RICK SANTORUM is picking up strong levels of support from women voters, particularly in the South, The New York Times reports. If, as Democrats contend, conservatives are waging a war on women, that war is largely being fought by women. From the Times’s piece:

On the Right, Santorum Has Women’s Vote

By SUSAN SAULNY

MANDEVILLE, La. — Rick Santorum was running late, and about 250 people were growing restless at a rally sponsored by the Tea Party. So the Harris sisters, a country singing duo, took the stage.

They harmonized on “Game On,” a sprightly campaign anthem that concluded, “Yes, I believe/Rick Santorum is our man.”

What happened next was more like a revival meeting than a political event.

The performers asked each other and the crowd what they liked best about the presidential candidate. Camille Harris, 20, exclaimed into the microphone, “Seven kids! Seven kids!” Turning her attention to Mr. Santorum’s youngest, Isabella, born with a genetic disorder, the singer added, “Didn’t abort the last one, which is amazing.”

Then several women in the crowd called out that Mr. Santorum was a Christian and a “man of faith,” and that he was “honest and honorable.” Bursting with enthusiasm, one woman said, “He’s for life!”

There is no mistaking the bond that Mr. Santorum has with conservative women — particularly married women — a group that has formed a core of his support since the primaries began in January. He has handily carried the votes of women in primaries that he has won, including those in Mississippi and Alabama. And where he has lost, in Arizona, South Carolina and Illinois, he has enjoyed a higher level of support among women than men.

Even as it becomes increasingly clear that Mr. Santorum, who is lagging behind Mitt Romney in both the delegate and money race, will probably remain the runner-up and not the nominee, women who support him say they still will have sent a message about values, and console themselves with the fact that the candidate, who is 53, is young enough to run in 2016.

“He doesn’t give up, so I’m not giving up,” said Kay Verdi, 75, a mother of six from Belle Chasse, La., who spends much her time trying to persuade others to vote for Mr. Santorum. “I’ve never felt as strong about a candidate as I do for Santorum. I’ve usually had to pick the lesser of two evils when I vote. Not this time.”

How did Ms. Verdi explain the attraction?

“I like that he’s been married only once, and that he has character and faith; that’s what touches me,” she said.

The Web site ricksantorum.com attracts more women than men, 60 percent of its visitors, a larger share than for the Web sites of other candidates, according to Nielsen ratings that were released last week. Among other things, there may be an empathy factor at work: A New York Times/CBS News poll taken this month found that 73 percent of Republican female voters said Mr. Santorum understood the needs and problems of people like them, compared with 52 percent who said the same about Mr. Romney.

“If it’s not his turn this time, it may be next time,” said Linda Terrebonne, 60, a retired court clerk who cheered for Mr. Santorum at a small rally last week in Harvey, La. “If he doesn’t win, I’ll go with the new guy, although I wouldn’t be really pleased about it.”

When Mr. Santorum took the stage in Mandeville on Wednesday, where his supporters had arrived rain-drenched, braving flash floods and a tornado watch, he did not sound as if he would be conceding the nomination any time soon. “I want to remind you what your duty is,” he told the crowd. “Reset this race.”

Louisiana may have a chance to help do that. Mr. Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, is expected to do well in the primary on Saturday. Louisiana’s demographics and conservative political culture align with those of Southern states where he has prevailed. But beyond places like Mandeville, a Republican enclave north of New Orleans, Mr. Santorum will face a steep uphill climb toward the nominating convention in August.

But after Mr. Santorum’s speech, Lindsey Kersker, 45, a homemaker who lives in Mandeville, signed a check for $50.

“I can tell you why he does well with me, because he’s strong on family values and he’s very religious,” Ms. Kersker said. “I think that this country needs to have a renewal of its moral compass, and this is the man to do it.” [cont.]

                                             — Comments —

Jesse Powell writes:

It is part of the feminist narrative that the past, that traditional family values, were about “oppressing women” and that feminism is all about “women’s rights” and that by extension anyone questioning the moral legitimacy of the feminist revolution is engaging in “a war against women.” Accompanying this idea is the related concept of “progress”; that history moves uniformly in a positive direction. That the future will naturally belong to feminist egalitarianism once the old superstitions of the past are forgotten, once the older members of society that grew up in the past have died, once the superior wisdom of the modern age is naturally recognized as the truth by all. Along these lines you will often hear feminists lament “I can’t believe that in the year 2012 some people still think . . . “

The reality is however that women do indeed support Rick Santorum more than men do in the Republican Primary elections contrary to the narrative that feminism is “pro-woman” and that anyone opposed to feminism is therefore “anti-woman.” It is furthermore true that Rick Santorum is having his great success in 2012, not in an earlier year. The voting public is becoming more receptive to Santorum’s message as time progresses forward, not less. These realities are in direct contradiction against the delusions that feminists hold most dear.

Kay Hymowitz expresses some interesting mixed feelings about Santorum’s success in the Republican Primaries. She writes in the Wall Street Journal’s Life and Culture section:

For a long time, these [social] problems were mostly prevalent in minority neighborhoods in poor urban areas. But as Charles Murray has argued in these pages, they have spread from the poor into the white working class.”

Mr. Santorum, the ‘guy from a little steel town,’ speaks to those who fear the disorder and unhappiness overtaking their own families.

For those of us who are thriving and wouldn’t want to return to the era before the birth control pill, even if it were possible, it’s unfortunate that the only options presented by the present political and cultural moment seem to be preacherly rectitude, on the one hand, and moral chaos, on the other.

Laura writes:

Kay Hymowitz, the Manhattan Institute author of Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men into Boys and numerous articles that point to some of the negative consequences of feminism, is a feminist.

All feminists wish an end the historic traditions of Western society. In Manning Up, Hymowitz puts aside any serious misgivings and celebrates the confounding of sex roles and aggressive, egocentric careerism in women. Speaking of “preacherly rectitude,” she chides men for not “manning up” and adjusting to the newfound power of women. She wants men to act the part of men while women dispense with feminine duties.

Notice her dismissive comment that people who object to the rise of family breakdown “fear the disorder,” as if it is a matter of cowardice and not repugnance and rejection. She would rather see the whole social order upended then submit to the “preacherly rectitude” of a believing Christian.

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