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Clinton Supporters to Women: Don't Vote for McCain

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June 11, 2008 2:59 PM

ABC News' Molly Hunter Reports: While there may be some residual bitterness after Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential bid defeat, her most loyal supporters are now shifting gears, warning Clinton's strong base of women supporters against swinging toward presumptive Republican Sen. John McCain.

"We are here to sound the alarm bell," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz, D-Fla., on a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

"In order to advance the progress that women have made in the last decade and in order to improve the lives of women and their children, the last thing in the world that women need to do is vote for John McCain," she said. 

"Senator McCain is out of touch with the lives these women are leading and he is against many of the policy positions that they hold," added Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY's List, a national organization that fundraises for pro-choice women candidates, on the Wednesday conference call with reporters.

Clinton's steadfast women supporters, some of whom vowed never to look beyond Clinton's candidacy, must now choose between Obama and McCain. Malcolm and Shultz, both early supporters of Clinton's presidential bid, say that choice becomes clear when you look at McCain's record.

They pointed to McCain's consistent anti-abortion voting record, his support for the Iraq war, and his failure to vote on the Fair Pay Act, a bill that would restore workers’ ability to go to court in cases of pay discrimination.

Malcolm called talk from the McCain campaign about picking up Clinton's female voters a "pipe dream."

They cited a Gallup poll released Wednesday showing presumptive Democratic Sen. Barack Obama leading McCain among women likely voters by 13 percentage points, up from 5 percentage points last week before Clinton's concession.

In Clinton's last week of candidacy, Gallup had Clinton leading McCain by 12 points.

That's a sign, they said, that women are flocking to Obama's candidacy.

"There is a real fear that John McCain will be dangerous for women," Shultz said, "He will impede our progress if he becomes President of the United States; he is wrong on the issues that matter to women most."

Malcolm said white, non-college educated women will be the critical lynchpin to Democratic success and to Obama's victory in November. 

"Women have the power to determine the results of this election," Malcolm said.

June 11, 2008 in Bush, George W., Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (781)

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Drink the kool-aid and join the bot nation. Everyone is doing it!

Posted by: Mack | Jun 11, 2008 3:45:34 PM

I certain will vote for McCain, as will most of the women I know. My vote will be based on character and judgement, and Obama doesn't have any.

Posted by: J. C. Bradley | Jun 11, 2008 3:45:45 PM

I supported Hillary Clinton as I felt she had the "right stuff". Barack Obama is a good orator but a poor leader from my perspective. He whines and cries when things do not go his way. Reminds me of the current cry-baby in the oval office. No, Debbie Wasserman Shultz, I will not cast my vote for Mr. Obama. And, I would bet, neither will millions of other women.

Posted by: Kriss | Jun 11, 2008 3:47:21 PM

What women do is the same as men do.

vote for the best candidate.

Not vote for an empty suit who crushed their candidate now needs their vote to win.

Mc Cain has already stated for the record he has no intention of getting rid of Roe vs Wade under any circumstances.

Posted by: tomdavie | Jun 11, 2008 3:47:44 PM

I live in Collinsville, Illinois. All of my friends are Democrats, and we are all voting for John McCain. We don't care what Hillary Clinton or anyone else wants. John McCain will be a much better president than the empty suit.

Posted by: Dottie | Jun 11, 2008 3:48:55 PM

Then give us a better Candidate.

Obama is the worse thing to happen to this nation.

Posted by: seah | Jun 11, 2008 3:50:47 PM

A vote for Obama IS NOT a vote for McCain. Sorry, can't do it. I'm not a party-line person, and I've already changed my party so the DNC can go on without me - oh wait, they already have. They didn't care about the voters of Florida and Michigan or Montana and South Dakota when they couldn't wait to make their announcement so those voters' voice could be heard. My voice is going for McCain. Sorry, Hillary, you're my candidate but Obama never will be.

Posted by: Traci | Jun 11, 2008 3:52:33 PM

Sorry, I meant a vote for Obama IS NOT a vote for Hillary.

Posted by: Traci | Jun 11, 2008 3:53:38 PM

lol, Angie, a vote for Obama is not a vote for Hillary. Who are you kiddin...yourself?

Enough women may support McCain and help him win the election. Isn't this something that the DNC and superdelegates should have seriously considered before 'selecting' Obama?

Anyway, Obama is only the presumptive nominee, the superdelegates haven't voted yet and a lot can, and probably will happen, before the Democratic Convention in August.

Apparently, some of the superdelegates have changed their email address or blocked receipt of email since the final primary last week. I wonder why they did that?


Posted by: mary | Jun 11, 2008 3:53:59 PM

While I am here, the DNC is a complete joke. Same old thing in a new wrapper, that is all they have accomplished in the past eight years. One of many reasons why I became an Independent.

Posted by: Kriss | Jun 11, 2008 3:54:11 PM

John Mc Cain has stated for the record he is NOT overturning Roe vs Wade.

Mc Cain has a lot more for womens rights than Obama has.

This is why millions of women are voting for Mc Cain.

He is the best candidate.

Posted by: tomdavie | Jun 11, 2008 3:57:26 PM

does your vote REALLY count?

Posted by: yourvotedoesntcount | Jun 11, 2008 3:58:32 PM


it doesnt matter if he isnt then why put in the vote? he didnt back ourf rights but he wants our votes???

Posted by: melissa | Jun 11, 2008 3:58:58 PM

No one is going to get me to vote Obama by throwing on the guilt about women's issues (code for Roe v Wade.) Believe it or not, a lot of us didn't vote for Clinton just because she was a woman, and not because of abortion rights. Maybe the women who are so worried about that issue should have supported Clinton to begin with, instead of throwing her out with the bath water in favor of an unknown, unproven, unqualified, and press driven candidate who can't even hold his own in a debate or press conference without a teleprompter. I voted for her because of her experience with other issues, and for her work with children's health and insurance rights over the years. Experience, judgment, and trust are what I vote for, and Senator Obama still has not won me over with any of these criteria. All of his talk of old politics and change are becoming more and more of a joke if you have bothered to listen objectively over the past few months. He simply ran an impressively packaged and marketed campaign, and people bought it. I'm already fed up with the patronizing too, all of a sudden Hillary is a wonderful, caring person who wants everyone to come together. She probably does, but I don't vote for someone I personally don't trust. So as another poster said, save us the lectures.

Posted by: dwc | Jun 11, 2008 4:00:06 PM

Women we have another choice besides, McCain or not voting. We can vote for Ralph Nader- who is closer on the issues to Hillary than McCain is. If we unite behind Nader- we will make a positive impact and control the election in NOv. The DNC didn't recognize how powerful we are in numbers- they focused on 11% black vote and undenpendable young voters. Women are over 50% of the population. We got Bill Clinton elected- we can get whomever we want elected unless we and our votes are thrown under the bus as the DNC did to us- oh yeah - or only count our vote as 1/2 of a vote like they did as well.

Posted by: this election counts | Jun 11, 2008 4:01:05 PM

John McCain wants to appoint judges like Scalia and Alito, they are not good for woman!! He has said this on national TV!

Posted by: Susan | Jun 11, 2008 4:01:39 PM

I love Hillary, but I'll vote for Obama in November. McCain is worse than horrible. I can't just stay home and not vote. I won't be manipulated by these nasty Republican subversives on these blogs posing as women and Democrats.

Posted by: Victoria | Jun 11, 2008 4:02:51 PM

I'm not a fake and I'm not an ex-Hillary supporter.

I'm waiting for Hillary to get her campaign going again whenever that will be I don't know. But I'm in no hurry to support or vote for anyone else in the meantime.

If voters do their own research on Obama and they like what they find they may choose to support him. If they don't like what they find, and I expect that to be the case, then they need to decide what to do about that.

Posted by: mary | Jun 11, 2008 4:03:49 PM

WELL SAID tomdavie!!
WE WILL NOT FALL IN LINE..OUTTA HERE....

Posted by: SD | Jun 11, 2008 4:04:08 PM

I am not harboring residual bitterness- I am P.O'd that women's votes and issues were disrespected and taken for granted by the DNC. How patronizing and stupid do the DNC spin people think we are. You will be in for a rude awakening come Nov.! VOTE NADER! P.S. I have been on the Democratic steering committee in the past and have been a life long deomcrat and financial supporter. So what powerful women are urging Hillary supports to get behind Obama- It ain't me! I don't buy this line of bull.

Posted by: this election counts | Jun 11, 2008 4:04:19 PM

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