Designer Patriotism

[wadestock]

You've probably heard a dozen theories on why we lost the election. Perhaps you haven't heard this one.

Figure roughly 100 Million voters, 50% being women.

In the 2000 election, Bush carried 48% of women. This time around he got a whopping 55% of the women vote. Ignoring the difference between the 2000 and 2004 turnout, this could mean roughly....

.55 X 50,000,000 = 27.5 Million
.48 X 50,000,000 = 24 Million
________________________________
Difference is 3.5 Million

The difference would actually be bigger consider larger turnout this time.

So what happened to the women?

I'll give you one theory you might think off the wall...but one I can personally testify to, having seen a number of neighbors wifes and my sister and law turn around.

You know those funny little magnetic stick on "support our troops" decals that everyone went out to buy. Well the women went literally crazy for these things. Kinda cute, easy to put on, and women didn't have to worry about messing up the paint job. Let's see....I'll put mine this way...no maybe this way. Hmmmm....seems like 2, one on each side of the back looks balanced...maybe that's the thing to do.

How many of these were sold...I heard something like 40 million? I personally counted about 50% of the cars here in Jersey have them....so perhaps what I heard is an underestimate.

Women originally had the right instincts about the war. They correctly sensed it was not done on the up and up, that it was a rush to judgment, etc. But slowly but surely, a sufficient number got co-opted into the belief that we ought to support the war effort. A lot of that had to do with this movement to "support our troops".

Historically (ignoring LBJ withdraw), the US has never in 6 times ousted a sitting president during wartimes. Thus there is a large momentum to consider sticking with who you have for the sake of security, etc.

Considering the barrage of negativism against Kerry, the well crafted last minute gay issue, etc, we came close considering what we were up against. But exactly how many votes were lost to those innocuous magnetic stick-ons?

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Good analysis, soccer moms and kkkarl rove,friendly fascism.

Hiding under the umbrella of * shrubs brave new world.

[shraby]

2. Bullroar!!

I disagree. Women will support the troops but not the war! Not only that, but this election was rigged from the get-go.

[wadestock]

4. "Supporting the Troops" is a non-issue

The Repukes are masters of these carefully crafted non-issues.

Not one of those who bought these stick-ons could tell you in any way shape or form what it is they "support" about the troops. Sure it sounds good...but it makes no sense to put on of these on your car. Another fact is not one dime on the sale of these Taiwan made pieces of crap went to the troops or the families of those who served.

Much more logical would have been the notion of saying, "I pray for our troops"...at least in the context of a bumper sticker one liner.

Support our troops? Exactly how. Let me count the ways...

1. By bringing them home soon?
2. By doing something to assist them?
3. By donating to families?

Please FINISH THE FREAKING SENTENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't over think the post. It is simply saying it became real cool to buy these stick-ons...real cool to the tune of millions....and real cool because they were magnetic. Had they been bumper stickers, they would have sold 1/100th the amount.

Couple that trend of buying and sticking them on one's car to the unfortunate human condition of BELIEVING in the sticker.

How may NRA supporters are out there that got such stickers and think in some way they are in fact supporting the NRA, and end up voting Republican.

It's hard to admit that we are that shallow and influential, but it's a fact of life.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. the problem was

we didn't do enough to show you could support the troops and vote Kerry. I still have my sticker-and no, it wasn't bought at a convenience store, but from the families of the local Guard unit who were selling them for a fundraiser. I hope I raised some consciousness when I talked to them after I'd plunked my money down. Every Dem I knew in Harrison did the same thing. I think the problem was we didn't have a national platform. That's why I love what that artist in NYC is doing with the Bush monkeys painting-he's raising awareness of the paltry support Bush has given the troops and has shown you can disagree and still be patriotic.

[wadestock]

6. I stand corrected....

Of the dozen or so I went to, not one could tell me they were putting money into anything other than some local support function.

Had they established this up front as a legitimate fund raiser for the families it would have been infinitely more decent.

[mulethree]

5. How do you figure 55% of women voted Bush?

I know the exit polls are screwy, with unspecified 'corrections'.

They show 54% of voters were women and 51% of the women voted for Kerry.

But they do show Shrub picked up 5% more women than in 2000.

My family lost men in Vietnam, and is full of veterans. Both American and South Vietnamese. The best way to support your armed forces is to not send them into urban and other restrictive areas, to not put them up against an enemy that blends instantly into the local population, to not make enemies of the locals by slaughtering civilians and to not urge the locals to fight and then abandon them when the fight comes.

The best support for our troops was to get them the hell out of there. There was no 'withdraw' candidate on the ballot and thus no 'support our troops as much as possible' ballot choice.

The people who started the war, and the ones who let it become a quagmire and an occupation; have not been brought to account. A Bush vote was not a 'support the troops' vote. This is why Kerry won the votes of 73% of the people whose biggest issue was Iraq.

[wadestock]

7. Heard it on AAR

The concentration was on the swing vote, and also the undecided. But in the end the women had a much bigger influence on this election.

Their move to Bush outweighed any particular element of the undecided.

I heard Rush working this one, and I know there are elements about Kerry that led women to ultimately believe he was possibly a "security risk".

I've talked to people since the election that are still baffled why Bush got what he did this time around...and I think the answer lies in why women came to his side more than anything else.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0923/p01s01-ussc.html
one of many articles that showed this dramatic shift...but I haven't read any really good follow up on what happened.