President Obama spoke this morning at a forum on women and the economy. In his speech, he said, "Women are not an interest group."
Indeed, we are not. We're the majority of the electorate, and, in large part, our votes will decide the outcome of the 2012 presidential race.
Judging by the president's speech this morning, it's clear that he gets this.
Judging by recent comments from prominent supporters of anti-choice former Gov. Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee, it's equally clear that they don't.
Take, for example, anti-choice South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Earlier this week, she went on ABC's The View and made this bizarre claim:
Women don't care about contraception. They care about jobs and their families...
Not to be outdone, Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, completely dismissed the notion that anti-choice politicians in his party are waging a War on Women:
If the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and every mainstream media outlet talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we'd have problems with caterpillars. It's a fiction.
Oh, I get it: blame the media.
This seems to be a recurring message from prominent anti-choice politicians.
"Trust us," they say. "We're only focused on jobs and the economy. Attacking women's health care never even crossed our minds."
Where have we heard this before?
Let's look back to the 2010 elections, when anti-choice politicians vowed to "be focused like a laser" on job growth. Some even called for a "truce" on issues like a woman's right to choose.
Then, what did they do after they took office?
Here are some very non-fictional attacks on women's health from the past 15 months:
To be fair to Gov. Haley and Mr. Priebus, the media did report on these actions because that's exactly what happened.
And despite the best efforts of Romney, Haley and Priebus, women are paying attention.
That's why a recent USA Today/Gallup poll shows President Obama opening up an enormous lead against Romney among women voters in 12 key swing states.
Now, perhaps Gov. Haley expects voters to ignore these attacks and truly trust Romney & Co. to focus "like a laser" on the economy.
To use Gov. Haley's own words, "We're so much smarter and broader than that."
Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Follow Nancy Keenan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NARAL
 |
 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
The opposition are supporters of compulsory pregnancy and involuntary servitude.
Stay OUT of our uterus, ok? What women do or don't do with THEIR BODY is none of your business.
Got it?
This man understands women, and he fights for them. They are obviously not just another "interest group to him."
Get ready to lose and big!!!
an organization who couldn't care less about the rights of women or their healthcare.
The comparison to 'caterpillars' says volumes about what the GOP thinks of women--
Bottom line -- when your policy positions are indefensible, then the argument in your defense simply won't make any sense.
Just look at Scott Walker and his ending equal pay in Wisconsin. Does he really think the GOP Women will still support him?
THAT is my concern too: many don't know about the days when promotions/careers were just not given to women because 'she'll just get pregnant and leave' ... that seems so unbelievable today, but that is the reality of a woman's life when she can't CHOOSE the best time for HER to have a child.