science at Washington College, said some women, including moderates and democrats, "felt betrayed" by Collins, whom they considered a "voice of reason" in a party. whose messages about women often seemed unreasonable.

"In the past, she has always been pro-choice and willing to challenge Trump on a policy that stands on the left, like refusing to overturn the Affordable Care Act," Deckman said, adding that Collins had also voted in favor a law on equal pay for women. "In the past, she has been a voice to say," We need to be more responsive to women's voices in a party that does not do it very often. ""

This time, however, many women thought that Collins "minimized the voice of Christine Blasey Ford" in a speech that was also more partisan than usual. "People tend to forget that they are politicians."

[Clinton’s support erodes sharply among Democratic women]

Christine Matthews, President of Bellwether Research and an investigator who conducted consultations on messages for women, said the increasingly polarized political climate was affecting women as well as men. But she noted that Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) did not vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

And she disagrees with those who say Collins did not support Ford or the issue of sexual assault. She said that for women it's "much better to have Susan Collins" than an indifferent senator.

It should be noted that African American, Hispanic and American women of Asian descent are largely spectators of this debate. They voted overwhelmingly for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. Polls prior to the presidential election showed that black women, compared to other groups, were more afraid of a Trump presidency. In the past two years, black women have frequently reminded white women of the role played by this latter group in Trump's election.

Trump spoke to these women at a rally during which he made fun of Ford's testimony about the alleged assault and said that women should "think about your sons".

Deckman and Matthews say, however, that it is probably young women – girls – who turn out to be the cause of losing the GOP.

"I think the long-term implications are really not good for the GOP. They can not continue to be a party of white men and expect that kind of behavior to be rewarded in 10 or 20 years, "Deckman said. She added that the country is becoming not only more diverse, but that "the opinions of young Americans are more liberal. They care about sexual harassment and issues such as LGBT rights. In 10 years, they will be more settled and vote more regularly, and they will not accept that. "

Matthews agrees, noting that the calculation could begin with the next intermediate parties. As she noted in a recent tweet: