November 20, 2024

Lynndie England

It was a minor meme in the days after the election that friendships, relationships, families should not be affected by one party voting for fascism.

This is, of course, propaganda in the service of fascism. One does not vote to make Matt Gaetz the head of justice without consequences.¹

But the meme caught my attention for the weakness it signals: white women remain in play.²

As you know, white women continue to vote for misogyny. In large numbers.³

In the days after the election, I was treated to a parade of pedantic puff pieces about “Dem’s losing the Latino vote” – many of the quoted experts all but saying “DNC: hire me!” – but I’ve yet to see a solid accounting, by a powerful figure that asks:

Why are white women surrendering to their literal abusers?⁴

If you were looking for, say, 237,000 votes by which to prevent the looting of the American economy, the degradation of governing competency, and the consecration of violence against the powerless, would it not be more efficient to flip this demo?

I’ll close with two quotes:

But among the White women without a college degree who described Trump as “too extreme,” almost 1 in 5 voted for him anyway…

Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action, which studies moderate White women, said that women who believed Trump would deliver more economic security for their family actively resisted information that could make them uncomfortable about voting for him.⁵

My fellow nerds may recognize the word economy as oikos nomos – the law of the house.

In today’s parlance, the translation might be “who wears the pants?”

Who gets to wear the pants? In public?

This partisan divergence is reflected in the general election results: Democratic women increased their Senate presence from fifteen to sixteen, while Republicans remain at nine. In the House, at least ninety-three Democratic seats will be filled by women, while Republicans—who grew House their presence—will seat at least three fewer women than before the November vote.

A few factors could explain these discrepancies. The pipeline of Republican women candidates is smaller, due to a mix of cultural norms and a lack of party infrastructure for recruiting, training, and funding. Some evidence also suggests that partisan polarization and rising political extremism are penalizing women candidates during Republican Party primaries, as they are seen as too ideologically moderate and insufficiently masculine to succeed in today’s political climate.⁶

As a Latino media executive, I’ve spent the better part of two decades accounting for, and working to remedy, the ignorance of my people.

While I don’t expect my fellow Americans to work as hard as an immigrant – or have the political conscience of a refugee – I do wonder if somewhere in the ruins of American Imperialism there will be a reckoning about our Lynndie England’s.

Best wishes,
Jose

Postscript

I’m not a fan of this register, but if you want to hear a hit dog holler.