LIFE ISSUES NO. 1535

 THE WOMEN'S VOTE

 You know, folks, it continues to amaze me that we have a body of opinion within the Republican Party that still seems convinced that that Party must reverse its approval of its pro-life position, and that, if it doesn't, it's going to lose the women's vote in the next election.  To make a statement like this simply flies in the face of reality.

 Syndicated columnist Mark Shields said this in the Washington Post:  "On election day the Los Angeles Times performed a useful public service by interviewing 300 voters as they exited from their polling places across the country.  The most unequivocally pro-abortion sub-group in the electorate was unmarried males without children under age 35." (You might note, these were not women).  Again quoting the Post:  "So what about the 8.5 million U.S. voters who declared that abortion was most important in their presidential vote decision?  Well, of them, Bob Dole got 60% - Bill Clinton 34%.  That qualifies as a mini-landslide and amounted to nearly 2.5 million more votes for Bob Dole," says Mark Shields.

 Well, that Los Angeles Times election day exit poll showed that 11% of women voters chose abortion as one of the two top issues in determining their vote.  And how did they go?  54% went for Dole, 40% for Clinton.  This same kind of a ratio (women being more pro-life) compares to polls in '96, '94 and '92 from a variety of sources -- they all said the same thing.

 Here's another post-election poll last November by Wirthlin.  "Of the women voters who considered abortion one of their two top issues, 50% voted for Dole, 39% for Clinton -- 49% voted for Republicans to 37% for Democrats in the Senate races.  In the House 47% voted for Republicans as opposed to 41% for Democrats."

 Cokie Roberts on Good Morning America right after the election said, "Contrary to media perceptions, only one in five women said that the candidate they voted for has to agree with her on abortion."  And in a USA Today CNN Gallup poll last month it showed that more women are opposed to abortion.  Cokie says, "The gender gap has been there, but it's never been about abortion or the equal rights amendment.  Of those women who vote on abortion, most are opposed to abortion."

 Another way to look at it is this -- who were the pro-abortion flag-carriers in that same Republican Party who the media ballyhooed incessantly?  Governor Wilson in California?  He hardly got any votes at the Republican Convention.  Governor Weld in Massachusetts?  He didn't even get a majority of his own state delegates to the Republican Convention, and in the general election he lost big to incumbent Senator John Kerry.  And there were others, of course.

 Looking back, it's obvious that among women who voted on the issue of abortion, a majority voted pro-life.  So much for the repeated claims of the National Organization for some Women and other shrill feminist voices.  Actually, if a candidate is really worried about the women's vote, he or she would be well advised to vote pro-life because that's where most of the women's votes are.

[05/23/97]