October 6, 2009: Conservative Columnist Says that the US Would Be Better Off if Women Did Not Vote

Conservative columnist John Derbyshire tells liberal radio host Thom Hartmann that while women should have the right to vote, they should not exercise that right, because women voting is “bad for conservatism” and therefore “bad for society.” Hartmann is following up on a chapter in a recent Derbyshire book that argued against women’s suffrage, and Derbyshire’s recent admission that the US would “probably” be a “better country” if women did not vote. “[W]omen voting is bad for conservatism, and as a conservative, of course, I think that’s bad for society,” Derbyshire tells Hartmann. Hartmann then asks, “So therefore if women were not allowed to vote it would be a better country in your opinion?” Derbyshire responds: “I think as a hypothetical I think that’s arguable, yeah. Yeah, I think so. Yeah.” [Think Progress, 10/7/2009]