We're reading a lot about the brats of Occupy Wall Street. But guess what? It's “Walmart moms,” not Wall Street hooligans, who may decide the 2012 election, according to a story in the Des Moines Register. And they aren’t happy with the direction of the country:
Ten Iowa women, all mothers, all between the ages of 25 and 44, participated in a focus group last week in Des Moines. Half of them supported President Obama in 2008; half voted for John McCain. None of them had anything positive to say about the direction of the country.
They chose words like confused, worried, scary, discouraged, frustrated. Most of their concerns center on the economy.
“Anyone you ask, you just feel like it’s not going to get better,” said Meghan, a self-employed photographer from Adel and a single mom. “Everyone I know has been laid off. It’s kind of a disaster.”
Call me crazy, but I am more sympathetic to these women, who are trying to make ends meet in the real world, than to the mobs (now there’s a word the liberal media isn’t applying to them!) now occupying public spaces throughout our nation.
The Walmart moms were identified as a voting block in 2008 by Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican-leaning research firm. They went for Obama in 2008 and switched to the GOP in 2010. They are currently up for grabs.
It is interesting that Herman Cain was the most-mentioned name among the GOP-leaning women. This may be because he is this month’s Donald Trump—i.e., the guy who is willing to talk tough. But it may also be because these women are ready to embrace a guy who sees business success as a worthy goal in life. It may be because these women know that thriving businesses are our only hope for a better economy. Whatever they ultimately decide, the Walmart moms are going to have a bigger impact than the brats of Occupy Wall Street.
And that is a very good thing.