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I've heard some pundits say that suburban women are key for Democrats this November and back in 2020.
I am stereotypical suburban woman. Husband is 32, I turn 21 tomorrow, 2 little boys, some college for me and I am a stay at home mom, 2 degrees for my husband, upper middle class, both white. I think both parties get some things right and somethings wrong, but that the Democrats get a little more right. I voted for Biden in my first election. My husband voted for the Libertarian lady, but has already said he will vote straight GOP in 2022.
I can't speak for all suburban women, but here is what I think based on my personal views and my friends' views.
(1) Most Democrats have not supported this and Biden has not supported this. However, some Democrats have in fact supported this....Democrats MUST back away from anything that is "Defund the Police." You will scare suburban people to the Republicans. I will never vote for a person who says "defund the police." It is asking for more violence and scares people in my circles as being out of touch with reality.
(2) Don't gaslight on CRT or whatever you want to call it. I am not far removed from high school and some teachers would in fact do illogical teachings that were racist against whites. Most of my friends my age say that it is absurd when Democrats insist that none of the countless teachers across the countless schools are doing these things when we've experienced it firsthand. Stop gaslighting us suburban women that it doesn't happen. If my circle of friends know better, most people know better and it hurts your credibility to deny that it never happens in any of the countless classrooms. Teaching diversity and love is good, but there are teachings that cross a line actually being racist. Know where that line is and accept that it shouldn't be crossed.
(3) I think gun control plays well in suburban women circles. I know it hurts in rural areas, but I think it helps among my friends. We are depressed by the school shootings and fear it could happen here next.
(4) National healthcare would be a positive in my circle of friends. Many people struggle with healthcare bills and even if we don't, we feel for those who can't.
(5) Andrew Yang had a lot of ideas, not all were perfect, but generally my circle of friends appreciate that he had many creative "let's do something ideas" written down on paper.
(6) The Green New Deal was too idealistic and too far reaching, and easy for Republicans to pick apart... but take a step on that green path with a smaller, more sensible plan put down on paper.
(7) Many of my friends are upset with inflation and feel that the government hasn't been forthright on inflation claiming it wouldn't happen, then it would be "transitory" and small, then that Putin caused it.
(8) Abortion, I am pro-life, but most of my friends are in the middle. They want abortion legal for the 1st trimester, but banned in the 3rd trimester. 2nd Trimester is wishy washy. Most see it as important, but not important as something like inflation.
(9) Most of my friends want to help Ukraine...but not too much to avoid provoking Russia.
(10) Definitely me, and most of my circle of friends think the military gets too much money. They want a balance of a strong military, but not so big that it is a world police. I know this seems contradictory to the above point.
(11) Get the border under control. Most of my friends think we are incompetent to have that much chaos at the border. I am more pro-immigrant than perhaps many of my friends. I think overall, a good balance would play well in the suburbs where we speed up legal immigration, but secure the border.
Just my ideas on how Democrats can do well with suburban women based on my own personal thoughts from myself and my friends, which may or may not be accurate to American suburban women as a whole.
What do you think?
***Don't be mad please....just sharing my thoughts and hoping to learn more***
^^^ Seems reasonable. I agree that the Democrats need to drop some of their more extreme and unworkable positions, specifically:
1) “Defund the Police”. That’s obviously a bad idea. “Reform the Police” would be a better slogan. Clearly there are some bad cops out there, and that should be addressed; but we still need police obviously.
2) CRT, which is ruffling a lot of feathers and possibly making racial division worse.
3) Green New Deal. As much as I’d love to live in a world powered exclusively by non-fossil energy sources, the technology just isn’t there yet. We don’t have batteries big & cheap enough to power the grid when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing…not yet anyway. I’d like to see the USA take the lead in creating a new generation of safer nuclear plants, even if that means subsidies. Right now, we are in danger of losing our nuclear power plants due to age. If we don’t replace them with a new generation of nuclear plants, they will be replaced mainly by natural gas. Presumably some Republicans would be on board with keeping nuclear power alive.
Every election year there is a focus on a specific demographic, and what either major party can do to "court" their vote. I guess what chaps my hide is the assumption the assumption that having one commonality makes us a voting bloc. I'm a woman and I live in a suburb, but my voting habits are based on my life experiences and my values; my values may be different from someone of the same micro-demographic, let alone someone who has nothing more in common than living in the same 'burb.
At this point in my life I am not a single-issue voter, and my political leanings are admittedly entrenched. A specific issue, or poorly thought out slogan, or politician isn't going to sway me toward a different political party.
Although I will probably never vote for a Democrat ever again due to what the party has become (believe it or not, I *have* voted for various local Democratic candidates in the past), I think there are things on this list in which common ground could be found.
1. I’m fine with police reform especially reform that gets police out of responding to non-emergency issues that could be better handled by some other type of professional. My local “big city” - Denver - is experimenting with this, and it seems promising. However, I could do without the demonization of all police officers in general, and I disagree with the leftists who sign on to the “ACAB” and “defund the police” type slogans. I know at least two law enforcement officers fairly well and they want to help their communities. They aren’t out to kill all people of a certain race.
2. I think it would be good for Democrats to just admit that they want to weave themes of Critical Race Theory throughout the curriculum at all grade levels in Public School as well as college. I think most people can agree with teaching about things that happened in the history of our country that were less than ideal in an honest way, but Democrats tend to take a “you’ve got to be ashamed of America and hate it” type of approach to this, which I vehemently disagree with.
3. I don’t think gun control will solve all of the ills of the country, although Democrats tend to think it will. I live in Colorado and we’ve had mass shooting despite Colorado Democrats enacting a Red Flag law (which seems to be the holy grail right now). Agree with spending more time on mental health, however, and agree that there are problems that need to be solved related to this topic. Disagree with disarming all law-abiding people to the point where only government and criminals will have access to guns.
4. I would prefer to investigate alternatives to universal healthcare. It’s viewed by Democrats as this ideal, and that it’s “free.” Me? I’d love to be able to purchase a catastrophic policy that would cover nothing except for an emergency hospital stay and I’d be happy to pay cash for a checkup or anything else that is minor (I don’t have a lot of medical needs right now). I’d also love to investigate other options here, but Democrats tend to act like the -only- way to move forward on this is to enact a single-payer system. But I can agree that the current situation isn’t perfect.
5. I’m not sure Universal Basic Income will work in the way that Andrew Yang thinks it will work, but I can appreciate the fact that he puts ideas out there.
6. I’m all for an “all of the above” energy strategy that includes fossil fuel and renewables, with the goal of transitioning to renewables in the future. However, Democrats would have a winning issue here if they dropped the extreme elements and also stopped banning and removing options for people at the state and local levels (meaning, ‘you can’t buy an ICE car after 2030, and DEAL WITH IT.”)
7. I think everyone can agree that this current inflationary environment is not good. It would be nice if Democrats stopped proposing huge and increased spending as the answer to … everything. I’m not trying to claim that Republicans are perfect here, but I’d be open to hearing ideas from Democrats that are not “oh, it’s not an issue, let’s SPEND SPEND SPEND!”
8. Agree as well. Democrats tend to portray abortion as a “women’s health issue” the point where one would swear that abortions are just common things that all women get, just like a routine checkup. I think there is common ground here as well. I think most people fall somewhere in the middle where they think it should be available and legal in various instances, but rare.
9. Agree, we’ve done more than enough to help Ukraine. I understand the logic of “fighting the ‘war’ there instead of here” but we’ve also given Ukraine way more than what other countries have given Ukraine.
10. I don’t have a strong opinion on this. I think we need strong national defense and I generally do believe in “peace through strength.” But, I don’t also know enough about this topic to know if there’s a happy (happier?) medium here.
11. Total agree and it’s insulting when the Democrat Party acts like there’s no problem at the border, or when various cabinet members or politicians work to undermine border security. I think most people can agree that this situations needs to be brought under control.
Hope this helps? I really do think there are a lot of areas for common ground.
I've heard some pundits say that suburban women are key for Democrats this November and back in 2020.
I am stereotypical suburban woman. Husband is 32, I turn 21 tomorrow, 2 little boys, some college for me and I am a stay at home mom, 2 degrees for my husband, upper middle class, both white. I think both parties get some things right and somethings wrong, but that the Democrats get a little more right. I voted for Biden in my first election. My husband voted for the Libertarian lady, but has already said he will vote straight GOP in 2022.
I can't speak for all suburban women, but here is what I think based on my personal views and my friends' views.
(1) Most Democrats have not supported this and Biden has not supported this. However, some Democrats have in fact supported this....Democrats MUST back away from anything that is "Defund the Police." You will scare suburban people to the Republicans. I will never vote for a person who says "defund the police." It is asking for more violence and scares people in my circles as being out of touch with reality.
(2) Don't gaslight on CRT or whatever you want to call it. I am not far removed from high school and some teachers would in fact do illogical teachings that were racist against whites. Most of my friends my age say that it is absurd when Democrats insist that none of the countless teachers across the countless schools are doing these things when we've experienced it firsthand. Stop gaslighting us suburban women that it doesn't happen. If my circle of friends know better, most people know better and it hurts your credibility to deny that it never happens in any of the countless classrooms. Teaching diversity and love is good, but there are teachings that cross a line actually being racist. Know where that line is and accept that it shouldn't be crossed.
(3) I think gun control plays well in suburban women circles. I know it hurts in rural areas, but I think it helps among my friends. We are depressed by the school shootings and fear it could happen here next.
(4) National healthcare would be a positive in my circle of friends. Many people struggle with healthcare bills and even if we don't, we feel for those who can't.
(5) Andrew Yang had a lot of ideas, not all were perfect, but generally my circle of friends appreciate that he had many creative "let's do something ideas" written down on paper.
(6) The Green New Deal was too idealistic and too far reaching, and easy for Republicans to pick apart... but take a step on that green path with a smaller, more sensible plan put down on paper.
(7) Many of my friends are upset with inflation and feel that the government hasn't been forthright on inflation claiming it wouldn't happen, then it would be "transitory" and small, then that Putin caused it.
(8) Abortion, I am pro-life, but most of my friends are in the middle. They want abortion legal for the 1st trimester, but banned in the 3rd trimester. 2nd Trimester is wishy washy. Most see it as important, but not important as something like inflation.
(9) Most of my friends want to help Ukraine...but not too much to avoid provoking Russia.
(10) Definitely me, and most of my circle of friends think the military gets too much money. They want a balance of a strong military, but not so big that it is a world police. I know this seems contradictory to the above point.
(11) Get the border under control. Most of my friends think we are incompetent to have that much chaos at the border. I am more pro-immigrant than perhaps many of my friends. I think overall, a good balance would play well in the suburbs where we speed up legal immigration, but secure the border.
Just my ideas on how Democrats can do well with suburban women based on my own personal thoughts from myself and my friends, which may or may not be accurate to American suburban women as a whole.
What do you think?
***Don't be mad please....just sharing my thoughts and hoping to learn more***
I think you sound like someone that will be voting Republican in the near future.
(3) Gun control doesn't work because mass murderers don't obey gun laws. Wouldn't you rather have an armed and capable individual inside the school at all times, just in case?
Years ago, there was a rash of late night convenience store robberies in a small town in Florida. The local LE began placing a police officer with a pump shotgun in the back room of select stores. They announced through the local media that the police officers would be in the stores and that they would be armed with pump shotguns, but they didn't say which ones. That was for the would-be robbers to guess. Needless to say, the robberies stopped immediately.
(4) I like the idea of more nonprofits like BC/BS and a requirement that all employers provide their employees at least minimal coverage. The balance can be addressed by state programs. It's a piecemeal approach, but everyone should have some skin in the game so that we don't create a financial disincentive to work.
(6) Green energy (renewable energy) has been kicked around since at least the 1970s when we started adding ethanol to gasoline. The problem with that is each gallon of ethanol produced requires 22 lbs of corn and 7 gallons of fresh water. Never mind that its production consumes more energy than the fuel provides. Wind and solar have their own problems. Depending on which part of the country you inhabit, some forms are beneficial and others not so much.
Electric cars are great and a very exciting option to $5/gal gasoline, but the working class can't afford them, we depend on China for cobalt, neodymium and lithium and we could never generate enough electricity to charge them if they became common. $5/gal gasoline could easily morph into 40 cent/kWh electricity for both your home and your car.
(8) Abortion isn't going away any time soon, After the expected overturn of Roe, the states will regulate it as before.
(10) Nothing provokes like weakness. As a former marine, I hate the idea of the poorest males - the ones with fewest opportunities to escape a draft when the **** hits the fan - being forced to go to war with inferior weapons and worn-out, ****ty equipment. The least we can do for the disposable class is to provide every advantage possible, even if we have to give up high-speed rail and turtle bridges to accomplish this.
Conventional wisdom going back decades is that security is the number one issue for women. Lately, lots of women have addressed that issue by purchasing firearms. 40% of first-time gun buyers are female, so onerous gun control is, as always, DOA. Apart from that, the Democrat's failure to address BLM and antifa riots speak to their tone deafness.
Most Democrats do not back “ defund the police no different than most Republicans are not white supremacists.
Facts have not however, prevented politicians, PACs and medias including social media from claiming it so.
CRT is a factual body of work that explores how racism was and remains embedded in US laws and legal institutions. One of the primary co- founders is white.
Can’t imagine why anyone would not want to understand what came before and why and what remains as it relates to civil rights.
I am aware of many, many households , city and suburban, that economically engage undocumented people. Housekeepers, caregivers, landscapers, construction, the trades etc. So long as businesses and people continue to economically engage undocumented people without consequence, they will come. Some routinely arrive with tourist visas, illegally work and return home before their visa expires. Rinse and repeat.
In terms of illegal border crossings and seeking asylum from within the US, what’s going on is insanity. . The Biden Admin owns it.
Trump campaigned in 2015/6 on repealing Obamacare and REPLACING it with something wonderful, that would take care of every body and the government was going to pay for it. There was no daylight between this and Bernie’s Medicare for All except that Bernie had a clue what it would cost to do so. As we soon learned, Trump had no plan- just empty campaign rhetoric. Trump did however change the Republican narrative from a stand alone to a simultaneous replace with something that includes preexisting conditions.
That 75% of us are overweight and 42% obese and substantially more vulnerable to serious disease, it’s no wonder we spend more on healthcare. That the US allows big pharma to direct advertise to consumers is also a national novelty. No one has a viable plan to reduce the cost of while maintaining or improving the quality of healthcare.
I think if DeSantis campaigns with Nikki Haley or Kristi Noem for VP, he will draw in a lot of these suburban women. Both women have a great governing track record and are well-respected along with DeSantis.
I think if DeSantis campaigns with Nikki Haley or Kristi Noem for VP, he will draw in a lot of these suburban women. Both women have a great governing track record and are well-respected along with DeSantis.
^^I agree that he will likely draw the subset of suburban women who are swing voters, as well as those are already solid right or right-leaning. But, I don't see them pulling those solid left or left-leaning.
As a side note, I wonder if the term "suburban women" has outlived it's usefulness? In the past it largely referred to a more narrow demographic, but the suburbs are a lot more diverse today.
I've heard some pundits say that suburban women are key for Democrats this November and back in 2020.
I am stereotypical suburban woman. Husband is 32, I turn 21 tomorrow, 2 little boys, some college for me and I am a stay at home mom, 2 degrees for my husband, upper middle class, both white. I think both parties get some things right and somethings wrong, but that the Democrats get a little more right. I voted for Biden in my first election. My husband voted for the Libertarian lady, but has already said he will vote straight GOP in 2022.
I can't speak for all suburban women, but here is what I think based on my personal views and my friends' views.
(1) Most Democrats have not supported this and Biden has not supported this. However, some Democrats have in fact supported this....Democrats MUST back away from anything that is "Defund the Police." You will scare suburban people to the Republicans. I will never vote for a person who says "defund the police." It is asking for more violence and scares people in my circles as being out of touch with reality.
(2) Don't gaslight on CRT or whatever you want to call it. I am not far removed from high school and some teachers would in fact do illogical teachings that were racist against whites. Most of my friends my age say that it is absurd when Democrats insist that none of the countless teachers across the countless schools are doing these things when we've experienced it firsthand. Stop gaslighting us suburban women that it doesn't happen. If my circle of friends know better, most people know better and it hurts your credibility to deny that it never happens in any of the countless classrooms. Teaching diversity and love is good, but there are teachings that cross a line actually being racist. Know where that line is and accept that it shouldn't be crossed.
(3) I think gun control plays well in suburban women circles. I know it hurts in rural areas, but I think it helps among my friends. We are depressed by the school shootings and fear it could happen here next.
(4) National healthcare would be a positive in my circle of friends. Many people struggle with healthcare bills and even if we don't, we feel for those who can't.
(5) Andrew Yang had a lot of ideas, not all were perfect, but generally my circle of friends appreciate that he had many creative "let's do something ideas" written down on paper.
(6) The Green New Deal was too idealistic and too far reaching, and easy for Republicans to pick apart... but take a step on that green path with a smaller, more sensible plan put down on paper.
(7) Many of my friends are upset with inflation and feel that the government hasn't been forthright on inflation claiming it wouldn't happen, then it would be "transitory" and small, then that Putin caused it.
(8) Abortion, I am pro-life, but most of my friends are in the middle. They want abortion legal for the 1st trimester, but banned in the 3rd trimester. 2nd Trimester is wishy washy. Most see it as important, but not important as something like inflation.
(9) Most of my friends want to help Ukraine...but not too much to avoid provoking Russia.
(10) Definitely me, and most of my circle of friends think the military gets too much money. They want a balance of a strong military, but not so big that it is a world police. I know this seems contradictory to the above point.
(11) Get the border under control. Most of my friends think we are incompetent to have that much chaos at the border. I am more pro-immigrant than perhaps many of my friends. I think overall, a good balance would play well in the suburbs where we speed up legal immigration, but secure the border.
Just my ideas on how Democrats can do well with suburban women based on my own personal thoughts from myself and my friends, which may or may not be accurate to American suburban women as a whole.
What do you think?
***Don't be mad please....just sharing my thoughts and hoping to learn more***
I’m a republican female voter but mostly due to being fiscally conservative and a fan of smaller government, but socially liberal, so more libertarian. I thought your opinions were reasonable and expressed well.
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