Time and time again, conservative women are bashed by the left for their support of the Republican Party. Chances are, if you’re a woman who didn’t vote for Hillary in 2016, you’ve been criticized by at least one leftist woman who looked at you in total disgust while begging the question, “How can you be a woman and still vote Republican?”
For women on the far left, it’s almost as if gender is the only determining factor when heading to the ballot box, which is odd for a party that seems terribly confused about what gender they are in the first place. Nonetheless, the left constantly pushes the false narrative that conservative women must be brainwashed by the men in their lives to vote for such patriarchal leadership. After all, why else would they vote in line with a party that causes so much harm to their own gender? Well, believe it or not, Republican women have minds of their own, and they’re quite aware of the policies and regulations that do, and do not, harm their gender.
Take, for example, the Second Amendment. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, women are five times more likely than men are to be victims of violent crimes like rape and aggravated assault. Moreover, according to the International Labour Organization, women make up 99 percent of sex trafficking victims. It’s an unfortunate certainty that men tend to be more capable of fending off predators than women — such is not the case, however, for a woman with a gun. The decision to train and safeguard from danger by the use of a firearm is not only shrewd, but it’s also empowering. If women on the left are at all concerned with equality of the sexes, it seems unfathomable that they would oppose the greatest equalizer of all.
For conservative women, the freedom to defend themselves is perhaps equally as important as ensuring limited government and free markets. After all, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The less government intervention, the freer we become to live out our destinies. With more government intervention, comes more regulation. Conservative women, and men, are of the mindset that if the government has less power, the individual has all the more. This is especially the case when it comes to economic policy. The left banks on the ability to control women’s emotions by preaching self-empowerment and promising women higher salaries.
While leftist politicians may be well-intentioned, none of them understand how exactly to produce the outcomes they preach. However, under President Trump women earn more, and thus have more freedom and ability to shape their life choices as a result of such economic empowerment. As a whole, and as individuals, women are thriving under President Trump’s free-market economy. A report by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 38 percent of women are out-earning their husbands. Conservative women understand that, and they also understand that government’s job is to encourage development and industry growth, but not pay for it.
Not only have conservative women faced criticism for their support of the Republican party, but they’ve also dealt with heated backlash for their support of President Trump. Women on the left are quick to point to Trump’s rhetoric from 20 years ago as a reason for not voting for him, but they fail to recognize the positive impact he’s had on women’s day-to-day lives. Just last week, the president signed a bill aimed at clearing the backlog of untested DNA in rape kits. For far too long, sexual predators have been wandering freely and benefit from the estimated 100,000 rape kits that remain untested.
This is a major win for any victim seeking justice against their abuser, and especially for women who make up 91 percent of rape assault victims. If we want to encourage women to come forward after such tragic and life-altering events, we need to assure them that at the very least, their rape kits will be tested promptly, allowing these women to seek the justice they so severely deserve.
President Trump’s administration is also focused on giving American families a much-needed tax relief by doubling the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 per child to $2,000 per child through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. With the help of his daughter Ivanka Trump, he’s also the first president working to get 12 weeks of paid family leave enacted. According to the Wall Street Journal, more women are currently employed than men. The Trump administration recognizes the kind of change this brings to the American family, which is precisely why his administration is hoping for bipartisan support of legislation that allows parents a leave from work to spend more time with their newborns without concern of fiscal penalties.
While conservative women are used to receiving backlash from leftists for their political decisions, it needs to be known that there’s substantial reasoning behind their logic in voting. It’s especially irksome that the women making such crude inferences are the ones posting kitschy phrases on their social media accounts, such as “empowered women empower women.” The second these leftist women encounter a woman who supports Trump, they lose all sight of what it means to empower women. Instead, they resort to completely disparaging that woman.
Contrary to what leftists may say, conservative women are not beholden to their husbands’ political beliefs. Instead, women who vote for Republican leadership find it honorable to vote for candidates that don’t alter their policies in an effort to pander to certain groups. Ultimately, conservative women vote for what they think will help all Americans, regardless of gender.
Leyla Pirnie, senior director of international relations at Ropir International, was born and raised in Izmir, Turkey. She speaks four languages and is a Harvard graduate student. In her free time, she volunteers for Daughters of the American Revolution and serves as a board member for Boots for Warriors, an organization that gifts custom, hand-crafted cowboy boots for wounded warriors and first responders.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.