I want to get something off my chest. I’m a woman. And I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton.
That doesn’t mean I’m sexist. Or racist. Or that I don’t care about protecting the rights of all Americans.
I couldn’t support Clinton because of her far-left policies, which I firmly believe would have taken the country in the wrong direction. Clinton didn’t lose because she is a woman or because a vast swath of citizens are deplorable cavemen. She didn’t get elected because this country wants change after eight years of President Barack Obama. And Clinton has been around a long time and a lot of people just don’t like or trust her — for good reason.
Following Trump’s win, Charlotte Hays, director of cultural programs and senior editor at the free-market Independent Women’s Forum, put it this way: “Americans are sick and tired of being governed by executive order, tired of living by laws (or worse, arbitrarily imposed regulations) that are imposed from Washington. They don't think that their kids are any less deserving of a good education than those who come from families that can afford private schools.”
Rather than take the election’s outcome for what it was, many women and liberals are painting Clinton’s defeat as a reflection of widespread misogyny and saying the future for women in the U.S. is bleak.
Take this tweet by “The Mindy Project” writer Chris Schleicher: “Please hug your LGBT friends, your non-white friends, your female friends, your non-Christian friends. America just told us we don't matter.”
That tweet got over 46,000 retweets, and the sentiment is widespread.
Let’s break that down.
In painting President-elect Donald Trump as a monster, these folks have forgotten that he’s consistently stood up for gay and transgender rights. I was at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and heard Trump say that he would do everything in his power to protect LGBTQ citizens. The crowd cheered.
As far as how Trump’s election will impact women, that also deserves a second look. A lot of conservative women, including me, never signed on to Trump’s campaign, but many did. In fact, it was women who helped push him over the edge in Michigan. Fifty percent of white women voted for Trump, according to exit polls, compared with 43 percent for Clinton. That doesn’t mean Trump voters were thrilled with his comments about women; 74 percent said they were bothered by them.
Nationwide, Trump got 29 percent of the Latino vote, which is more than expected. He also got more of the black vote (8 percent) than Mitt Romney did in 2012.
Most people vote because of issues they care about — not simply because of a candidate’s race or sexual parts. And despite Trump’s many flaws, voters, including women, filled in the oval for him because they thought he was the best option for improving the economy and overhauling Obamacare.
Labeling Clinton’s loss as sexism ignores all the women who backed Trump.
Powerful women in Michigan helped earn Trump a victory here. Ronna Romney McDaniel, the state GOP chair, worked tirelessly to ensure the election of a Republican president.
The same goes for Lena Epstein, Michigan co-chair of Trump’s campaign. Epstein, a millennial and general manager of Vesco Oil Corporation, supported Trump because she felt he was best on the issues important to her. She was also involved with a statewide Women for Trump group.
Epstein is looking forward to when she can throw her support behind a woman candidate who represents her conservative ideals.
“A lot of people would love to see a woman in the White House,” Epstein says.
“I can’t wait for that. I hope to see it in my lifetime.”
So do I.