The Wife Vote
Oppression at the ballot box: “What does it say about gender relations in this country that so many leaders are telling women not to fear retribution from their husbands because their ballots can remain secret” asks Washington Post journalist Catherine Rampell, referring to the wave of ads (watch here and here) that claim Donald Trump voters are being somehow bullying or pressuring their wives and friends to cast a vote for the man.
The answer to Rampell’s question is that Democratic strategists seem to think this is how normies’ marriages work, or that this ginned-up oppression will appeal to fence-sitters. It’s the line Democrats appear to be taking in the lead-up to the election, but it strikes me as manufactured at best, insulting at worst.
“I certainly have many Republicans who will say to me, I can’t be public. They do worry about a whole range of things including violence, but they’ll do the right thing,” said former Rep. Liz Cheney (R–Wyo.) recently.
“You are a woman who lives in a household of men who don’t listen to you or value your opinion. Just remember: Your vote is a private matter. Regardless of the political views of your partner, you get to choose!” said Michelle Obama last week.
Of course, some people, like Fox News’ Jesse Waters, likened his wife voting for Harris to her having an affair, seemingly as a joke, but emphasized that it would be the duplicitousness—claiming to be a Trump supporter while secretly being a Harris fan—that would bother him.
It’s a reflection of the fact that 1-in-3 Democratic voters is an unmarried women, and Democrats believe that this story can motivate them to vote.
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) October 31, 2024
Someone’s not telling the truth: Official White House stenographers and the White House press team are sparring over whether President Joe Biden called Trump supporters “garbage.”
Over the weekend, during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, the insult comic Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden responded on a Tuesday night call with Latino activist groups: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters…his…his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
The White House press office’s transcript rendered the quote with an apostrophe: “supporter’s” rather than “supporters,” making it look like Biden was merely criticizing Hinchcliffe, not the whole half of the country that’s supporting Trump.
Hilariously, “the president’s remarks clashed with Vice President Kamala Harris’ near-simultaneous speech outside the White House in which she called for treating Americans of differing ideologies with respect,” reports the Associated Press.
It’s all a little insane that Biden wants to be seen as some morally decent leader when his presidency has been punctuated by scandals, and when he had to be forced off the campaign trail after hordes of loyal lackeys (including current nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris) repeatedly lied about his mental competence. This sure looks like his “deplorables” moment, but the kind of amazing thing about the Trump era is that none of the insu
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