On Friday, Obama addressed the Women’s Economic Forum, speaking
on current gender discrimination within America, as well as the upcoming
election. The president noted “The conversation
has been oversimplified….Women are not some monolithic bloc…an interest group.”
With the continued controversy surrounding abortion rights, and the newest
issues concerning contraceptives under health care reform acts, the Democratic Party
has been pushing hard to frame the GOP on such issues, noting how the party is
one that would deny women these rights.
In fact, recent Gallup polls show the president leading Romney, the GOP
likely nominee, by as much as 18 percentage points. Republican consultant, Matt Mackowiak, commented
"You can't lose women by 18 points. You are going to get
slaughtered."
This speech and others like it sparked retaliation from
Romney and the GOP, arguing that the left has forged a narrative and spun the
nation into believing that the right is launching a “war on women”, in light of
their stances surrounding contraceptives.
Conservatives everywhere criticism Obama for requiring religious institutions
to provide contraceptive coverage in health care plans, which would violate
certain religious doctrines. Ultimately
though, GOP stances on such hot issues are clearly having a disastrous effect, with
women everywhere changing their votes, if not their party allegiances entirely.
How do you think Romney
plans to combat this widening gender gap? Are his arguments against the
Democratic Party valid, or merely the words of a wounded pride, being so far
behind in polling?
5 comments:
In all honesty, when I heard about the GOP's plans to limit birth control, I thought this would be a very risky move. I do believe that if the GOP was successful in limiting contraceptives, they are infringing on the rights of women. This does tie into the whole abortion debate. One side argues it's unnatural, but the other side argues every person has the right to self autonomy. I think some arguments against the Democratic party are valid, but others are not. Obama requiring religious institutions to offer contraceptive care does border on too much government control. But, at the same time, Romney's gap in polling could also contribute to his strong arguments.
To be honest, I don't think i can actually predict what Mitt Romney will do to combat Obama. I do know that whatever it is, he will abandon it in favor of a new tactic when he take the other side and claims that he truly supports what he once denounced. As for women, they are incredibly important because it really is true, you can't win if women don't like you. Women outnumber men in our population so it wouldn't matter if Republicans got the majority of the men votes if Obama got 18 percentage points above Romney in women voters. At this point it really does make sense too. How can Republicans take the positions that they have on things such as abortion and women's rights to do what they want with their own bodies and expect women to vote for them? I know if someone suddenly started saying what I could and could not do in my own personal life, I would not vote for that person. At that point, it becomes a matter of dignity as well as who is the best for the nation. If someone is advocating things that intrude on people's ability to decide what to do with their own body, they are obviously not fit to lead so in that sense, the choice just got easier. The ironic part, in my opinion, is that Republicans always say that they are for small government. In this case Romney really does represent the Republican party fairly well with the huge flip-flop it did on that one.
As for the abortion issue, the easiest argument that Romney can use to redeem himself would be that he is interested in protecting the rights of the fetus. And, although I personally believe that the rights of the mother outweigh the rights of the fetus, it is a valid argument that some women support. Perhaps Romney could also make the argument that he is not trying to make birth control less available than it already is, he is just trying not to make it more available. The idea that the GOP will deny birth control to women is a bit exaggerated.
Romney has to be very careful how he goes about gaining women votes. Yet, after all, he is a politician and he has a long history of flip-flopping. The key, it seems, is to gain support of more conservative women who have been turned off by his policies while at the same time not losing conservative men in the process. I think it would be best for Romney to stick with his stances on most issues because he truly is finding himself in a catch-22. If he tries to appeal to women, he is a "typical politician" and he loses some of his consistency, but if he stands his ground, the "war on women" continues. Looks like Obama will be given four more years...
In trying to identify himself with the super conservative Republicans, Romney is jeopardizing other source of support. Even if it is not his intention, he is alienating many women. This is a disadvantage for him, since 60% of women voted last election compared to 55% of men. Honestly, I’m getting confused with Romney’s agenda and beliefs. He tries too hard to be somebody else. He does not seem sincere anymore. Anyway, instead of trying to show his softer side, he could probably redeem himself by picking a woman as his vice-president. Though, I am not sure if people are going to buy it. He should just make sure that he chooses a competent one, not like the one from four years ago.
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