As the election draws nigh, some Tarheel women have been touting their support for Donald Trump. First came the open letter from four North Carolinians including Ann Chalk, wife of prominent Charlotte developer John Chalk.The open letter, also signed by Jane Dowd of Stanly County, Elayne Bennet of Brunswick County, and Chris Stowe of Gaston County, focuses less on Trump’s vision and accomplishments and heavily on Hillary Clinton’s vision and scandals. On Clinton, the women conclude that “a Clinton presidency would be above the law, answerable to no one, and able to impose its policies upon the American people at will.”For these women, Trump’s best attribute is that he is “free of pre-existing political relationships and compromising political obligations.” That may not be entirely true, but it’s beyond question that Trump’s entanglements and favors owed are a drop in the ocean compared to someone who has been on the political scene for a quarter century. Another North Carolinian also entered the fray Thursday, this one a self-described “late GenXer/millennial mom” named Katelyn Crist. Writing on the conservative site thefederalist.com, Crist begins by saying much the same things about the choice that the Chalk group does:”While I would have loved to make history by voting in the first president of my gender, that’s not going to happen this time. I’m voting for Trump. It’s not because I’m blind to his many faults; I see them perfectly. But they pale in comparison to Clinton’s, not only her lack of trustworthiness and political corruption but her deeply flawed policies.”But from here Crist veers off from the first group, saying her decision is less about philosophy than downright dollars and cents. For those with fewer paychecks than family members, that usually means one thing in 2016: Obamacare. Crist goes right after it:”This is the reality for my family of seven: We’re a middle-class family with growing children, and when I get notifications detailing how much my health-care deductibles are going to go up and benefits I depended on to keep health-care affordable being eradicated in 2017, I immediately ask: how on earth are we going to pay for a major illness or a hospitalization? What seemed like a reasonable monthly premium on paper becomes more than a mortgage when you throw in the real cost if you have anything happen outside of routine exams and preventative health-care.”Only Trump is willing to truly scrap Obamacare, Crist reasons, so he’s got her vote. Who knows how many women there are like Crist out there? A recent WRAL poll concluded that Trump had cut Clinton’s lead among Tarheel women from 12 to 7 points. Why? It’s impossible to say, but pocketbook issues usually trump all else for undecided middle-class families, and Obamacare’s 2016 meltdown isn’t doing Clinton any favors. If Clinton can’t hold together the middle-class, suburban female vote, she’s toast at least in North Carolina.
