This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 26, 2012 - With fewer than two weeks to go before Election Day, Ebony Williams of Bellefontaine Neighbors says she is still on the fence about her vote for president.
Williams, 31, who is studying social work at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said she voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but "it’s not a given” that the president will get her vote on Nov. 6. Her overriding concern is the economy and ensuring a stable future for her two children, ages 5 and 6.
"I would like to know that my family -- being middle class -- that we are afforded opportunities that other people have,” said Williams, whose husband is a technician for a communications company.
Her economic worries include the rising costs of health insurance, child care and student loans.
"I don’t want to be taxed any more than I’m already taxed,” added Williams, who describes herself as an independent who tends to vote Democratic in local elections.
Williams said her Christian faith influences her views on social issues. She doesn’t agree with Obama on some issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, but she is concerned about Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s comments made at a private fundraiser that categorized 47 percent of Americans as dependent on government and viewing themselves as victims.
"My gut is saying, ‘You have to pick someone,’ ” she said. “It’s going to be an eleventh-hour decision for me. I’m African American and many African Americans say we should say pick a president because he’s black. But there’s more to life than color.”
Williams said she tries to back women candidates for political office; she supported Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 and she liked the honesty of Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
"I try to give everybody a chance,” she said. “I’m not the one to follow the crowd.”
Also on the fence is Julie Klein, 19, of Smithton, Ill., a sophomore majoring in biology at UMSL, who hopes to become a physician or physician’s assistant. Klein says the economy and health care are her overriding concerns, but she is having trouble deciphering what Obama and Romney would actually do about them.
"I’ve been watching the debates and they never make a point out of anything,” she said. "I want an actual plan.”
Klein said the focus on Social Security and pensions doesn’t speak to her because of her age; she is concerned, instead, about the cost of medical school and the impact of “Obamacare” -- the Affordable Care Act – on health-care costs and her future income.
"I don’t know if there’s a candidate who can fix anything, but I just want an honest, straightforward plan,” she said.
Klein said she doesn’t understand all of the attention given to candidates' misstatements -- such as Romney’s “binder full of women” comment during the last presidential debate -- and she is not swayed by such political rhetoric.
"I want substance,” she said.
It’s still that 'E' word
If it appears that political candidates have been working extra hard in recent weeks to convince undecided women to vote for them, it’s because they are, says Susan Carroll, senior scholar at the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University, which is nationally known for its research about the political involvement of American women.
She says that, with the presidential race tightening, the candidates continue to target undecided voters.
"There aren’t many undecideds, but the ones who are out there – particularly in the swing states -- a good chunk of them are women,” said Carroll.
The campaign rhetoric of 2012 has loudly replayed remarks about reproductive rights and equal pay -- and the comments about "legitimate rape” made by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin of Wildwood and the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.
But Carroll agrees with other political analysts who say the driving force for the majority of women voters is the same as it is for men: It's the "E” word.
"For women and men, the overwhelming issue is the economy. Jobs, in particular,” she said. “But there are some differences once you dig in beyond that basic similarity. Men are a little more concerned than women voters are about the debt and deficits. Women are more concerned with health care, which I would argue is an economic issue. There are some nuanced differences.”
Even among women voters, economic worries differ: Older women are more concerned about Medicare and Social Security, while younger women are focused on jobs and student loans, she said.
But Carroll adds that for most voters, a primary voting issue, such as the economy, can be reinforced -- or undermined -- by a mix of other issues.
"Issues like contraception and pay equity come into play for some women, but they function more as an additional factor on top of the economy -- additional reasons to support or oppose a candidate,” she said.
Carroll said that what has stood out this year is that both political parties paid more explicit attention to women earlier in their campaigns in an attempt to shore up their base support with women voters -- or to mobilize them. For Democrats that meant trying to solidify what has traditionally been a political advantage with women voters, although the polls indicate that after the first debate a number of women moved toward Romney.
An Associated Press-GfK poll taken last Friday through Tuesday and released Thursday morning suggests that over the past month Obama has lost his 16-point advantage among women voters but has also eliminated Romney’s edge among men. Women respondents were evenly divided -- 47 percent to 47 percent – between Romney and Obama.
Carroll acknowledged that the gender gap -- which she defines as the difference between the percentages of women and men who support a given candidate -- has been bigger in past elections.
"In the final national exit poll of 2008, there was a seven-point gender gap between Obama and Sen. John McCain, with women 7 percentage points more likely than men to vote for Obama,’’ she said. “We’ve seen that go up and down across this election year. It varies from poll to poll.’’
The Decideds
Among "the decideds,” are Stacy Washington, 39, of Olivette, who is in the Romney camp, and Poli Rijos, 30, of St. Louis who supports Obama.
Washington, who writes a conservative blog called Stacy on the Right, has also started a Facebook page called Black Conservatives for Romney. She says women’s issues are the same as men’s issues.
“They’re issues having to do with running a household, buying gas, putting food on the table, buying clothing and shoes for your kids, saving money for their future, taking a vacation, living the American dream. Those are women’s issues. Which are men’s issues. Which are kids' issues. They’re American issues,” she said. “I don’t want to ever be lumped in with a group or ideology that basically places contraception at the top of women’s issues. I am more than the sum of my reproductive organs.”
Washington says that economic statistics -- ranging from unemployment to food stamps to foreclosures – are the issues driving Americans to the polls right now.
"As a woman, I’m really looking for leadership coming out of Washington from the Congress and from the presidency, and I think in this instance -- and it’s not as if I hate Barack Obama -- but I think his failed record means I have to take a hard look at Mitt Romney. And whether or not I agree with Romney on every single point of ideology, he’s definitely the man for the job."
Washington, who served in the Air Force, describes herself as a conservative who votes Republican. She is a member of the Ladue School Board, does political consulting and appears as a commenter on local talk radio. But she says her primary job is being a mother to her three children.
Washington believes all the political rhetoric about contraception and pay disparity is a distraction.
"The record for Barack Obama has been pretty dismal when it comes to the promises he made in the campaign to now,” she said. “The transformative policies that he laid out for his administration and what he actually accomplished -- I would not want to run on that, either. I would want to run on women needing contraception paid for by taxpayers. The recent rise of Romney coming back in the polls is an indication that people are really most concerned about the economy, the deficit and jobs."
Washington said that she was initially upset by Akin’s remarks about “legitimate rape” but is supporting him because she disagrees with the voting record of incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Democratic candidate, on issues, such as health care and abortion.
On the other side of that debate is Rijos, a behavioral health consultant, who said her career as a social worker is crucial to her decision to support Obama.
"Most of the patients that I see come from low-income backgrounds so anything that affects social services or health will dictate how I can work with my patients,” said Rijos, a Catholic who was born in Puerto Rico and has lived in St. Louis since 1999. "And also, I am concerned that there are all these issues regarding women’s bodies. I don’t believe there should be a connection between church and state. The church is becoming involved in trying to tell the government how it should run the country.”
Rijos said she feels that some candidates are disconnected from people who come from low-income backgrounds and have no idea how they access health care resources.
She said she was appalled by the rape comments made by Akin because she works with women who have been sexually assaulted.
"His apology wasn’t sufficient,” Rijos said. "And I was also concerned about his comments about student college loans. I come from a single-parent household where my mom would never have had money to be able to send me to college. Without student loans I would have never been able to go to school in the U.S. and be a contributing adult in society. I went to Washington University, which was pretty expensive, and without student loan and forgiveness programs I would have lived the rest of my life in debt. It’s easy to comment that [student loans] are a cancer on a society if you come from a family that has the means to afford college.”
Rijos said that she considers voting for president an important responsibility because although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, they are not allowed to vote for president while living there. But she said voter turnout approaches 80 percent in Puerto Rico, where election day is a national holiday. It bothers her that so many Americans do not exercise their voting rights.
"You can’t complain if you don’t vote,’’ she said. "It’s more than our right. It gives you power. You’re sending a message to politicians regardless of whether the politicians you voted for win.’’
A limited conversation
Mary Ann Dzuback, director of the Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Washington University, said it is important to see politicians talking about women’s issues, although she was disappointed that the presidential candidates largely ignored them during the debates.
She would have liked to hear the candidates discuss issues regarding U.S. military women and also poverty.
"There is very little discussion of the impact of minimum wage legislation on single parent families, particularly those headed by women,” she said.
Dzuback agrees with political analysts who say that the majority of voters cast their votes based on how well they perceive themselves doing at the moment and what they see as the major impediments to their own well-being and advancement.
"In the case of women's reproductive, political and economic rights, I think that can weigh in favor of a candidate, but I don’t know that it’s decisive except in the case of candidates who are completely adamant about limiting women’s rights,” she said. “That might drive voters away because that position aligns with other socially very conservative positions. But I don’t think that alone is a factor in people’s votes. I think they try to look at a wider array of issues. Right now, I think the biggest issue for both men and women is how they view what’s happening with the economy.”
Dzuback said she understands that reproductive rights is a prickly subject, but she thinks the candidates have an obligation to make their positions clear.
Dzuback, who supports Obama, said the president has made clear his position that women should have access to contraception and the right to choose regarding abortion.
"Mitt Romney has gone back and worth,” she said.
Dzuback said Romney’s remark during the debate about “binders full of women” indicated that he had little contact with women beyond his personal life and was disconnected from "real women leaders as equals in public life.”
