Politicians in the past have wooed soccer moms and security moms.

Perhaps the next voting block is the hidden Roseanne voter.

 None other than Hillary pollster Mark Penn has taken a look at the astronomical ratings for the new "Roseanne" sitcom and suggests that this might be the case.  

Penn writes in a fascinating piece in the Hill:

“Roseanne,” the ABC sitcom, brought in 25 million viewers and counting to the shock of elites who believed that the biggest new draw on TV was Jimmy Kimmel and comedy tilting politically left. But there are an estimated 15 million closet conservatives in America today — people who have views that are more conservative than they let on to friends and family — and series star Roseanne Barr tapped into that enormous constituency.

But you might ask: Why are Roseanne voters hidden?

Penn's old client Hillary Clinton said that women were to some extent brainwashed (into voting against her) by their husbands and men. Penn argues that Clinton got it in reverse:

Hillary recently suggested that women were being in some sense forced or brainwashed into following their spouses. And yet, the real phenomenon seems to be the opposite: women who say to their friends and family that they are liberal when, in fact, they harbor more conservative views, especially on hot-button issues like immigration, crime and even taxes.

. . .

There is no question that the social pressure on people today — and conservative women in particular — is intense to conform to liberal stereotypes. In a recent Harvard Caps-Harris Poll, 40 percent of Americans said they were afraid to express their real political views in their own homes with their own families, while 60 percent said they were unable to express their political views at work. These are astounding numbers for a society founded on the First Amendment and the belief in the free marketplace of ideas.

. . .

When asked online what their views are, Americans are about 5 percent more likely to express conservative and even pro-Trump views than when asked on the telephone by a live interviewer. Based on the 5 percent differential that I observed on key hot-button issues, I estimated that there are about 15 million closet conservatives in America, making them a microtrend to watch, as highlighted in my book, “Microtrends Squared: The New Small Forces Driving Today’s Big Disruptions.”

Why are conservatives hiding? Well, for one reason, it could torpedo their relationships. Recent research indicates that one in 10 couples, married or not, have ended their relationships due to a battle over political differences. For younger millennials, this tension over politics is greater: 22 percent of couples have ended a relationship over political differences. In March, there was a news story about the dating prospects of conservative young men in Washington being ruined by working for the Trump administration or for supporting Trump. Dating sites are now adding politics as a category so people can date their own ideology.

Well, I guess it is good that we have a secret ballot.

"Roseanne," Penn writes, brings some balance to Hollywood and might even help bring other Roseannes out of the closet.

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