Never before have so many women raced for the Republicans at the midterms in the USA. What drives you? A conversation with US correspondent Juliane Schäuble about conservative feminism, extreme Trump candidates – and the first US president.
At the end of September the book “Guns n’ Rosé: Conservative Women Conquer the USA” by you and your colleague Annett Meiritz was published. What was the trigger, Ms. Schäuble?
Juliane Schäuble: After Donald Trump took office, there was the Women’s March in January 2017, where women took to the streets against the new President of America. There were many women, but there were also many women not there. Basically, one impulse was to find out who these women are and why they would vote for Trump.
There are also a lot of interesting top Republican politicians who appear incredibly self-confident and see themselves as feminists. They say: we are feminists, we stand up for women’s rights and don’t feel represented by the left. We wanted to break up this tension.
How do these conservative women define their feminism?
We’ve seen that very strongly in recent months with the issue of abortion. Before the Supreme Court ruled, anti-abortion protesters were often in the majority at the demonstrations. They argued: We don’t want to push women to have abortions, we want to protect them. They argue that women used to be told you can’t have kids and have a career. These conservative women are now saying yes, we can do it all and are very self-confident in their appearance.
In addition, many of the women are very power-conscious. They want to govern themselves and no longer want to be the cricket at the stove – a picture that conservative women like to draw.
Speaking of the image, what does the typical conservative woman look like in the US in 2022?
A telling example for me is Kristi Noem, Gov. of South Dakota, who grew up on a farm. I once saw her at an event and she said, “My dad didn’t make a difference if we were boys or girls. We all had to get up at five in the morning, come down and work.” So she uses her own story to argue that equality has long since been implemented.
Similarly, conservative women like to point out that the first member of Congress was a Republican and not a Democrat. Most of the anti-abortion organizations are led by women, with the NRA being headed by a woman. They are ambitious, amazingly well connected and they are loud. They want their piece of the pie just like the men – and then say we made our successes possible ourselves. Even if, of course, they often ignore the fact that they themselves are profiteers of the left-wing equality movement…
In your book you devote two entire chapters to the “battlefield” of education. Why does the topic have such great mobilization potential, especially for conservative women?
First of all, it is an issue that affects everyone who has children. And the corona pandemic was also a fire accelerator. There were schools in liberal California that, post-lockdown, debated whether to change their historically charged names. The parents were up in arms and criticized that one should first talk about how to get the children back into the classroom. Interestingly, this backlash also came from many Asian Americans, who said we don’t want to dwell on the past, we want to look to the future.
Education is so incredibly important in this capitalist country because it lays the foundation for later success. In addition, it is still the case that mothers are more involved in parenting than fathers. When the state then says you don’t have a say in the schools, that triggers something in many conservatives, because it’s about this important field of education. This mobilized many women.
At the beginning of the year, the fight for schools was one of the top Republican campaign issues. Then June 24th came and “Roe v Wade” was dumped. What does the verdict mean for the conservative women’s movement?
The verdict mobilized both sides, but above all the Democrats. A majority of Americans support abortion rights and believe the Supreme Court’s decision was wrong. Conversely, for the conservatives, this means that their success can actually harm them in the end.
The very extreme, convinced women and men probably don’t care. They now have significantly more options to ban abortions and have thus achieved their goal. For many, religion also plays an important role. It’s not just the Catholic Church that has a problem with abortions.
The closer the midterms get, the more noticeable it becomes that many Republican candidates prefer to ignore the topic…
That’s correct. Many Republicans no longer talk as much about the topic as they did six months ago. They’re afraid it’ll get on their feet at the midterms because it scares a lot of middle voters. Even Trump is reported to have warned internally that if Roe is tipped, they will lose the next election. You can think whatever you want about him. But he often has a good nose when it comes to electoral success.
The conservative women’s movement in the United States is mostly white. And yet there are some prominent examples of Black women, Latinas, and Asian Americans who are staunch Republicans. Are these harbingers of change or rather the exceptions?
There are those cases, like black Republican Winsome Sears, Deputy Governor of Virginia. It is interesting that many of them say: We shouldn’t even exist. Kay C. James, secretary in the same administration, also told us that she was accused of not being Republican as a black woman. However, she emphasizes that she makes her voting decision for many reasons. She shares the concerns of Black Lives Matter, but when it comes to the economy, self-determination and freedom, she is conservative. Nevertheless, it must be said that blacks in the USA are still the most loyal constituency of the Democrats and will remain so for the foreseeable future. In contrast, there are major shifts among Asian Americans. And obviously in the Latino camp too.
According to a recent analysis by the “New York Times”, Latinos could ultimately be the decisive group of voters in many states. What motivates Latinas in particular to vote for Republicans?
Above all, immigrants who have fled the socialist regimes of their home countries – Venezuelans, Cubans – reject an overly powerful state interfering in their lives. They equate that with socialism. Many have built their livelihoods in the USA with family businesses. For them, rising inflation, high taxes and economic issues are extremely important issues. And the economic competence is more likely to be attributed to the Republicans.
A good example of this is Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida. Many Latinos were taken with him during the pandemic because he opposed shutdowns and thereby allowed people to continue working, unlike many other states. That was well received – just like his tough migration line. Anyone who came to the USA legally does not have much understanding for illegal border crossings. Democrats think Latinos should automatically vote for them because Trump has labeled Mexicans as rapists. They make it too easy for themselves.
In the four years of President Trump, the number of women Republicans in the House of Representatives has doubled. Has Trump given new impetus to the conservative women’s movement?
I think so, at least a big boost of motivation. Many conservative women have rejected Hillary Clinton, whether because they believed conspiracy theories or because they disliked the Clintons in general. The fact that Bill Hillary wanted to go to the White House caused a real outcry in the conservative world. And that motivated many to compete themselves.
Trump then brought them to power. But his radical demeanor also appeals to many arch-conservative women, which is not exactly what one would expect.
Shortly before the midterms, all Republican candidates are faced with the decision of whether to cling to Trump or to distance themselves discreetly. You write the beautiful sentence: “Being moderate is considered a flaw, especially for women.” Conversely, this would mean that hardliners like Marjorie Taylor Greene are the more successful women.
For many candidates, being “extreme” has become a success factor. Especially during the pandemic, they staged themselves as resistance fighters against the government in Washington. And Taylor Greene is the best example of how far you can go as a hardcore Trump supporter in the Republican Party. Maybe also because it’s easier as a woman to attract attention with provocations. The counter-example would then be Liz Cheney, who openly opposed Trump and was punished for it – although she is not out of the political game yet. But she remains a lone fighter.
Candidates who are extreme stand out. Women like Kari Lake, who wants to become governor in Arizona, is almost more extreme in the way she appears than Trump himself. She provokes, she shocks and thus repeatedly bursts into public attention. That’s how you might get elected.
Looking to 2024: Is the Republican Party Really Ready for a Woman at the Top?
Generally yes, I think so. Maybe not yet in 2024 because Trump is still too important for the race. But then there could at least be a Republican vice president. The Republicans would probably be more at ease in this respect than the Democrats after Clinton’s dramatic defeat and a rather disappointing Vice President Kamala Harris.
That is why we share John Kornblum’s thesis. The former US ambassador to Germany says it could well be that the first US president will be a Republican. But we’ve also all learned how easy it is to go wrong with predictions…
Your book states: “Conservative women play a crucial role in how America will develop in the decades to come.” Take us into the crystal ball…
The hope that Western societies will become increasingly liberal in the 21st century has been refuted by the abortion ruling at the latest. These battles are far from over. In the USA, that part of the population that does not see these issues as settled has now gained momentum. This was made possible by a Supreme Court with a majority of conservatives. These conservative judges, elected for life, like Amy Coney Barrett, will shape the United States with their decisions for decades – as long as they have the majority.
The majority of women in the US still vote democratically. There are more female Democrats in Congress than Republicans. How much space do conservative women really take up? And how much space should we as media give them?
Ithink we neglected them. Many still struggle to understand how women can vote for Trump. That’s why we, as the media, need to look more closely at what drives this increasingly important constituency. Yes, they are not in the majority, but they are fundamentally involved in majority decision-making and are increasingly running for office. And Republicans can’t win the 2024 election by alienating all women. They know that and act accordingly.
But since not all women are put off by the abortion verdict, both Democrats and Republicans have to ask themselves: What are the issues that can be used to get women excited about their own party and their own positions?
Source: Stern
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