Why the Modern Woman Voted For President Clinton
A New Visions Commentary paper published November 1996 by The National Center for Public Policy Research, 300 Eye St. NE #3, Washington, D.C. 20002, 202/543-1286, Fax 202/543-4779, E-Mail Proj21@aol.com.
by Star Parker, a member of the national Advisory Council of the African-American leadership group Project 21, President of the Coalition on Urban Affairs and a former welfare motherAs one who used to live on welfare, I can totally relate to how government dependency has compelled baby boom women to re-elect President Bill Clinton. When I was single and pregnant, there was a subliminal sense of security in knowing that Big Daddy Government would take care of my rent, shopping and medical expenses. I didn't consider other options to my dilemma such as marriage, working or going to my parents because I was guaranteed the comfort of a safety net.
Today, I chuckle at the 90s powerhouse, soccer woman combination. She's trying desperately to defend radical feminism while politically admitting her frailness. Amidst bringing home the Canadian bacon and frying it in designer cookware, she seems to be looking for that same sense of security in government through subsidized child care, education, job security and retirement that I found when I was collecting food stamps.
The way liberal women have justified their vote for Bill Clinton kind of reminds me of the relationship a whore has with her pimp. She knows he's using her, but because he alludes to providing for her children, she'll tolerate the abuse. All the President had to do to solidify the female block was smooth talk promises of daycare, family leave and college for our kids. How else can we explain why his positions on abortion, divorce and parental rights have been inconsequential?
We all know that no-fault divorce accounts for countless children living in poverty today because some fools decided they no longer liked the commitment of marriage. Women also know that the emotional and physical scars left after terminating a pregnancy are usually hers to bear alone.
And what about education? You work from sun-up until sun-down to get that equal pay only to find that your children are being indoctrinated with outcome-based, multi-cultural village dogma in a classroom where English is the second language. Yet, when you go to complain on your only day off, you're just in time to intercept the state-mandated condom being distributed to little Joannie without your notification or permission.
An election day exit poll showed that Bill Clinton beat Bob Dole among women 54 to 37 percent. It just goes to show that no matter how many women really desire the Cinderella dream, the voices of a few dominate the national consensus. What angers me most about feminist misinformation is that when I travel on my college circuits, I have to spend a lot of private time consoling young girls who think that they're abnormal to yearn for monogamous marriage, proper children and a picket fence. These girls really struggle with who they want to be as women and with what is expected of them. No one wants to be labeled a sell-out, Victorian or in bondage because they choose to depend on a husband.
When considering why so many feel secure with Bill Clinton, I suppose the real issue for these women to settle is one of dependence. It's hard to escape the reality of gender differences when the polls expose our security secret. Sure our abilities far exceed generations of women before us. We've proven our strength, intelligence and endurance in record numbers of personal and professional categories.
But to really be a man about it, we must 'fess up to the obvious: our internal peace is attached to knowing that our kids are taken care of. Now we can get to the serious question women faced on election day, "Who do we want to depend on?" The answer, on election day, couldn't be more obvious.
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