Would Jim Webb's history of denigrating women's military service be a non-issue for working class female Clinton supporters? Noam Scheiber thinks so, arguing that it is only the white collar, feminist Clinton supporters who are losing sleep over Webb, and that those women would never vote for a Republican because of how strongly they feel about reproductive rights:
That is, the women most likely to be outraged by Webb are in that first group--left-leaning professionals who care too much about abortion rights and health care and the war to ultimately vote for McCain, or even sit the election out. The second group of [working class] women is the one that's really in play, and I think Webb helps as much as he hurts with them. (I don't think they'd be nearly as sensitive to his comments on gender.)
If you look at the exit poll from Webb's 2006 Senate race, however, you'll see that he lost among white women, 47 percent to George Allen's 53 percent. He also lost all voters earning less than $100,000. Granted, I don't think his misogynist statements have anything to do with this. But it's been stated before, and I'll state it again: Webb's appeal to working class white voters of any gender remains unproven.
--Dana Goldstein
