Being emotional, rather than rational. Believing what they wanted to believe, rather than actually making data-based decisions. They wanted lower taxes, so they believed what they were told as long as it involved lower taxes.

It's not so much that they haven't caught on, but that they have fallen out of favor. There are many gendered terms that aren't really used much anymore: executor/executrix, author/authoress, actor/actress, waiter/waitress, steward/stewardess, comedian/comedienne, master/mistress, poet/poetess,…