In courting women, Romney camp bets on the economy

That strategy, Republicans say, will boost Romney enough among women to give him an overall edge, not only because of his advantage among white men, but also because many undecided women voters are in a lower income bracket and thus more likely to be financially underwater.

"In this economic environment, jobs, inflation, the price of a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas outweigh issues like contraception," said Republican pollster Chris Wilson. "I think the best thing that Obama could do right now is... to come up with an economic plan that is targeted toward women."

Can Democrats take back the economic issue?

Part of the Republican calculus on this issue is a basic assumption that Romney has the edge on economic issues, and that the president's ability to appeal to voters on this subject is undermined by what the campaign casts as an insufficient economic recovery.

Mr. Obama, however, is attempting to cut into that narrative. In addition to reiterating their longstanding argument that women's health issues are economic issues, the campaign is attempting to cast doubt on Romney's record supporting equal rights in the workforce. The president and his surrogates have recently seized on Romney's muddled history of support for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and immediately pounced on comments he made during the second presidential debate about using "binders full of women" as a way to find qualified women to hire. The Obama campaign is also re-upping its attacks on Romney's records at Bain Capital, which many say proved effective over the summer.

Republican and Democratic strategists alike predicted the "binders" meme could do significant damage to Romney's prospects if Democrats find a way to make it stick, and his campaign swiftly announced a "We Know Mitt Tour," featuring women who worked with Romney during his tenure as governor, in an effort to preempt future fallout.

"If you're ever in a situation where you're being lampooned on the nightly shows, or things are hitting comedy and pop culture, it's going to move through the public consciousness much faster," said Democratic strategist Celinda Lake. "I think that comment just struck women as really odd. We're not binders, we're real people, and we've been trying to knock on the glass ceiling for a long time. I think that really stuck."

If women are turned off by the comment, Wilson says, it could start "the domino effect that can move the needle enough to win or lose the election."

"A one- or two-point impact could be the difference between winning and losing," he added.

The turnout factor

As much as the battle for undecided voters may come down to which and how many women prioritize social issues over the economy, turnout among women will be equally critical.

"The more women who vote, the more likely they are to vote Democratic," said Marsh. "As we're closing in on the two-week mark, this is all about turnout."

While women make up a large proportion of undecided voters, a huge chunk of females -- younger, unmarried, minority, and suburban-dwelling females -- are reliably Democratic. Lake, however, points to a huge enthusiasm gap among this group between 2008 and 2010: 11 million unmarried women who voted in 2008 did not vote in 2010, she said, and 6.6 million younger women who voted in 2008 did not vote in 2010. Getting those women to the polls in 2012 is a major Democratic priority.

"You don't have to persuade these women who to vote for," said Lake. "You do have to persuade them to vote. They've been very hard-hit in this economy. The answer is to offer something very specific to them that they believe will make a different in their families' lives."

At the end of the day, the Obama campaign's expansive ground game and sophisticated turnout efforts could be the make-or-break factor, says Marsh.

"A good ground game is worth three to five points on Election Day," she argued. "I don't think Romney has the ability to turn out voters anywhere near the way the Obama campaign can. Now he has to really motivate them to do so."

Ultimately, however, Democrats concede that even turnout will get the campaign only so far.

"Turnout can make a difference but it can't make up for losing independent women," said Lake. "So we have to win over both."

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[marychgo]

What the Spoiled Fratboy ticket and its Republican cohorts in the House and Senate -- and the pro-Romney/Ryan posters on this thread -- don't understand is that "women's issues" ARE economic issues, family issues, and quality of life issues.
It MATTERS that hundreds (perhaps thousands!)of employers pay women less than their male peers for doing the same job. Far more important than Mitt Romney's clumsy "binders full or women" comment is the fact that he NEVER answered the audience member's question: what will you do to ensure equal pay for equal work? It MATTERS that many health insurance plans cover Viagra but DON'T cover contraception. Calling Sandra Fluke a "****" or falsely claiming that she wants YOU to pay for her contraception doesn't deal with the fact that, for many women, effective contraception is all that allows them to support (or help support) their families.
Are there women who will believe Romney's fatuous promises of 12 million jobs (precisely the number most economists think will be created over the next four years no matter who is president)? There probably are. But it will STILL matter to those women whether equal-pay-for-equal-work is the law, and whether contraception is covered under health insurance plans!

[olyboy]

I am in total shock that anyone, male or female, would vote for Obama. Why would a woman vote for him? Free contraception? Wouldn't they rather have a good paying job in the private sector where their ability and effort rather than their gender would determine their pay level? Why would everyone want a "C" grade in life, or to see others who put less effort get the same reward? That is what Obama offers, that and "free" contraception. But, when you look closely, it's not really free because you give up control to a government panel who decides if you should have a mamogram if your young or be treated for cancer if you're old. Amazing that any american would fall for this false choice.

[Mortarman_1SG29]

Anyone see that Kagan just admitted that if she wasnt a female, Obama probably wouldnt have chosen her?

So, she admitted that she probably wasnt the best person for the job...but that she was chosen because she has two X chromosomes.

Absolute insanity.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
the female electorate is very important, so are their concerns (social and economic). While women play a determining role in the election, their situation has not improved or not even a little
It is hoped that these women not let themselves to be manipulated for electoral reasons, they must know the difference between achievable promises, and promises which will not be kept.
"au revoir"

[ColoradoLynn]

I totally agree! And it is completely beyond understanding how any woman would even consider voting for Romney. He can't wait to take away most of the rights that men have allowed us to have, he wants to offer us jobs, paying up to 50% less than men make, and WE, WOMEN, are supposed to say, thank you!

I don't think so. Ladies, stand up for yourselves and keep this idiot out of your bedrooms, your doctor's offices, and your work places!

[Mortarman_1SG29]

Poor Lynn. Not getting the point.

[IVoteMyConscience]

"I believe in the American spirit," President Obama said. "A President must care about 100% of their people."

Obama said that on film:

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fNUQQBE8iE"

"My priority is jobs," Romney said.

Romney's record on jobs is on video:

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZMndjLIQUFw"

In America, "47% of the people believe they are victims," Romney said. "That 47% believe they are ENTITLED [emphasis Romney's] to health care, food & housing. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. It's not my job to worry about those people. I'll never convince them to take responsibility for their lives."

Hmmm.

The steelworkers in the video above pay income tax. They take responsibility for their lives. I'm guessing that you reading this pay income taxes and take responsibility for your lives. My husband and I pay 35% income tax. We sure as heck take responsibility for our lives!

Meanwhile, Romney's defense of his unreleased tax returns is that last year he paid 14.1% income tax. (And there's evidence that he paid extra so American wouldn't know how low his tax bracket actually is--that's trying to buy votes.)

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all are endowed with CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."--the US Constitution

Did Romney really dismiss in contempt all of us Americans who pay taxes more than twice as high as his, as well as the basic tenant of our US Constitution, when he thought he was speaking secretly behind closed doors?

The record is on video:

"http://www.motherjones.com/transition/inter.php?dest=http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser"

So who told the truth in this 2nd 2012 Presidential debate? Who lied?

The record is on video:

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXpKq4UYtXw&feature=related"

Who stood firm on his platform for election? Who switched his positions?

The record is on video:

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jebDlVAcpGo"

Who told the truth in the 1st 2012 Presidential debate? Who lied?

The record is on video:

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TWHLgMCDuOs"

Romney's handlers claim debates are no place for "fact-checking" and that Romney will not be limited by "fact-checkers."

A Presidential candidate who doesn't want to be fact-checked?

What could that possibly mean. . .other than lying?

Apparently, Romney's handlers claim it means they disagree with "facts" because they like "empirical data." However, "empirical data" ARE "facts." A "fact," according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "a thing known or proved to be true," and "data" is "a collection of facts." Yes, data are facts. "Empirical" simply means anything at all "verifiable by observation or experience."

Empirical DATA = [observed or experienced] FACTS = THE TRUTH

This is a particularly meaningless red herring designed to fool Republican voters into believing there's a difference between two identical terms and confuse them about why the facts, when checked, don't match what Romney says.

This is why President Obama doesn't object to being fact-checked.

It's a good thing American voters aren't as easy to lie to as Romney thinks.

Americans deserve the truth from our Presidential candidates.

Fact-checker's list on the 2nd 2012 Presidential debate, with citations, compiled by Milt Shook:

http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2012/10/second-debate-romney-lies-debunked.html

Fact-checker's list on the 1st 2012 Presidential debate, with citations, compiled by Milt Shook:

http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2012/10/a-small-sampling-of-romney-lies-at-last-nights-debate.html

For moderate voters, Obama and Romney compared, with citations, by Milt Shook:

http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2012/10/if-youre-a-moderate-voter-thinking-of-voting-gop-read-this-first-please.html

Obama's record as President, with citations, compiled by Milt Shook:

http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/what-has-obama-done-since-january-20-2009.html

Whom among the American people Obama has really represented during the past 4 years? Revealed in detail by Milt Shook:

http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2011/08/more-politics-101-obama-is-smarter-than-us.html

By mid-October, 2012, the Obama campaign had broken all previous records for number of individual donations with 10,000,000 donations from Americans of all walks of life. That's ten million Americans not only voting for Obama, but investing their hard-earned money in a future lead by him. (And we all know exactly how hard-earned that money is these days.)

Please--read, follow up citations to their sources, educate yourself.

Don't be bought by simple-minded television ads paid for by billionaires who hope to gain financially by your loss.

Make an informed decision about what's best for you and for America.

And VOTE.

[hillzhaveays]

Please spare us the Lib Blog Drivel and quit spamming the site with links. thanks

[wfw3536]

Women have figured out after seeing Romney in the first debate that the Obama spin about Romney was a lie. What they saw in Romney was someone with a plan to do something about the 23 million unemployed, to get the 47 million folks on food stamps jobs, and someone who actually helped folks who needed it-------------and what did they get out of Obama someone who couldn't even look Romney in the eye, a person who look like he was out of his league. The first debate will go down in history as a game changing debate that determined the election.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

If you know what Romney's plan is, would you please enlighten all of us so we can all understand it? Somehow, vague finger pointing at lowered taxes, gutted social programs while bolstering the military and starting new wars seems a lot like what got us in trouble in the first place. I thought the Tea Party was about paying down the debt. How do we do that by outspending the next 14 biggest military spenders in the world, combined?

Romney isn't the first Presidential candidate who's said trust me, I have a secret plan that's sure to work. Nixon did the same in 1968. Hitler did the same in 1932. Boy, did that work out well for everyone!

[scottpatrick1234]

Women and Latinos don't care about the economy. All they care about are free contraceptives and amnesty. Pitiful.

[formerlyluvnut]

None of this matters; the nimrods in NC and the south and some in the mid-west will vote for Mutt, the rest of the country will re-elect Barry. Game over. All this drama is pointless.

[Mortarman_1SG29]

So, the neoMarxists will win, huh?

[karlejohn]

Romney's isn't for anyone rights but the rich 1%. How many Bain women did he fire and ship their job to China? How many Surpreme Court appointments will he appoint to vote against women rights for years to come? Binder of women comment, inn his circle of pals, he didn't know any himself? This man is out of touch with the common people. I don't trust Romney/Ryan!

[brasileira2]

How interesting life is...
There was a time when women did not have the right to vote, nowadays the politicians are desperate to get the women's vote.