War on Women Wounds GOP at Congressional Level

As much as Republicans are trying to claim that the party is not anti-woman and have jumped on faux issues like Hillary Rosen's remark that Ann Romney knows nothing of the lives of most women, it seems that single women in particular are not buying the GOP's bullshit. If the GOP story line were true, then renewal of The Violence Against Women Act shouldn't be a big issue. Actions speak louder than words as the saying goes. Now, new studies indicate that the fall out against the GOP brand is perhaps taking root at the Congressional level and not just against Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. The problem, of course extends beyond women - last night a friend said her 89 year old father had begun voting Democrat because of the GOP's embrace of bigotry and ignorance. A column in The Daily Beast looks at the phenomenon. Here are some excerpts:

The Republican casualties in the “War on Women” are mounting. According to a new Democracy Corps/Women's Voices. Women's Vote Action Fund battleground poll, the current GOP agenda is sending unmarried women back into to the arms of Congressional Democrats.

Previous polling has shown President Obama gaining significantly among women, but Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg and women’s voting expert Page Gardner, who conducted the poll, say this is the first survey to show similar gains at the congressional level. Bottom line: in the entire battleground represented in this survey, including both Republican and Democratic districts, Democrats hold a 51 to 41 lead over Republicans among women.

The poll found Democrats making significant gains among women in districts held by Republican incumbents. They report: “In the Republican-held districts where we have data from last year, Democrats picked up a net 10 points among women since December and now lead by 4 points. Among unmarried women, Democrats lead by 20 points in Republican held districts.” Page Gardner said in an interview, “Unmarried women don’t like the GOP economic arguments and they don’t agree with what is happening in terms of argument about birth control.” President Obama should send embossed thank you notes to the GOP leadership and, of course, Rush Limbaugh. “Do not underestimate the power of what is happening on this contraception issue,” said Greenberg in a conference call with reporters. “Contraception is a Terri Schiavo moment; there is a sense of government intrusiveness.”

Obama should dash off a note to Congressman Paul Ryan as well. Unmarried women are feeling that the Republican Party is hostile to them on the economic front, thanks in large part to the Ryan budget—which voters give a big thumbs down.

The survey of likely voters was conducted in 56 congressional battleground districts with Republican incumbents and 23 Democratic-held battleground districts between March 29 and April 4 . . .

But before Democrats break out the champagne, the authors of the poll offer a warning: unmarried women are not as energized as their married sisters about voting in the 2012 election. They point out that unmarried female voters have the potential to significantly affect the outcome of the presidential and congressional elections in battleground districts, but much depends on Democrats ability to turn them out. The unmarried women are coming back after their 2010 fling with Republicans and the trend is in the right direction, but the numbers for Democrats among women are still not what they were in 2008.

The GOP's wounds are self-inflicted. Democrats need to pound on the issues that are driving women away and make sure they get to the polls in November.