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Steven Senne / AP
Ann Romney and Mitt Romney address an audience during a victory rally in Schaumburg, Ill., on March 20.
The gender gap has returned to presidential politics with a vengeance as the general election begins to take shape and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney finds his campaign struggling with the pivotal bloc of women voters.
The Romney campaign is waging an aggressive counter-offensive in response to weeks of Democratic assertions that the former Massachusetts governor and the Republican Party are waging a “war on women.”
“They're working desperately to change the subject, and that's why they've created this whole 'war on women' campaign,” Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the top-ranking Republican woman in the House, on a conference call organized by the Romney campaign. “There's no war on women by Republicans. What's really going on is a ‘war on reality’ by Democrats.”
Republicans are now working to re-frame issues of importance to women after eager messaging efforts by Democrats to advance the “war on women” narrative, which has contributed to a Republican disadvantage with female voters in 2012. It's a deficit aided by a hard-charging fight over access to contraception led by some Republicans earlier this year.
When Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus asserted in an interview last week that the media would just as quickly report a “war on caterpillars” if Democrats insisted it were the case, the Democratic National Committee pounced, and hyper-actively accused Priebus of trivializing women’s rights by drawing such a comparison.
First Thoughts: Romney struggles to close gender gap, but catches break
That Democratic argument reached a fever pitch on Wednesday when a Romney surrogate, speaking on a conference call, hesitated to say whether Romney supported a law making it easier for women to file lawsuits challenging pay disparities.
A spokesperson for Romney said later in the day that the former governor wouldn't do anything to change current law, but Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC chairwoman, nonetheless called the Romney campaign's momentary failure to provide an answer "utterly shocking."
Ann Romney, the wife of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, took to Twitter and the airwaves to defend her decision to be a stay-at-home mom.
Now with the primary campaign mostly behind him, Romney has begun working to address the issue on the trail. His rhetoric at a pair of campaign stops – at each of which there were plenty of women sharing the stage – on Wednesday marked a preliminary effort by the Romney campaign to push back against the Democratic storyline.
“The real war upon women has been waged by his economic policies,” Romney said Wednesday in Connecticut. “Let’s hammer day in and day out what has happened under his policies, and recognize those policies, those things he believes, do not work.”
But the Romney campaign’s struggles in their attempts to reach women voters were on equal display as the candidate and his campaign repeated a dubious statistic about women accounting for nine of 10 jobs lost during Obama’s time in office.
It wasn’t until a consultant outside of the Obama campaign suggested that the GOP candidate’s wife, Ann Romney, had “never worked a day in her life” that the Romney campaign was able to stanch Democratic momentum.
That gaffe, at least temporarily, gave Republicans an opening.
The Romney campaign quickly organized a conference call and Ann Romney hit the airwaves for an interview to combat the charges. (Senior Obama officials also quickly disavowed the comments by consultant Hilary Rosen).
First Thoughts: Romney struggles to close gender gap, but catches break
But the back-and-forth bickering obscured a larger battle Romney must fight to make up ground with women. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released this week found Romney trailing Obama by 19 percent among registered women voters. (By contrast, Romney leads by eight percent among registered male voters.)
“It should definitely be a concern,” said Dan Judy, a Republican pollster for North Star Opinion Research. “I don't think they need to hit the panic button at this point, but that's something that you're going to see them work hard on.”
In the Daily Fix, NBC's Andrea Mitchell talks to The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza and the Daily Beast's Michelle Goldberg about the widening gender gap in the general election and Hilary Rosen's comments about Ann Romney.
Romney’s strategy to address his deficit among women has been virtually indistinguishable from his work to court other demographics – like Latinos – or, for that matter, the general electorate as a whole. That is, Romney argues that improving the overall economy is just as paramount to women as anybody else and that the president’s record has fallen far short on that score.
Republicans argue that the former Massachusetts governor’s struggles are partly attributable to collateral damage from a divisive Republican primary season and a persistent focus in Congress and on the state level about access to contraception.
A prime example came in Virginia, where Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell had to back off supporting a controversial proposal to require women to undergo an invasive ultrasound procedure before terminating a pregnancy. And Rick Santorum, who suspended his presidential campaign this week, spent weeks answering questions about his personal opposition to birth control.
Romney is likely to make up some of that ground just by virtue of campaigning in a general election environment. ("People haven't had a chance to listen to us or hear us," his wife said in an interview on FOX News.)
First Thoughts: Romney struggles to close gender gap, but catches break
But the million-dollar question involves whether much of that collateral damage will linger with Romney, and how he might go about addressing his gender gap.
“They need to drive the conversation away from women’s bodies to the economy," said Sabrina Schaeffer, the executive director of the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, adding Romney should "come up with some tangible examples of how they can help women on things like employment, health care, education and other issues.”
Schaeffer argued that Romney might package together squarely conservative proposals on entitlements, education and health care in a way that’s appealing to women. She also warned the campaign against being caught flat-footed on issues like the fair pay law a surrogate had declined to speak about on Wednesday.
RealClearPolitic's Erin McPike and The Atlantic's Molly Ball talk about Ann Romney's response to Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen's comments.
“They need to think carefully about how to respond to issues like Lilly Ledbetter,” she said.
Cheri Jacobus, the founder of Capitol Strategies, a Republican consulting firm, also encouraged the Romney campaign to employ more women surrogates.
“I think that it’s always helpful to have effective surrogates from all walks of life,” she said.
For their part, Democrats argue that Romney’s deficit with women is about far more than messaging.
“When it comes to connecting with women, it’s not just an optics problem – it’s a substance problem,” said Jess McIntosh, the deputy communications director for the Democratic women’s group, EMILY’s List. “Even if Romney could put a really great spin on his anti-woman regressive policies, they would still be anti-woman regressive policies. And despite what the GOP may think, women notice that.”
First Thoughts: Romney struggles to close gender gap, but catches break
But for Romney, making inroads with women might also depend on the kind of women he targets.
The Republican pollster, Judy, suggested that young, unmarried women might be a taller order for Romney to win than, say, suburban, middle-aged mothers. These voters are the ones the Romney campaign is targeting when it rolls out Ann Romney, one of its most effective surrogates for the campaign due to her biography as a mother of five who’s suffered from breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Republican thinking suggests that if Romney steers clear of hot-button social issues like contraception and keeps his focus on the economy, he could be more competitive with Obama in winning the female vote.
“Women voters, especially the more independent-minded female voters in the swing states are critical to either party if they want to win,” Judy said. “Mitt Romney has an opportunity to get some of those women back."
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99% American Women, don't believe ETCH-A-SKETCH; all he wants is your votes for his corrupt corporate thieves! They took our houses, stole our pensions and gave us 401k which is DEPENDANT ON CORPORATE success (NOW ISN'T THAT A NICE INSURANCE POLICY FOR THEM!)and have made us slaves to their OIL CORPORATES and other corrupt corporates ALL FOR CAPITALISTIC GREED!
LADIES, vote STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC, the life you save may be your OWN!!! This message is being brought to you by a DEVOUT LIFELONG REPUBLICAN totally disgusted with corrupt corporate rule!!
.
Rosen was correct when she said Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life- at least her married life. Do people really not know that while Romney may have been a "stay at home mom", she stayed at home with quite a few service employees who took care of the house, kids, yard, groceries, etc. To compare Romney to the typical stay at home mom is quite the insult to regular stay at home moms.
Romney is a jerk. But is he really so arrogant and stupid that he believes women will just forget what he's said, what he's said he stands for, or what he believes? If he's that stupid how he'd ever get anywhere in politics? I can have no respect at all for Mrs. Romney, not when she married and stayed married to such a narrow-minded chauvanistic jerk. I can't see him being any good for the country or for any and everybody who doesn't live in his little narrow-minded world.
I said weeks ago that the thought of this man in the White House scares the hell out of me. I have never been scared of the thought of any president before this. Thought some were jerks, some were liars and some weren't the right choice for office. Romney is all of those but he is also in my mind a zealot determined to create a United States in his own image and likeness. I could be wrong, I hope I'm wrong. But I have seen nothing that makes me believe I am.
I just can't believe with the super over spending, lies, in your face corruption, picking winners and losers based on donations, unrelenting finger pointing without ever taking blame, etc, etc... that Romney even thinks he has a chance of winning. Geez...
OK, if it is not a war on women, why is Romney and the Republicans re-phasing their campaign and having more and more women on their podiums. Why does congress vote against women's right to contraceptives and anything else that will benefit women. They can say what they want and it just doesn't ring true, as their campaign promise in 2010 to create more jobs. Lies, deciet and BS seems to be their by-lines and if they weren't treating women wrongly, why are they having to re-do their campaign. Democrats and women are not the dummies that the republicans think and I'd only ask women to think for themselves and weigh the issues and make up their own minds about these republicans and decide at the polls whether they are being attacked by the GOP.
Women are only the latest group to be attacked by the GOP. They went after the unions, public workers, school teachers and it's only a matter of time till they go after the police and firemen too. They want to own the company and you work for them for minimum wages. Exxon could drop gas prices $2.00 a gallon and still make 8 billion dollars profit, that is profit, not gross, can you imagine their gross. Their top people make millions, most of us would have to hit a lottery once a year to even imagine that kind of money. But the GOP continues to give them tax breaks started by Reagan and then both Bush's and already approved by Romney and backed by Congress, no new taxes to the megarich and as evidenced by Romney paying 15% on 46 million, he isn't going to change the status quo and congress won't let Obama change it either, unless we get a lot of democrats in congress, it will be more of the same. All of us, from federal workers to state employees to city workers are feeling the crunch, while these megarich are getting richer and richer even in this so called depression. The mega companies are raising prices and putting we of the 99ers in a tough position. Now the GOP is wanting to privatize Medicare, medicaid and social security so they can make more money, it's nonprofit now and they don't want to pay what we need, if private you can count on more rate hikes and less benefits. The millions of people that have been effected by these republican attacks on us can change all of this at the polls and I certainly intend to cast my vote against this bunch, but we need all of us pulling together. Romney and his vulture capitalism will ruin this country and it will be the megarich owners paying the workers a minimum wage for sure.
do the women realize that 90% of the job loses in BO's term have been women?
Just a little reminder.The following is what Obama said in his post election speech before Congress. Which was quickly forgotten by him once the speech was over. He ignored the findings and recommendations of the committee he commissioned and has not proposed any meaningful cuts in the "entitlement" programs. But when Repubs propose to do what Mr Obama himself said needs to be done, he and his political hacks use that a a wedge to attempt to divide and conquer the vote. To him it is all about getting reelected, not what is actually good for the country. The most divisive President ever.
Based upon everything that Mr. Obama has said in his numerous campaign speeches and speeches while in office, there is one clear message each and every American should be receiving from Mr. Obama. He says a lot of nice sounding things, but when it comes to doing what he says he has no intention of seeing it through. There is either an intention to deceive voters, a lack of will power or a lack of leadership skills to get the job done. I suspect it is actually a combination of all three.
Don't get fooled again. Vote him out.
Its because he is an ILLINOIS MACHINE DEMOCRAT POLITICIAN-say all the niceties, promise the moon and once you are elected, it's business as usual. It is beyond my comprehension of why people thought he was a leader when he has never led in his entire political career.
He's an excellent leader. I know that eight years of Bush may have confused you about what a good leader actually is. Mr. Obama has accomplished a lot, in spite of consistent Republican opposition and disrespect and lunatics raving about him being a socialist and a Muslim. Here's some of what our esteemed leader has accomplished:
1. Signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/economy_in_government_contracting
2. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers:
3. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/04/Afghanistan-and-NATO
4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/washington/28troops.html
5. Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/pentagon-will-help-families
6. Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7986203.stm
7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.recovery.gov/About/Pages/The_Act.aspx
8. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology:
http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx
9. Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
10. Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-small-business-owners
11. Invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education
12. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans
13. Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201410.html
14. Limited lobbyist's access to the White House:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/obama-outlines-lobbying-restrictions
15. Issued an Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Memorandum-for-the-Heads-of-Executive-Departments-and-Agencies-3-9-09
16. Answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h2uzQs2_XBgeHotRBvNhY7DR572g
17. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:
http://www.serve.gov
18. Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:
http://www.business.gov
19. Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:
http://www.cio.gov
20. Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:
http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009
21. Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding
22. Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis:
http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/b.4442889/k.EC4B/Christopher_and_Dana_Reeve_Paralysis_Act.htm
23. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/09/The-Care-They-Were-Promised-and-the-Benefits-That-They-Have-Earned
24. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/washington/19gates.html
25. Committed to phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdates weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/gates.budget.cuts
26. Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908954,00.html
27. Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/science/18sfstimulus.html
28. Played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis:
http://www.g20.org
29. Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_Systems_Acquisition_Reform_Act_of_2009
30. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/index.html
31. Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle
East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan:
http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2009/January/20090122175146idybeekcm1.328677e-02.html
32. Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26calif.html
33. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/stimulus/2009/01/08/poll-americans-strongly-back-increase-in-infrastructure-spending.html
34. Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
35. Developed a comprehensive new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan that will help defeat Al Qaeda and authorized the deployment of more than 21,000 troops to Afghanistan:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032700836.html
36. Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/obama-signs-hou.html
37. Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/mortgage/2009/05/21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act
38. Increased, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22650.html
39. Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ApplianceEfficiencyStandards
40. Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:
http://www.earthday.org
41. Announced a new U.S.-Mexico border initiative:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Administration-Officials-Announce-US-Mexico-Border-Security-Policy-A-Comprehensive-Response-and-Commitment
42. Concluded cyberspace policy review:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-by-the-Press-Secretary-on-Conclusion-of-the-Cyberspace-Review
43. Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered
44. Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-On-Bilateral-Meeting-With-President-Hu-Of-China
45. Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html
46. Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
47. Issued a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act instructing the Attorney General to issue new guidelines to the government implementing those same principles of openness and transparency in the processing of FOIA requests:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Freedom_of_Information_Act
48. Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:
http://www.facebook.com/NMAAHC
49. The Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents, severely curtailing the ability to use executive privilege to shield those documents:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential_Records
50. Signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a hallmark piece of legislation:
http://www.democrats.org/a/2009/04/edward_m_kenned.php
51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered.com/archives/2010/02/pew_finds_credi.html
52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/obamas-council-on-women-and-girls
53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2009/February/20090210163128saikceinawz0.7537805.html
54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site
55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Accord
56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm
57. Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-03-26-body-armor_x.htm
58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010:
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62548
59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/25/world/fg-obama-nuclear25
60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism
61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp
63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri
64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
65. Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/new-car-tax-credit
66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html
67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html
68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009
69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-by-fu_n_253146.html
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24:
http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html
71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122436116
72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care
73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs:
http://pewglobal.org/docs/?DocID=12
74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm
75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2009031325/obama-s-budget-supporting-students-not-banks
76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570
77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class
78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/business/18workers.html
79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.html
80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-Announces-Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Assistant-to-the-Preside
81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter…ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Signing-of-the-Veterans-Health-Care-Budget-Reform-and-Transparency-Act
82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100218/hl_nm/us_usa_healthcare_insurers
83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35476054/ns/business-stocks_and_economy
84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010a.html
85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/how-to-get-extended-cobra-health-coverage-subsidies
86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm
87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report
88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule:
http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2009/01/23/index.html
89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319
90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq
91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market:
http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com
92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1671
93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction.org/media/releases/89-release-president-obama-restores-endangered-species-protections.html
94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html
95. Enhanced earth mapping:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/345/enhance-earth-mapping
96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011:
http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2010/02_01_2010_obamas_budget_includes_key_funding_for_land_and_water.php
97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/01/obama.afghanistan/index.html
98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ
99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning
100. Created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5% [as of December 31, 2009] through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2311303720100223
Elle,Wow that was great,Thank you for your time.
Gee, do you think he can spend more money, hike the debt higher, and appoint or start more useless programs?
I didn't see anything about the pay disparity in the white house.
Buffet rule
Add up all the wasted obama plans, QE1, QE2, snap, Solyndra, and all the rest and you don't need to tax millionaires.
Add to that the billions wasted different places and we could cut millionaires and the rest of our taxes even more.
Why don't we start with the trillions of dollars & thousand of young american lives lost in wars that were uncalled for & NOT paid for, let alone the hugh tax breaks in 01 & 03 that weren't paid for either,How about that!
You're right, and add the Libya and Egypt costs and obama has spent more than any president, EVER.
Thanks for reminding me.
And besides, he stopped those wars and we aren't spending money there anymore , are we?
It's amusing seeing the accusations of Etch-A-Sketch towards Romney coming from people who are diehard supporters of the President who etch-a-sketched his way into the white house. how quickly you forget, if you ever bothered to learn in the first place.
Do you mean Hussein "GSA" Obama?
When Republicans embrace ABO (Anybody but Obama) Presidential politics, they'd be well to remember 2004. Anybody but Bush, brought the Dems a very wealthy, flip flopping, mannequin man, who pandered his way to the nomination and was ultimately defeated, by what Dems believed was one of the most ridiculous, incompetent, and bumbling Presidents in American history. Just sayin'.
The difference was that Kerry was one of the 1% and Dems hate that, don't they? That has to be why they didn't vote for him.
Any woman who votes for the Thurston Howells is a dummy who gets what she deserves.
Thats right sister,I'am with you.
Any woman who votes for the Steve Urkels is shameful.
Willard and the republicans just don't get it. There are a lot of bills against women's health all across the country passed by republicans, so it is Willard's problem. I don't think that they'll be able to get women on their side.
Name some and what state?
Didn't think you could.
Strategic difference:
Obama faces concerns of women - takes action to sign law for equal pay protection for women and to prohibit discrimination in availability of birth control.
Romney faces questions about women's concerns - "I don't know anything about women's issues, ask my wife"
Now, who would YOU want in a leadership position? Who shows that such issues are enough of a priority to really become familiar with them?
Still want Romney over a Marxist.
The contraception issue involves employers that employ maybe 2% or 3% of the people in the nation at most (Catholic Hospitals and Schools). If an individual goes to their personal OBGYN they can receive their annual preventative care as part of their insurance. The doctor is certainly not going to charge them extra to take the one minute it takes to write a script.
Generic birth control pills are available at Wal-mart for $9.00 per month. This is $108 per year. This is not financial hardship. If the pill is needed for other issues besides birth control, then the presciption is medically necessary and would be covered by insurance no matter the type of employer.
The issue is religous freedom. Why should the Catholic Church be required to pay for something that is against their doctrine. By the same token the Jehovah's Witnesses should not be required to provide blood transfusions in their insurance policies.
I'm not really happy with the economy, but I believe it IS improving....That being said, Romney never tells us what he plans to do, and I really don't believe I could vote for a guy who's catch phrase is Obamas not working,when he doesn't put forth anything of his own. What the heck is he wating for? That budget from that kunclehead from Wisconsin will gut social security, and I've worked too long and hard to want to let that happen! As for mrs. romney, I don't begrudge her and her husband being filthy rich, but I DO feel they're out of touch with average Americans. Like they used to say about F.D.R., I don't know either of those guys,but I feel Obama knows me and Romney could care less about average citizens, which he proved by disolving all those companies and sending folks' jobs overseas. Why would a man who made 45 million dollars the last 2 years want a job that only pays $350,000 a year? He's got some kind of agenda,but he isn't telling so I don't trust him.
Regarding Ryan gutting Social Security, the Republicans want to gradually increase the age of eligibility to receive full benefits. For someone now under 50 that would gradually move from 67 years to 70 years.
Ryan is the only one that I see truly addressing the deficit. His plan may not be perfect; but, others need to come forward with ideas.
As to Romney's motivation for service. Ask why was he motivated to take over the Olympics in 1999 when they were $300 million in the hole. he turned the Olympics around and did not do so out of greed or for some agenda. The man may want to serve his country.
$14 trillion dollars in debt.you owe the government $43 thousand dollars. for Food stamps, housing, un -earned income refunds. Student loans & grants, Billions to Muslem brotherhood. 46% of Americans don't pay taxes & receive money back. we pay for 1/4 to 1/2 of babies born in U.S. Obama paid 20% tax & is getting $25 thousand back! He is paid over $600 thousand. How is that looking out for the little man. He spends billions each time he takes his jet. where is the green in that.
You believe an illusion, Bruce from Jacksonville. is $15B per year in deficit reduction "truly addressing the deficit"? That's peanuts in terms of real progress given $4.3T in cuts to programs...and his plan doesn't even specify most of those cuts! http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3458
John, The issue is not making cuts, it is stopping growth. The federal budget increases by several hundred billion per year, each year. You are referring to reductions in growth as $4.3 trillion in cuts. That is not accurate. What we are looking at is $4.3 trillion in reduced growth over 10 years. That is a cut? No, it a reduction in the rate of increase.
These reductions in growth can be only be met by doing things such as gradually increasing the the age at which people qualify for social security, making medicare means tested, starting to decrease growth in a lot of federal discretionary programs. Only then do we address the real issues.
We cannot tax our way out of this crisis. If we confiscate 100% of the income of the top 20% of Americans, we still have not paid off our national debt. If confiscate all the assets of our billionaires, we can only pay the deficit for 16 months.
John, if we continue on the same road, we will hit $20 trillion in debt by 2017. That is unacceptable.
And if we enact the Ryan budget plan we'll STILL see a massive increase in the federal debt. $15B over 10 years is peanuts compared to the overall size of the debt. A fractional difference in economic growth would make more difference than that.
The Ryan budget is a sham, an illusion, a mirage.
Aren't the Mormons the original mysoginists?? In Arizona we have the FLDS, who say they are the real Mormons...each man needs at least 3 wives to get into heaven, they don't allow them to go to school, have opinions or participate in the community, only stay home and have babies....this the the origin of Mitt's ideas about women. I think it very important to note that no one in the Republican party wants to bring out thier last occupant of the white house...Mitt wants to return to the failed republican policies that got us where we are..the rich have gotten richer and the middle class is worse off. I predict it won't even be close in November.
Romneys plan to boost our economy is to talk about Obamas "war on women" wtf?
thats like punching someone in the face then sueing them for hurting your fist with their face. mittens is a dumbass who has no plan other then to point his finger.
and by the way, thats great that his wife stayed home with the kids, except that staying home with the kids is not an option for a lot of women who have to go out and work AND take care of their kids. She didnt have to worry about putting bread on the table, all she had to do was stay home, boo hoo, shut up ann romney.
personal responsiblity:dont work then you dont eat. too many lazy 30 year olds depending on mom &food stamps. cant afford a child dont have one.cant afford birthcontrol, dont have sex.dont want a baby, dont screw& if you have sex, get the pill. Last I heard. birth control was free to poor along with tubal ligation. Dont expect tax payers to pay for abortion which is murder.with obamma care the elderly will be given a morning after pill...diganoise with a disease & given a pill to kill themselves"afterall they are old" &what good is pre K, head start if kids drop out of school or fail. we are $14TRILLION dollars in debt. All 'give me' programs need to stop except for elderly, children & handicapped. Personal responsibility.
Has anyone ever stood for less, than MItt Romney..
Yes, Mrs Romney, her position is that of a missionary.
Romney, you have already made your bed by telling the ladies to buzz off, you may have forgotten with your busy agenda but they haven't.
You insult their inteligence telling them that they will feel more self esteem if they work while their children are at the day care, many have no choice.
You and your wife are in the Twilite zone and have NEVER realized what a single mom goes through.
You do not understand what it is like to do the best you can when you, or your child is sick, get up early, feed the child or children, rush to the day care, drop off in a different part of town than your job, try not to work overtime (even though you need it) because if your late the day care will charge you extra and scold you about not caring about your child ( you take the cheap remarks and smile because you know how hard it is to find inexpensive day care) rush to the store for a few grocerys, give your child a snack while your are driving home because they haven't eaten since "normal" 12 O'clock lunch and it is getting late while you wait in traffic. When you get home the mom trys to regroup while fixing diner and getting ready for the next day. Not much time for helping child with tootering and other things moms would like to do.
Romney, you don't have a clue, and any woman who votes for you doesn't have a clue either. I think you will see the rath of the angry women come down on you, and you deserve it...
And you are down on birth control and needed abortion, you are a fool and women know it ! They know who takes care of children and it isn't you Mr. Romney.
Tell me BOB, how did women survive before Democrat "entitlements", and you liberal "cradle to grave" advocates began spouting your drivel? It is you and your "nanny state" mentality that really belittles womens strengths. Tell me BOB, was your mom a slave to "hand outs", was her mom(your Grandmother for those in Reo Linda)? No BOB women have survived for hundreds of years, without Obamas help, thank you. And unless they have bought into Democrat mantra which strips them of self reliance and their dignity, forcing them to wait in line for a hand out, I believe instead they instead would like a job. Tell me BOB since you believe women want entitlements (hand-outs) instead, how many hand outs could have been given out if you had, say, $535,000,000? Well BOB that is the same amount Obama and the DOE, threw away on Solyndra BOB, yep BOB flushed it right down the ol' toilet, and you claim its Romney thats out of touch. Romney has not stepped foot into the White House, and is not responsible for the destruction of this economy, your man Obama is. All these poor abused masses, huddled in the rain waiting for their meger "hand outs"(or driving home in traffic while their children wither away to nothing in the back seat) and where is their savior? I tell you where BOB, playing golf in Hawaii, or in Columbia scouting a new vacation spot for Moochele. No BOB its not Romney that is a fool, its you and all those like liberal minds who think women want a chance, not change for the worse. They are smart enough to know that as fuel cost rise, so does the prices in the grocery stores. They also know every dime borrowed by the Government to fund "entitlements" must be re-payed, and do not want their childrens children to foot the bill. Yes BOB women know who takes care of the children, a MOTHER, and given a chance(not a ahnd out) they do a great job and will continue to do so long after Obama is just a bad memory.
In 2012, I saw former-Governor Romney say, "And of course, we'll get rid of Planned Parenthood." He said this as offhandedly, as if he was closing down a plant, somewhere in the US.
Whatever your moral position on abortion, that is only 3% of what Planned Parenthood does. The rest of what it does, is to provide women's health and effective birth control. And good birth control means fewer abortions.
Mr. Romney knows this, but he is so busy selling his soul to the Hard Right in the GOP, that he does not care.