There are two things I wouldn’t want to be right now: an employee at Twitter or a pollster. Especially a pollster. They sure got it wrong–again. To be fair, the reasons why are becoming more clear. For one thing, right wing media aggregated the polls showing Republicans in the lead, and they spread those “results” far and wide. The mainstream media fell for it as well, and the polling certainty that Republicans would win spread faster and wider than manure on a Wisconsin cornfield in the spring.

And just how did pollsters get it so wrong?

I think that maybe, just maybe, they underestimated women. Not difficult to imagine, right? That’s been the case ever since a hungry Eve was given an apple that she somehow wasn’t expected to eat. About a month before the election, I even heard a Wisconsin conservative say on a local radio show that the issue of abortion wouldn’t be a top concern driving people to the polls. Huh? Here are some facts I’d suggest he keep in mind for the next time:  

1. Women can walk and chew gum at the same time. We invented multi-tasking. So when (male) pundits thought we couldn’t care about inflation and reproductive rights at the same time, it made me laugh out loud. Why did they think that we’d be okay with men taking away our right to make decisions about our own bodies? Or that we somehow wouldn’t be furious over politicians, of all people, attempting to control us and determine our destinies? And why did they think we couldn’t do a simple Google search to find out which party has had more success in creating an economy that works, and not only for the top one percent? Which leads me to:

• Women are smart. We understand that inflation isn’t the fault of the president or his party. All we had to do was use common sense, read an article, or watch a (legitimate) news show or two to understand that inflation is an international problem born of Covid. And that one party was actually trying to do something about it, while the other party’s idea was to recycle old solutions that have been tried, and failed, since Reagan. For decades now, we’ve seen that trickle-down economics don’t trickle down, but instead, flow upward to the rich, who tend to keep what they reap to themselves and/or their stockholders. And the evidence to show that it hasn’t worked is as vast as the gap between rich and poor. So, women should reward those who want to keep instituting a failed approach, on top of their threats to gut programs like Social Security? Women understand that no successful business cuts its way to the top, but instead, makes wise investments, especially in its people. For a party that wants government to be run more like a business, why doesn’t the GOP get this? Women do–women like Nancy Pelosi.

The first woman elected to the Speaker of the House, Pelosi held that position for nearly twenty years. During her tenure, she corralled the often unruly and very diverse House Dems, leading them to pass more legislation positively impacting the lives of more Americans than any other speaker. And she did it while navigating one of the most hostile moments and personalities in American political history, including an insurrection on our nation’s capital. She suffered lies, at least one kidnapping attempt, verbal attacks and a violent physical attack on her husband, which was immediately followed by a violent and nasty right wing verbal attack on him. Through it all, she (mostly) kept her cool, acting with integrity and class. Underestimated by many–even some in her own party–Speaker Pelosi simply kept moving ahead and doing the work, for the benefit of the American people.

That talk show I listened to with the conservative campaign strategist who got it wrong? Forget I said anything about keeping these facts about women in mind. Instead, I hope he and his party continue underestimating women, as well as young voters, people of color, LGTBQ folks and immigrants. In fact, I hope he and his party continue to do what they apparently do best: listening and pandering to old white guys. That’s their winning ticket. Or, maybe they should apply for jobs at Twitter. Or learn how to become pollsters.

Photo by RODNAE Productions at www.pexels.com.