Ohio Women And Midwestern Sisters (II): Hillary Still Worries GOP Activist

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The political editor of the GOP blog Race 4 2008 returns for day two on the topic of Sen. Hillary Clinton's strength as a candidate. He offers a follow up analysis called American Woman, Part II and hammers away on his theme the GOP is fading in the Great Lakes states because it is losing touch with issues of concern to female voters. He contends the Republican presidential field so far is devoid of any serious political appeal to a majority of Ohio's women, a critical voting bloc for the party's successes in prior national elections. American Woman, Part I can be found here

DaveG, the anonymous author, is a Washington lawyer who has been a Republican party insider. He warns the GOP that Hillary's strength among women could give Democrats enough votes in SW Ohio so that the region won't be a Republican lock. The counties around Cincinnati traditionally have been a GOP bastion. He's been examining polling data and forecasts:

". . . the culturally conservative women of western and southern Ohio, despite holding similar economic and foreign policy views to their counterparts in the north and east, preferred to elect a culturally conservative Republican president with few qualms about spending to a northeastern liberal Democrat. In 2008, though, with cultural issues de-emphasized and with a pack of fiscal conservatives leading the GOP field, these same Ohio women are falling into the arms of Hillary Clinton, a girl from the Midwestern WASP version of 'the block' who knows how to communicate a culturally moderate message without actually proposing culturally conservative policies (she learned this from her husband as much as her upbringing) and whose economic policies will be quite amenable to the populist sensibilities of Midwesterners."

DaveG explains he's not supporting Hillary, just pointing our her strengths and trying to get Republicans focused on recognizing that she's formidable and can take votes in places that weren't seen as likely spots to favor a Democratic candidate.