On Republican Women and Trump

Based on surveys, it seems that women (some widely publicized exceptions notwithstanding) who were Trump supporters are mostly still Trump supporters. They condemn his remarks, but believe that issues and policy still outweigh personal failings.

'Vicki Sciolaro, chairwoman for the Kansas Republican Party’s third congressional district appeared on Brooke Baldwin’s show Monday, and her remarks have made the internet rounds.

“I do believe that most men will talk about women in ways that they would never talk about publicly,” Sciolaro said. “I did not vote for Donald Trump in the primary. I did not vote for him, he was not my choice, he was, like, next to my last choice. But I absolutely will be [voting for him in general election] and here’s why: because of the issues.”'

This is remarkable on a few levels:

1. The GOP has long prided itself on character as being a core value. This was a mantra of the Religious Right, but has been a part of the secular conservatives as well. But in the face of egregious character flaws, particularly toward women, this is being brushed aside as less important.

Some of this no doubt is as much a condemnation of the perceived character of a woman who has been smeared by decades of political mudslinging (not always helped by her own responses, that's a trivial component of it). Trump's character is not held as laudable, but Clinton's is seen as worse.

2. Trump's issue/policy chops are, to say the least, made of cardboard. He'll fix things. But he won't tell us how. Between secret plans and his own triumphant will, he will simply make things happen to Make America Great Again.

Oh, I guess these qualify as "policy": He'll cut taxes. He'll abrogate or renegotiate treaties. He'll build a wall (he'll make Mexico pay for it). He'll repeal Obamacare. He'll give army surplus weapons to the police. He'll make it easier to sue journalists. He'll jail Hillary. Those are the extent of his serious policy elements.

What folk actually seem to mean here is that he hits the right policy emotional buttons: fear of terrorists, fear of job loss, fear of immigrants, fear of criminals, fear of change in what America is (but, paradoxically, the need for change in how we're governed).

The last part of the article raises an interesting question: is it simply that Republican women have a lower view, or lower expectations, of men? That they really do just attribute that sort of thing to "locker room banter." That all guys talk like that? That they accept that, like sausage and legislation, boys will be boys and that includes bragging (truthfully or not) about grabbing a women by the pussy because they'll let you?

Again, for the record, I've never been in a men's locker room when that sort of discussion was had. Where we talked about our need to kiss women without waiting for permission. Where we laughed about how you can grab women by the crotch if you're a star or important or have power over them. Nor a party. Nor an office meeting. Nor a bar conversation. From my perspective, at least, those sorts of comments — let alone the other comments and actions he's on the record with, or accused of — are normal, nor should they be accepted to be.

For Many GOP Women, Party Loyalty Trumps Personal Affront
“Locker room talk” has been the national buzz phrase of the last week; in the 2016 campaign, it’s not just videos that go viral, it’s talking points too. “Do you have men in your family?” Mary Anne…

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