Walmart Moms Are The Next Political Bellwether

By Cassie Murdoch | October 7, 2011 | 2:10pm

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First it was the soccer moms in their minivans, then it was all those hockey moms (known for their ability to distinguish themselves from pitbulls by wearing lipstick), and, of course, we must not forget about NASCAR Dads. Now it seems the next big thing in political polling is Walmart moms. Ugh, seriously? Yes, if you believe a series of focus groups conducted this week. Here’s the main thing to know about these ladies: they shop at Walmart! And they have kids at home. Apparently they make up about 15% of the electorate, and, according to pollsters who conducted the focus groups, “As a whole they are about two-thirds white, mostly under the age of 44 and fairly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. About half make less than $50,000 a year.”

What, pray tell, can this special subset of value-loving American women reveal about the political future of our nation? So far one of the pollsters says they have some good news for President Obama: “These voters don’t seem like they have given up on Obama. They are losing patience with Washington, but it seemed like Obama doesn’t come out that bad.” They’re definitely fed up with Congress being so darn slow. One of the Walmart moms, Kimberly from Florida, had this to say: “It takes forever to get things passed. We’re waiting and we’re waiting and we’re waiting.” Yeah, well when you’re used to Walmart, Washington probably does seem inefficient. Probably it would help if Congress got some people on their registers and opened a few more check-out lanes.