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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2012 / And the waitress is practicing politics

And the waitress is practicing politics

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Looks like we have our new coveted demographic group:

A National Journal analysis of recent polling results across 11 states considered battlegrounds shows that in most of them, Obama is running considerably better than he is nationally among white women without a college education. Obama’s gains with these so-called “waitress moms” are especially pronounced in heartland battlegrounds like Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

[…..]

Both campaigns agree the Democratic ads have damaged Romney much more with blue-collar women than blue-collar men. But both sides also agree that these women are the least stable component of Obama’s emerging coalition. “I still say the noncollege white women are the moving piece of the electorate,” Garin said. “But Romney is an imperfect vessel for them to say the least.”

Republican pollster Alex Bratty has spent several months conducting focus groups of “Walmart moms”—women who regularly shop at the giant discount chain. That group extends beyond blue-collar white women but includes many of them. Bratty says the women in her groups are grappling with a choice that leaves many profoundly ambivalent.

Reader Interactions

63Comments

  1. 1.

    taylormattd

    Oh, boring. Waitress moms. Hasn’t this one been done already?

    Edit: I’m pissed smintheus’ “Fifty Shades of Grey Grandmas” didn’t make the cut.

  3. 3.

    taylormattd

    And by the way, I know it’s corny. But that song is one of my favorites. To this day I have some kind of a visceral reaction as he describes the people in the bar.

  5. 5.

    bondirotta

    So now Ann Coulter will start attacking slutty diner waitresses demanding free abortions.

  11. 11.

    the Conster

    I mean, when people, and women in particular, find out that not only can’t you have a beer with Romney, you can’t have a cup of coffee, or even a Coke! You can’t make a living with tips on that uptight straight guy in the corner booth who only orders water and a mayonnaise and cheese sandwich.

  13. 13.

    red dog

    @Dr. Loveless: Love your “Flo Factor” but a lot of polls from 4 years ago show this demo is also least likely to to vote and the polsters at Walmart are collecting useless data.

  15. 15.

    shortstop

    I wonder how many of them have already spit in Mitt’s food behind the scenes at diner campaign stops. Fortunately for him, he has food phobia, so he never tastes the stuff he’s served on the stump. Too busy insulting it.

  16. 16.

    ThresherK

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Will it make up for that 2009-ish meme of rich fnckers stiffing waitstaff on tips and saying “I’m redistributing the money to the needy instead”?

    I, for one, would love to see the kind of tips Romney gives to WaitressMoms(TM) in October 2012. It would tell us exactly how many minutes ago he started giving a crap about them, as I’m sure there are Romney tip stories out there from when he didn’t need anyone to like him one iota more than necessary.

  17. 17.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @taylormattd:

    Edit: I’m pissed smintheus’ “Fifty Shades of Grey Grandmas” didn’t make the cut.

    FUck me, I just saw Frank Bruni’s creepy “not to get all shades of gray on you, but I’d like a little pain right now” clip. I’m sure he means higher taxes and increase in the SS cap, not cuts to beneficiaries.

  19. 19.

    Roger Moore

    @ThresherK:

    I, for one, would love to see the kind of tips Romney gives to WaitressMoms™ in October 2012.

    I’m sure that Romney’s tip to those “white women without a college education” will be that they should borrow money from mom and dad, or maybe sell some of their stock, and get themselves an education. That’s the kind of tip you can take to the bank!

  20. 20.

    butler

    @Roger Moore: I bet they’ll remember the little bundles of joy that resulted from reading it and the corresponding grandkids those bundles produced, which I think is the meaning Martin was getting at.

  22. 22.

    mamayaga

    @ThresherK:

    I’m sure there are Romney tip stories out there from when he didn’t need anyone to like him one iota more than necessary.

    Well, there’s already been the story about Mitt leaving his half-drunken cocoa with a barrista in lieu of a tip.

  24. 24.

    butler

    So you’re telling me a Democrat is polling well among women who are likely in the mid to lower portion of the economic ladder?

    NO WAY! Next thing you’ll be telling me that the Republican is suddenly doing well among born again Christian Men?!?

  25. 25.

    Anya

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: OMG! How creepy was that. Also, it was disconcerting that a bunch of millionaires were talking about tax increase on the rich with such a condescending sneer. God, I hate these douchebags.

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Anya: was that the same maggoty band with which Lord Brokaw was bloviating about poors being accustomed to their free stuff?

  28. 28.

    Another Halocene Human

    “least stable”

    load of crap. at least according to my anecdata registering people to vote at a rural Walmart.

    Poor white women are the same women who GO to PP for their cancer screenings. Many of their husbands are Republican voters, but they aren’t.

    Also, too, poor white Republicans are pretty embarrassed these days.

  32. 32.

    El Cid

    @Roger Moore: He has to remove the cheese because the oils in the mozzarella dissolve the servo insulators which audio-animate his smooth, nearly lifelike movements.

  33. 33.

    Persia

    @mamayaga: One of my friends enjoys reminding Mormons that chocolate contains caffeine. I think it brightens his day.

    What a weird story.

  34. 34.

    Another Halocene Human

    @Persia: Brigham Young didn’t have any rivals in the cocoa import trade, as he had rivals in the brewing business, so I’m sure it’s more of a venial sin than, say, a mortal one.

    j/k, I wish Mormons believed in mortal sins. Actually their hell is an enormous waiting room where Mormon missionaries attempt to convert you, forever, the End.

  37. 37.

    TG Chicago

    NYT:

    Republicans said their goal — and perhaps the key to this election — was to appeal to the 2012 version of the “soccer mom.” This is a woman burdened by worry — over precarious family finances, her aging parents or her adult children who have moved back into the house. Call them the anxiety moms. “Why are jobs and the economy the No. 1 issue? Because women say so, and remember women make up 52 percent of the electorate,” said David Winston, a Republican pollster.

  38. 38.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Does this read to anyone else as another desperate attempt to pretend that women could not possibly be leaving the GOP permanently due to the GOP treating them loudly and publicly like shit? I am continually impressed by the Cult of Savvy explanation for our media. They will bend over backwards and shove their head up their own backside to avoid even the thought that policies matter.

  39. 39.

    ThresherK

    @Another Halocene Human: Leading to this imaginary, yet sadly, entirely possible, conversation:

    STAFFER: Sir, you have to leave bigger tips now; people are watching.

    ROMNEY: Will do!

    STAFFER: That means actual money, sir.

    ROMNEY: What, I’ve been doing it wrong?

  40. 40.

    PurpleGirl

    @TG Chicago: Which is why the Democrats should keep reminding people over and over that Rmoney has outsourced and/or eliminated tens of thousands of jobs at companies Bain controlled.

  41. 41.

    gbear

    If there are any waitress moms in the house, I’ve got a question: When leaving a tip at a restaurant, does it make a difference to the waitress/waiter if you leave the tip in cash at the table rather than add it to the credit card slip? I always leave cash at the table figuring that it’s less bureaucracy.

  43. 43.

    Linda Featheringill

    @Another Halocene Human: #28

    Poor white women are the same women who GO to PP for their cancer screenings. Many of their husbands are Republican voters, but they aren’t.

    Good for them!

    Poor white women are definitely in line to get screwed if the Republican platform becomes reality. They aren’t alone by any means but they are vulnerable. It would be nice if they voted and voted according to their interests.

  45. 45.

    Linda Featheringill

    @gbear:

    Tipping:

    The way it used to be back in the Stone Age, it all depended on the establishment. Some places were very good about seeing that people got their tips, others not. Cash money on the table is less likely to be messed with by management.

  46. 46.

    RedKitten

    Republicans said their goal — and perhaps the key to this election — was to appeal to the 2012 version of the “soccer mom.” This is a woman burdened by worry — over precarious family finances, her aging parents or her adult children who have moved back into the house. Call them the anxiety moms. “Why are jobs and the economy the No. 1 issue? Because women say so, and remember women make up 52 percent of the electorate,” said David Winston, a Republican pollster.

    “women will prioritize what we TELL them to prioritize!”

    Pisses me off to no end, this Republican assumption that women won’t care how badly their rights are trampled upon, because they’re too worried about the economy. Not only is it insulting, it’s false. Anybody who knows ANYTHING about women knows that we’re more than capable of holding multiple thoughts on multiple issues in our heads at the same time. How the hell else do they think we manage to hold down jobs, keep the kids’ schedules organized, remember that the car needs an oil change, prepare supper, worry about our aging parents, and remember to call the vet to schedule Max’s heartworm treatment, all at the same time? NOBODY does multitasking like a woman.

  47. 47.

    Nellie in NZ

    Plus the size of each kids’ underwear and socks as the sizes constantly change, which kid needs which vaccine next, dentist appointments and cousin’s birthdays.

  48. 48.

    HRA

    @gbear:

    Since I once was in the ranks of waitresses, it’s better to leave the tip on the table.
    In addition, at the present time and even earlier, not all waitresses are lacking in being college educated. Sometimes is waiting to get the right job (raises hand). Other times, it’s getting a lot more money at a very popular restaurant.

  49. 49.

    Lojasmo

    Mitt has dropped off the stage. This is depressing, and the national polls have him within 3.5 points. Somebody needs to get mitt to say something, stat.

    Ah, Wednesday, I need you.

  50. 50.

    Jackmormon

    @gbear: You may not like this answer, but here goes: the IRS presumes something like a 12% tip rate to calculate wages (remember that waiters usually earn well below minimum wage because tips are also presumed). A credit card tip is automatically reported. A cash tip is not.

    Also what Linda said above about management tinkering with tips.

  52. 52.

    RedKitten

    @Nellie in NZ: Exactly. And our spouse’s families’ birthdays, because we’re usually the ones who remember to buy cards.

    But you know, we’re so busy worrying about the economy that we don’t even NOTICE that our rights to control our own reproductive systems are being stripped away.

    What, me worry?

  54. 54.

    Redshift

    @RedKitten: It’s worse with women, but that seems to be the Republican strategy with every group this year. Romney’s “outreach” to Latino voters was to go and tell them that they really should be concerned with the economy instead of whatever stupid things they actually are concerned about.

    They planned to have an election that was a referendum on Obama over the economy (which wasn’t as wonderful a plan as the pundits made it out to be in the first place), and when reality turned out to be more complicated, their Plan B is to demand that the electorate conform to their Plan A. It’s pretty bizarre.

  55. 55.

    Elisabeth

    @gbear:

    If a tip is left on a credit card it has to be reported; if it is left as cash it can *accidentally* be excluded.

  56. 56.

    RedKitten

    @Redshift: And they have no clue how blatantly obvious they are, in the fact that they think women and Latinos are just too damn stupid to understand how they SHOULD feel.

  57. 57.

    RandyH

    I can see the flashy cable news graphics with those awesome sound effects now…
    Election 2012: Year Of The Waitress

  58. 58.

    Jackmormon

    @gbear: That’s for the best. Remember, the waiters usually “tip out” to the kitchen and bussers (the latter of whom are also often working at or below minimum wage). It’s a corrupt system, sure, and most of the people in it are constantly scrambling. Cash and the control that gives make things easier.

  60. 60.

    Petorado

    haven’t checked if this was covered on other threads, but a Republican-appointed judge made the following argument in defending the Obama Administration’s birth control coverage rules, that may very well be appealing to this newly-hyped demographic:

    [Federal religious freedom law] is a shield, not a sword. It protects individuals from substantial burdens on religious exercise that occur when the government coerces action one’s religion forbids, or forbids action one’s religion requires; it is not a means to force one’s religious practices upon others. [It] does not protect against the slight burden on religious exercise that arises when one’s money circuitously flows to support the conduct of other free-exercise-wielding individuals who hold religious beliefs that differ from one’s own

    A shield, not a sword. That is some damn informed jurisprudence.

    ETA: DougJ – how could you not think of this song? = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UX2afsTqFI

  62. 62.

    DPS

    For 2016 I want to suggest the following crucial demographics:

    the “hooker with a heart of gold” demographic

    the “sardonic gay friend” demographic

    the “hardbitten private detective” demographic

    the “wise negro who just wants to help white people” demographic

    the “prodigal son” demographic

  63. 63.

    trollhattan

    Since it would be irresponsible not to speculate, I speculate Willard has taken the Herr and Frau Doktor Ol’ Perfesser approach and gone Galt with regards to tipping the serveritude class since l’affaire iphonecam at the billionaires retreat.

    Those sub-minimum wage bastards can’t be trusted!

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