A new poll by Karl Rove's group revealed results that have to be discouraging to republicans. Essentially, women voters have largely bought into the democrats whole "war on women" narrative and see the democrats as having their interests at heart far more than republicans. One might question why Rove would release the results to Politco, a leftwing outlet, but apparently he had his reasons.
The substance of the article is captured in this quote:
Katie Packer Gage, a political strategist who focuses on improving GOP standing with female voters, said women think of “old, white, right, out of touch” men when they think of the Republican Party.
“I think a lot of folks are whistling past the graveyard on this … Certainly if Hillary is on the top of the ticket for Democrats, it is going to be a significant challenge for us,” she said in an interview. “Maybe we’ll see women on our side that will step up as well. … We have to quit sitting back and taking it on the chin. I think we have to play offense on this.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/gop-poll-of-women-party-stuck-in-past-110398_Page2.html#ixzz3BiQAo9BO
I can say from my own experience with conservative leaning women that they would agree. It's not just one or two issues, it's a feeling. Kind of like Newt Gingrich had a way of annoying women. There are the obvious examples, like that moron Senate candidate blabbing about abortion, etc. Are the republicans so disorganized that they can't give these guys a script for dealing with loaded questions on abortion? But there are deeper issues.
Traditionally, the Reagan-onward republican party had three coalitions, defense hawks, low tax supporters and the family values/anti abortion crowd. Women are largely turned off by the first and last and don't care much about the tax issue, because they either don't pay taxes or they are oblivious to it. Older married women, religious women and married women with no higher education tend to favor republicnas by substantial margins, but they account for only 25 or 30% of women voters.
The most obvious way to get women's atention would be to run female candidates. However, the media and democrat hate machine have made an art form out of attacking them, eg Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman, Nikki Haley, et al. Women have been indoctrinated to look at a sleazebag like Hillary as inspirational, but self-made women like Palin and Bachmann as contemptible. Fox News seems able to find attractive, articulate conservative women who can take the measure of liberals in a debate. You'd think the republican party could do the same.
Republicans need to take some hot button issues to put the democrats on their back foot. Take the whole rape issue, which is big on colleges now. Why couldn't republicans make it their own, and by doing so, reinforce their law and order image. Rape is a violent crime against women, and the overwhelming majority of rapists look like obama's son.
Or Obamacare. Women want security. Healthcare is part of that. So is having a job. Have you heard any republican really hammer on the fact that obamacare will drive up the cost of healthcare and cause many companies to either lay off people, restrict their hours or raise their premiums? You hear some grousing, but no organized chorus like the democrats produce.
The republicans seem to be employing the rope-a-dope strategy for the mid-terms. They tried the same strategy in the 2008and 2004 presidential elections.
The substance of the article is captured in this quote:
Katie Packer Gage, a political strategist who focuses on improving GOP standing with female voters, said women think of “old, white, right, out of touch” men when they think of the Republican Party.
“I think a lot of folks are whistling past the graveyard on this … Certainly if Hillary is on the top of the ticket for Democrats, it is going to be a significant challenge for us,” she said in an interview. “Maybe we’ll see women on our side that will step up as well. … We have to quit sitting back and taking it on the chin. I think we have to play offense on this.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/gop-poll-of-women-party-stuck-in-past-110398_Page2.html#ixzz3BiQAo9BO
I can say from my own experience with conservative leaning women that they would agree. It's not just one or two issues, it's a feeling. Kind of like Newt Gingrich had a way of annoying women. There are the obvious examples, like that moron Senate candidate blabbing about abortion, etc. Are the republicans so disorganized that they can't give these guys a script for dealing with loaded questions on abortion? But there are deeper issues.
Traditionally, the Reagan-onward republican party had three coalitions, defense hawks, low tax supporters and the family values/anti abortion crowd. Women are largely turned off by the first and last and don't care much about the tax issue, because they either don't pay taxes or they are oblivious to it. Older married women, religious women and married women with no higher education tend to favor republicnas by substantial margins, but they account for only 25 or 30% of women voters.
The most obvious way to get women's atention would be to run female candidates. However, the media and democrat hate machine have made an art form out of attacking them, eg Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman, Nikki Haley, et al. Women have been indoctrinated to look at a sleazebag like Hillary as inspirational, but self-made women like Palin and Bachmann as contemptible. Fox News seems able to find attractive, articulate conservative women who can take the measure of liberals in a debate. You'd think the republican party could do the same.
Republicans need to take some hot button issues to put the democrats on their back foot. Take the whole rape issue, which is big on colleges now. Why couldn't republicans make it their own, and by doing so, reinforce their law and order image. Rape is a violent crime against women, and the overwhelming majority of rapists look like obama's son.
Or Obamacare. Women want security. Healthcare is part of that. So is having a job. Have you heard any republican really hammer on the fact that obamacare will drive up the cost of healthcare and cause many companies to either lay off people, restrict their hours or raise their premiums? You hear some grousing, but no organized chorus like the democrats produce.
The republicans seem to be employing the rope-a-dope strategy for the mid-terms. They tried the same strategy in the 2008and 2004 presidential elections.
