Attack Clinton At Your Own Risk, Her Supporters Say
But the only ones likely to suffer from this criticism are those dishing it out, says EMILY's List, a group known for raising money and providing support for Democratic women candidates. They cite a new poll that shows Clinton not only leads among women Democratic primary voters, but also that she is generating excitement and admiration.
"If someone attacks a person you genuinely admire, you will not like that person," said pollster Geoffrey Garin. "For the other candidates – the male candidates, frankly – it's not a free shot, in terms of how this base of voters may react to that. I'm not sure that all of these women will take it as a neutral act, these kinds of attacks."
To back up that point, another pollster behind the survey, Diane Feldman, pointed out that while women voters in the poll aren't backing Clinton explicitly because of her gender, 58 percent of them see electing her as a way to change society's perception of women in general.
"I think the attacks from the other candidates are both a risk to them and an opportunity for Sen. Clinton, because the image of her standing up to the attacks and moving forward unfazed when there are a dozen men attacking her or trying to gang up on her may well be enforcing the perception among Democratic women voters that electing a woman president would cause a change in attitude," Feldman said.
The survey was conducted Oct. 16-22, over a week before Tuesday's debate. It included 900 Democratic women primary voters, evenly divided between Arizona, Georgia and New Jersey, all of which hold primaries on Feb. 5, along with 19 other states. It had a margin of error of 3.4 percent.
Across the board, the survey found strong support for Clinton, who was backed by 57 percent of respondents. In a demographic breakdown, women aged 18-44 were the only group where Clinton did not command majority support – 49 percent of those women said they supported the New York senator and former first lady.
Garin noted that Clinton's efforts to appear tough yet also emphasize her gender seemed to be effective – women overwhelmingly believed that she both cares about children and would be a strong commander in chief. "Think about that combination of those two things," he said. "How many people can be those two things at the same time?"
EMILY's List, which in years past has been a fundraising and organizing force for Democratic women running for Congress, released the survey as it stands on the verge of getting deeply involved in a presidential race for the first time. On Nov. 19, it will launch a Web site aimed at Democratic women in Iowa who do not normally attend the state's caucuses, which are scheduled for Jan. 3. The goal is to get those women to participate and cast a vote for Clinton.
The effort may include sending paid staff to Iowa and, according to Maren Hesla, who is directing the program, it will feature extensive advertising. "It will be substantial and you won't be able to escape it," she said.