Will Unspoken Biases Affect Voting?

[babylonsister]

Yepsen: Unspoken biases will affect voting, Iowa's image
David Yepsen
October 25, 2007

This campaign contains a lot of "firsts" who are running for president.

In this competition we have the first woman, the first African-American and the first Latino with reasonable chances of winning the White House. We also have the first Mormon in a long time with a chance at going the distance.

(Yes, other women, blacks and Mormons have run for the presidency, but they didn't have the realistic prospects Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson and Mitt Romney have this time.)

Yet they all face questions of electability. You can hear it in political conversations: America isn't ready to elect a woman, a black, a Latino or Mormon.

People rarely admit to such biases. Instead, there's the more sophisticated: "I could vote for a woman/black/Latino/Mormon. Just not Clinton/Obama/Richardson/Romney."

more...

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/OPINION01/710250369/1035/opinion

[MethuenProgressive]

1. Yes, it can and will.

People rarely admit to such biases. Instead, there's the more sophisticated: "I could vote for a woman/black/Latino/Mormon. Just not Clinton/Obama/Richardson/Romney."

I could vote for a predatory trial lawyer with really pretty hair. Just not Edwards.

:evilgrin:

edit to change subject line

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. Are We That Backwards?

Israel, Indoneisa, the Phillipines, Pakistan, Germany, Great Britain, and India have all had female leaders...

[depakid]

3. Yes, America is that backwards

and people's biases DO come out at the voting booth. Sad, but all too true.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. That's What They Said

That's what they said in many of those countries until they elected a female leader... A female doesn't have to convince everybody she can do the job... She only has to convince a plurality or majority..

[Tesha]

4. In a word, yes. (NT)

[NMMNG]

7. Yes we are

If it isn't a White Christian Male.....

[LWolf]

6. I HAVE voted for women/black/latino candidates.

I'm sure I will again. I won't be voting for HRC or Obama. It's not racial or gender bias,

it's a profound disagreement with their positions on too many issues, combined with an antipathy to the way they campaign.