If They Only Listened to Us: What Women Voters Want Politicians to Hear

By Melinda Henneberger

Book Overview

An informative and compelling look at what is on the minds of American women and what issues sway women's votes across the political and geographical divide.

"Melinda Henneberger offers politicians a witty, incisive, and sharp direction manual for making the gender gap work to their advantage. Anyone interested in politics and how to be successful in politics would be wise to pay attention." --Donna Brazile, political strategist

Soon after the 2004 presidential election, veteran reporter Melinda Henneberger set out across the country to listen to women of all ages and occupations express their strong opinions on the major issues of our time. Over eighteen months she spoke in depth and at length with more than two hundred women in twenty states, from Massachusetts to Arizona and Oregon to Texas. She discovered how unheard women feel, how ignored and disregarded by both major parties and by most politicians.

Listening to women all over the nation -- not only on what are traditionally thought of as "women's issues" but on issues of paramount importance to all Americans -- Henneberger shines a light on what women voters are thinking and how that translates into how and for whom they vote.

The issues that these women focused on were abortion, the environment, globalization (and job loss), and corruption (and lack of trust) in the government and the entire electoral process. Again and again these women of all ages, social classes, and regions returned to the matter of authenticity. And they came back again and again to their commonly held feeling that neither party takes any genuine interest in their actual lives, that politicians across the board seem, as a young waitress in Sacramento put it, "to be talking about people who don't exist."

A patient, sensitive, experienced, intelligent listener, Henneberger reports how women feel about the nation's politics and politicians. Her findings will surprise you. Knowing the answers these women give will tell you a great deal about how the next presidential and other elections will be decided.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743278968
• ISBN13: 9780743278966
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

The better question is WHY don't they listen?

Melinda Henneberger, a contributing writer at The Huffington Post, traveled around the country interviewing a variety of women to get their input on what's important to them politically. For political junkie like me, it's a great and inspiring read. I often get frustrated, wondering where all the women voters are and why so many of us stay home at election time. Do we care what's going on in the political world? Or are we simply frustrated that the system just doesn't work for us? The question I'd really like to have answered on this topic is, "Why?" If "they" only listened to us, it would be great. But isn't the bigger question, "Why don't they listen to us?" Those volunteers slaving to make things better in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Women activists who have turned away from their political parties because they feel that no one is listening. Wives and mothers who are tuned into politics, but are increasingly put off by the failure of the system to benefit those who need it the most. I think the answer is simple -- we're not the ones opening our wallets to the candidates. If abortion rights or providing relief for those hit by natural disasters were high on the priority list for Halliburton or the big pharmaceutical companies, you can bet there would be a lot more action on Capitol Hill than there is now on those issues. So, should we open up our wallets for candidates or issues we believe in, regardless of whether we live in a red state or a blue state? Chip in a few dollars for those who share our vision, regardless of what party we're registered with? I made a small donation to a Senate candidate this week who isn't even from my state because he shares a world view that makes my political heart skip a beat. It certainly wasn't enough to cause a blip on the fundraising radar, but I figure it's a start. add to sk*rt

Delightful Reading

Finally, someone is listening to female voters-thank you Melinda Henneberger! This book is a fair, balanced and sensitive account of what is on the minds of American women across the political and geographical divide. It should be required reading for anyone running for political office.

A Small Gem

This book is a small gem: smart, painstakingly reported and superbly written. Melinda Henneberger introduces us to women who are seldom heard from in the national political discussion, and lets them have their say. I was especially interested in the deep misgivings women expressed about Hillary Clinton. Regardless of what the polls say, their comments should be a big, fat red flag to the people running her campaign. Henneberger's work is well worth the time of anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the forces at play in the 2008 campaign.

if they only listened to us,melinda henneberger

this book is a must read for every man and woman, its a "look in the mirror" fact finder on how,why we vote, this writer tells a story like anne tyler and investigative reporting as of amy goodman, a star has been born with this young writer, awesome,explantory read.

Puzzling... very puzzling

This book is not something you can breeze through. It is an absorbing (albeit, in a few places, due to sentence structure, a perplexing) "read". I applaud Ms. Henneberger for her relentless pursuit of answers from one end of the nation to the other. The feminists back in the early 1900's tried to convince others that giving women the vote would make this world a kinder, gentler place. Maybe it has. But judging from what I read in this book, some of the answers these 21st Century women gave to Ms Henneberger gave me the impression of a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that DID NOT fit. It appeared to me that those who professed themselves to be Democrats and Republicans were fragmented, and in some cases, vaccillating from one cause to another. Did I see much compassion or a genuine desire to help others reach out to others or help unify without disrespecting others' opinions? I don't think so. Will any solidarity ever come from these opinions? Will anything ever get accomplished with these seemingly fragmented attitudes? I think one sentence (p 205) sums up much of what is expressed throughout this book - "...most of us know just about exactly as much as we want to know, and then act accordingly." The impression I got was that many of the more affluent women were more interested in material things - money, jobs, status -- than in genuinely caring for what happens to others less fortunate, or to the environment. The woman who said (paraphrased in my words) that if the environment was supposed to suffer, maybe that was the way it had to be ..... was NOT someone I'd ever want to see running for ANY office - had she ever gone camping and had her way totally blocked by thousands of shards of glass from broken bottles next to her favorite mountain stream?? Did she ever enjoy the refreshing breezes, and birdsong from the forest across the way from her home and then see the devastation wrought by ONE bulldozer in only two days, turning that forest into a mudfield, and smell the refreshing breezes turning into polluted air??? However, her opinions are revisited at the end of the book, and.... . When Ms. Henneberger interviews the (formerly) homeless women, women who endured the bare bones of existence and struggled to get to where they were now in a government-run program with its good and bad points -- these women speak volumes, realistically -- about their wants, needs and opinions borne from harsh experience. I listened more to what those women were saying, because they had risen from the ground up, maintaining their dignity in the face of medical-aid cuts and other challenges that the other, more affluent women intervied by Ms. Henneberger barely touched upon. Those same down-to-earth observations were also prevalent in the striking steelworkers and others who had lost their jobs in Monroe County, as well as the four enlisted women who had seen combat duty. As for the more affluent women, their opinions appeared to be more linear, and less all-enco