As the Indiana primary gets closer, the decision about who to vote for becomes more and more crucial.
For the Democratic race, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have the party so polarized everyone has an opinion and every delegate counts.
A Hart Research Associates survey found 7 percent of Sanders voters could see themselves voting for Trump and 8 percent gave Trump a positive likeability rating.
These numbers are small, but they are still baffling to me.
I believe there are a lot of valid and unavoidable reasons not to vote for Clinton, and I don’t plan to.
However, there are also some completely invalid reasons to vote against Clinton — namely, that she is a woman.
Political science professor Dan Cassino of Fairleigh Dickinson University conducted a survey that asked American men about their spouse’s income and whether they preferred Clinton to Trump.
Half of the survey pool was asked whether their spouse made more money than them before being asked about their political preferences, and half were asked at the end of the survey.
Cassino found the majority of American men said they preferred Trump to Clinton only when the men were asked about their spouse’s income before they were asked about candidate preference.
Cassino attributed this to “the threat to gender roles.”
Men preferred Trump only after they were reminded of the threat to societal norms Clinton as president would supposedly represent.
For some, this survey shows the subconscious desire to adhere to misogynistic societal expectations is prevalent in voting behavior, and that is unacceptable.
It also questions other conclusions the public has drawn about Clinton and whether they have sexist undertones.
One of the biggest reasons people dislike Clinton is that she lies.
This is and has always been a huge character flaw for most politicians, but it’s a criticism that has stuck to Clinton more firmly than her opposers.
Women being depicted as liars who can’t be trusted is so prevalent in our society it almost isn’t worth explaining.
The clichés of the femme fatale to the biblical vilification of Eve to the harmful stereotype of false rape victims are the most easily identifiable examples of this ludicrous assumption about women.
Its prevalence in this election can’t be denied when you look at the facts.
According to the Pulitzer-Prize-winning organization Politifact, 50 percent of Clinton’s fact-checked statements are “True” and “Mostly True,” while only 14 percent are “False” and “Pants on Fire,” the lowest fact-check rating.
Compare this to President Obama, who ranks at 48 percent and 14 percent, respectively, or Sanders, at 49 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
Ted Cruz’s statements are 22 percent “True” and “Mostly True” and 38 percent “False” and “Pants on Fire,” which is pretty bad but still better than Trump. Trunp’s statements have been ruled 8 percent “True” and “Mostly True” and 60 percent “False” and “Pants on Fire.”
So if you are thinking of dumping the Democratic party for Trump because you can’t stand Clinton’s lies, maybe you should take a closer look at your own gender bias.
There are a lot of valid reasons not to vote for Clinton, and I support anyone who expresses them.
I don’t support thinly veiled sexism or stereotypes about women in power. And I don’t support anyone voting for Trump.
jordrile@indiana.edu
@RiledpIDS
