Romney Rebuts Claims That He, GOP Are Anti-Women
Here Romney tries a statistical tactic that global warming denialists use often to support his false claims. He cherry picks the points on the graph that support his claim, and ignores the overall trend.
On top of that lie he got caught flat footed on the Lilly Ledbetter Act question, which demonstrates his campaign’s inability to understand or empathize with key women’s issues, such as family planning, reproductive health, equal pay, and equal rights.
This just smells of desperation, and Romney’s certainly going to have to do better than this after taking the extreme positions he did in order to win the farthest right GOP primary cycle in decades. The damage done by his GOP social conservative compatriots in State Legislatures while warring against Planned Parenthood is also a cross he will have to carry from now until November.
Polls have found a growing “gender gap” in the presidential race. Obama’s advantage among women is outpacing Romney’s edge among men.
While he spoke in Hartford, Romney’s campaign issued statements from Republican women in Congress defending his record. But a conference call with reporters arranged by his campaign hit a snag when aides were asked whether Romney supports the Lilly Ledbetter Act to help women achieve equal pay, the first piece of legislation Obama signed.
“We’ll get back to you on that,” campaign policy director Lanhee Chen said after a pause.
Democrats gleefully publicized the exchange. They glossed over the fact that the issue was divisive, and Romney would be in line with many GOP lawmakers if he opposed the measure. The 2009 law makes it easier for women to file workplace pay-discrimination cases.
Romney repeated his assertion that women account for 92 percent of those who have lost jobs during Obama’s presidency. While that statistic is accurate, it overlooks the fact that more men than women lost jobs early in the Great Recession. The record downturn began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, covering approximately President George W. Bush’s last year in office and Obama’s first half-year.