Could Republicans “lose” women in 2012?
A top Rick Santorum donor argues that women who want cheap contraception should pinch an aspirin between their knees.
The country’s most prominent conservative voice, Rush Limbaugh, argues that women who want their contraception covered by health insurance should offer payback to men.
“If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something,” Limbaugh said, on his syndicated radio show. “We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.”
While those salvos are being fired in the media-sphere, Republican leaders in Congress are pushing a bill that would allow bosses across the country to decide whether or not to cover contraception and other types of healthcare that clash with their moral beliefs.
According to the widely respected Guttmacher Institute, research indicates that roughly 90% of sexually active, fertile women use contraception.
So while contraception isn’t a top-tier issue for most Americans, this is an issue that cuts broadly. It’s also apeculiar fight for the GOP to pick in an already fragile election year.
Women make up 53% of all voters. In 2008, Mr. Obama won 56% of the women’s vote — that’s a whopping 7% better than his level support among male voters.
Democrats are clearly convinced that they can boost their gender advantage, leveraging recent controversies over Planned Parenthood, contraception, and prenatal testing.
And there are signs that they could find a real opening here.
A recent 2012 poll shows women registered to vote favoring the Democratic Party by a 47-40% margin — and among working women the gap was even bigger, a whopping 50-37% split.
If these controversies tilt women more toward Democrats, it would reshape this year’s elections. It’s one thing to win strong African American or Hispanic support. Those are still minorities. But in voting terms, women are the majority.
So what do you think? I’m particularly interested to hear from Republicans. Is this a good issue to be pushing in a campaign year?
Tags: analysis, election12, politics
The bantering will go on until eternity. The energy should be used to find common ground between the parties. Unfortunately, the waters have become so muddy that it ends up becoming who can have the last word.
Frankly, I’m sick of it.
The Progressives preach tolerance but cannot tolerate the fact that our nation WAS founded with “religion” in mind. While everyone’s talking about media bias and conservative commentators and what they REALLY meant and oh how dangerous they are, there’s an elephant in the room.
Yes, I’m registered Republican but it’s not about my party or your party. It’s about the soul of our nation. Does anyone care? Then stop squabbling.
I’m didn’t get the comment either? Maybe it was the “lumberjack” comment? Mervel, I think you are a Catholic like me so again must I remind you that we need to turn the other cheek in these circumstances.
Paul – I think she referred to the Republican leadership as demons. She didn’t say they were in favor of infanticide or sluts or expecting to be paid for sex etc.
clearly she was using a figure of speech. That is, it is unlikely that she genuinely thinks they are real demons. Rather she is saying they are “bad people” or doing bad (evil) things. etc. It isn’t really newsworthy.
Kathy, our nation may have been founded with religion in mind, but it was entirely in the context of freedom from the establishment of religion. The word “religion” appears precisely twice in the original Constitution:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
And “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
That’s it.
While I agree that the nation may have lost its soul, I suspect that you and I would have radically different ideas about what that means. To me it has everything to do with losing sight of Jesus’ teachings with regard to the poor. Oh, and rich folks, camels and eyes of needles.
Kathy the contraception is not being paid for by your employer. It is being paid for by the insurance company. And what if it is not being used for contraception? When I was 14 yrs old I was put on the pill to help control severe hemorraging during my menstrual cycle which put me in the hospital 3 times. I had to undergo several D and C at 14 yrs old! I was clueless as to what type of medication I was on but it worked. BTW I am Catholic, over 50, and a fiscal conservative and a successful businesswoman but what the Republicans are doing is beyond belief. My church has no right to dictate to me what if any medication my Doctors and I decide is appropriate for my health and well being.
Peter, I think you should listen to the clip of her speech. I don’t want to dwell to much on this since I was just using it as one example. But it is my guess that if even just a low level GOP candidate were to make the same remarks in the same manner about the president it would have been a huge story. One person she said it about is number three in line for the presidency, seems news-worthy to me? Very divisive remarks from a powerful congresswoman not news-worthy? Maybe.
“Paul – I think she referred to the Republican leadership as demons. She didn’t say they were in favor of infanticide or sluts or expecting to be paid for sex etc.”
That is correct and she is supposed to be a legitimate legislator tasked at trying to get something done in congress. That is apparently not a story?
And these other outrageous comments made to get you and others going (which they have) and boost ratings is apparently a very big story? That is my point. Seems to be biased to some degree.
Snowflake, I agree that the GOP is nuts on this one. But this isn’t true:
“Kathy the contraception is not being paid for by your employer. It is being paid for by the insurance company.”
Insurance companies don’t pay for anything their policy holders do. In this case the policy holder is an employer.
If you know of a way for me to get my insurance companies to pay for my own coverage (or for your business’s coverage) please let me know how to do it.
Here is an update for you from CBS news:
“Seventy five Democratic members of Congress are urging House Speaker John Boehner to condemn Rush Limbaugh’s assertion that a Georgetown University law student and women’s health advocate is “slut” and a “prostitute” because she wants employers to pay for contraception.
The Democrats sent a letter Thursday to the speaker urging House Republicans to “condemn the atrocious and hurtful words spoken by Mr. Limbaugh” on his radio program Wednesday.
Using the airwaves to launch a “direct attack on a private citizen is unacceptable,” said the letter, written by New York Rep. Louise Slaughter and signed by her colleagues.”
They want the GOP to apologize for HIS crazy comments. I love it!
This guy is nutty but he is certainly a media wizard.
Paul, don’t you think that if NCPR did a story about Waters’ “demon” remarks it would get us all going?
And did Fox really give Waters’ remarks a pass?! If so, does that make them part of the liberal bias? If they ran a clip of it, would you say they were doing it to boost their ratings? And if CNN ran the clip, do you seriously think it would hurt their ratings?
Walker, lotta questions for me:
Would it get us “going”? Some of us but that is reader bias. I would think that most would condemn it like these but many would not.
And did Fox really give Waters’ remarks a pass? My guess (can’t say for sure) is that the probably covered it.
Next question NA based on above answer.
Fox ratings question? They would do it to cover the story and boost their ratings as any media outlet does.
Would it hurt CNN? I don’t know why it would?
For a talk show host it is different. They do it with the primary reason to boost their ratings. A close second reason is that they are nuts.
Walker for Fox I should have included that they covered it just like they are covering this “Limbaugh” story. In those papers I mention they conclude that Fox News is biased as well as almost all the other media outlets they covered (save a few).
Asking Rush to appologize only gives credit to his insane ramblings.
Better to ignore him and his vicodin fueled rantings.
He scrapes the bottom to churn up controversy.
He can appologize on his death bed, when he’s afraid for his soul, like Brietbart did.
Maybe then someone can edit all his diatribes so it appears he says something completely different.
Paul, i mentioned “lumberjacks” and i was referencing another circus altogether.
Maybe being subject to secular laws which the Church finds wrong; is the punishment for drifting so far away from Catholic orthodoxy and teachings? I mean how is Georgetown University uniquely Roman Catholic? Instead of paying for abortion it would be better for the Church to sever all ties with Georgetown.
But on the other topic of Rush and Republicans etc., I think it would be kind of demeaning to his Office to have Boehner say anything officially about or to Rush.
But this is a great issue for the Democrats, it really is a Republican blunder and it is pushed along by the parts of the media that favor Democrats. However notice Mitt who WILL be the nominee is pretty quite about the whole deal.
Once he is the nominee I think everything might change, these issues come and go like locusts, this will be forgotten in the next news cycle.
I wonder how many abortions Rush has paid for speaking of unethical type people.
I’m an employer who pays 50% of the premium for my employees health insurance. I have no control over what type of healthcare my employees participate in under the policy. I have no control over the negotiated rates the insurance company pays the health care providers. If the government says that contraception must be included it will be included just like other mandated health care coverage. As an employer I don’t get to pick and choose what will be covered or not. I don’t get to pick and choose what type of healthcare my employees choose to utilize. I do get to choose the type of plan (HMO,PPO, etc.), the deductible and and how much I require my employees to contribute to the plan. What you are trying to say is that if I believe that having a blood test is against my religious beliefs then I can deny coverage for that blood test and request that my insurance company deny coverage for that blood test because of my beliefs. I guess I could also deny my diabetic employees insulin too. Where will it end?
They want the GOP to apologize for HIS crazy comments. I love it!
Sorry, I guess I missed in what you wrote where the GOP is being asked to apologize for Rush’s comments.
Ten thousand dollar bet? Ten thousand dollars? I bet there will not be one GOP sitting member of Congress that will come forward and say that Rush’s slut comment was over the line. However, if some GOP member of Congress is foolish enough to go against Rush – I bet they will apologize to Rush within 2 days.
“But it is my guess that if even just a low level GOP candidate were to make the same remarks in the same manner about the president it would have been a huge story.”
GOP politicians and candidates do make remarks of this degree quite often. All the time actually. Both sides do.
The reason your silly example is not a big news story is not because of who was saying it, but because it is a silly example.
There is no comparison between it and what is being discussed here, and you seem to even admit as much in several of your comments. So why are you still trying to elevate it into this conversation? At this point it seems your intention is to just derail the discussion and confuse the issue. Neither or which is appreciated.
Snowfllake, you’re dead on the money.
Meanwhile, whipping the dead horse back on the farm, Sherrif Joe, has taken it upon himself to disprove Obama’s birth certificate.
Another Pundit throws his hat in the ring.
Nine more months to go……
If any congressperson tried to claim that Obama (or Boehner for that matter) really was a demon (or zombie) that might make the news ;)
But to turn it around, if a Republican congressperson at some political event referred to Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer ” They are demons” I don’t think that would make the news either.
michael coffey: “JDM: thanks for opening my eyes to this issue.”
no problem.
“But to turn it around, if a Republican congressperson at some political event referred to Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer ” They are demons” I don’t think that would make the news either.”
Peter you may be right. I think that shows how far we have sunk.
PNElba, thanks I should have said “condemn” not apologize.
Good thing you said “sitting member of congress” for your bet. It looks like Santorum has “gone against rush on this one”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/02/rick-santorum-rush-limbaugh-sandra-fluke_n_1317164.html?ref=politics
I might take you up on the bet??
Looks like you already lost.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/02/rush-limbaugh-sandra-fluke-john-boehner_n_1316361.html
But even this will get the ratings up for Limbaugh. Too bad. People listen to him an other pundits because they are outrageous. I see what the senate democrats are trying to do with calling him a “mouthpiece for the GOP”. It may work?
Paul, from your link “”He’s being absurd, but that’s you know, an entertainer can be absurd,” Santorum told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.” “He’s in a very different business than I am.”
Santorum stopped short of actually denouncing Limbaugh, who called Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” for asking that employers and schools include contraception coverage in their health plans. Instead, Santorum criticized the president for his birth control policy.”
Boy, that’s some harsh condemnation! Rick sure nailed him there!
Oh, and Boehner too! “The speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is trying to raise money off the situation,” said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel in a statement.” Wow! Condemnation big time! (not) You did say “condemn” right?
“Santorum stopped short of actually denouncing Limbaugh, who called Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” for asking that employers and schools include contraception coverage in their health plans. Instead, Santorum criticized the president for his birth control policy.”
beat me to it
I might take you up on the bet??
Not surprising since you GOPer’s seem to always have a spare $10,000 around to bet.
I haven’t seen what Boehner actually said, only what his “spokeperson” said he said. Santorum it seems didn’t disavow Limbaugh. We do need to wait at least 2 days for the TEA party to push back on Santorum and Boehner and make them beg forgiveness from Limbaugh.
Snowflake, I agree that a church (nor anyone else for that matter) should decide what is appropriate for your health and well being.
Regarding contraception, there is always an exception to the rule with women needing it to regulate problems they are having.
Walker, I think you may be right on our views of religion. I think the Church should be doing more for the poor and perhaps the rich giving more to the Church to assist them.
As far as Rush Limbaugh’s comments, why is it when someone has a fiery and passionate opinion today, people demand an apology? I abhor the word “inappropriate” that is overused today by sensitive people who want everything leveled and fair.
Grow up.
Women have power and influence and when used wisely, she can quench and deter the most destructive forces! But using the feminism platform to generate a personal agenda, and rally others on the bandwagon, is too much for men to handle. The men who are cowards will apologize and hide since “there is no fury….”, but the courageous will not flinch. We need more men like this!
For those women who need contraception for medical purposes, that’s one thing. But come on, we all know that’s not what this is about.
Kathy, if it was your daughter that Limbaugh had called a slut and a prostitute, and who he had requested that her sex tapes be posted on line, would you still think that it was being hypersensitive to call his remarks at the very least “inappropriate”?
why is it when someone has a fiery and passionate opinion today, people demand an apology?
Again, who is demanding an apology? Some people are asking sitting GOP congressmen to denounce what Rush said. That is reasonable since Rush seems to be the most powerful leader of the GOP. Do you believe all women who take contraceptives are sluts?
Your right Kathy it’s not about contraception it is about whether or not the Catholic Church as an employer (not as a religious sect) gets to choose what is covered in their employee health plan. I contend that they have no such rights. They can either not offer health coverage at all or else offer what is available and mandated by the government. They don’t get to pick and choose. True separation of Church and State. The State is in control of health care not the Church. This is as it should be. People are free to choose what they use for their own health care. Health care is not religion and the Church should stay out of it.
Walker, I think the Founders would roll over in their graves to imagine hearing a congressional hearing as this in the first place.
PNElba, of course I don’t believe all women who take contraceptives are sluts.
I think we should look at the context in which Limbaugh made his statements. It was his opinion that Fluke was promoting casual sex. I see his comments an attack on the whole Liberal movement. We shouldn’t be shocked nor surprised at his tone.
Bottom line is every day things like this get analyzed and dissected, requiring alot of energy. How about we use that energy to work together without all the squabbling?
PNElba: “Do you believe all women who take contraceptives are sluts?”
Of course not. At issue is a girl who publicly admitted to be sexually active enough so as not to be able to afford her own contraception.
One would think of a few other alternatives before going public with such a declaration. How about giving up a few cups of Starbucks coffee? Or better yet, how about doing a little less of the thing you can’t afford to do?
Some students cannot afford a trip home from college 6 times a semester, so they moderate their behavior according to their economic reality.
Or do we start providing all services to everyone for everything they want? Where does it stop?
Our society has become overly sensitive, demanding retribution when someone steps on our toes. To me, it only adds to the problems our nation is facing. Consumers complain and retailers pull ads from Limbaugh’s radio show. Can’t we handle controversy better than this? No one can say anything anymore without a reaction.
People need to grow a thicker skin.
At issue is a girl who publicly admitted to be sexually active enough so as not to be able to afford her own contraception.
Sorry JDM, as usual you have no idea of the issues, only what you’ve heard on FOX or from Rush. What is at issue is a college student that a male dominated congressional committee would not allow to testify about a friend who needed contraceptive medicines for a medical condition.
Also, we are talking about birth control, contraceptive medicines, NOT VIAGRA!!!!!! You do not need to take a contraceptive pill every time you have sex.
Kathy, I notice that you didn’t answer my question about how you would feel if it was your daughter that Limbaugh was calling a slut and a prostitute for having the temerity to testify before Congress.
JDM, would you care to quote the portion of Fluke’s testimony where she said that she was too busy having sex to pay for birth control?
PNElba: “sorry JDM, as usual you have no idea of the issues”
Sorry, PNElba, as usual, you have no idea of the facts.
Here’s the quote to which I was addressing my comments.
“Without insurance coverage, contraception as you know can cost a woman over $3,000 during law school,” Fluke told a hearing.
It seems that in her testimony, she drifted a little into the realm of generalities, and that is what is demanding all the attention.
Walker: see above
Say what?
Walker, I’ve had a lot worse happen in my life and no, it wouldn’t offend me. I believe that Rush Limbaugh was in fact, addressing something much larger – the entitlement mentality so prevalent today. I think he was being facetious, which is sometimes needed to show absurdity.
Fluke’s comment that JDM stated above is not an appeal for her friend, or others like her friend, who need contraception for medical purposes.
On another note, I would love to know what kind of contraception costs 3 grand a year.
I find it very interesting that all you men on here are either coming to rescue poor Ms. Fluke’s reputation or flogging her for admitting she might sexually active. I contend that Ms. Fluke,a law student at a prestigious university, is perfectly capable of of standing up for herself and has done so. How about we start denigrating men who are sexually active, calling them out. Let’s lambaste a few presidential contenders while we are at it. So not the point here.
What’s awesome about this thread is that it shows how the GOP social issue carny act takes people’s eye off the economy. It’s improving, if too slowly for my tastes. But it is getting better. The stats are clear.
And we’re talking about sluts and demons and drug addicts and sluts. And sluts.
GOP win!
Snowflake, for starters, you have no idea what sex I am. And I have no interest in “rescu[ing] poor Ms. Fluke’s reputation.” I am interested in pointing out the outrageousness of claiming, as JDM did, that she said she is “a girl who publicly admitted to be sexually active enough so as not to be able to afford her own contraception.” That is a lie.
But oa is right, it is a huge distraction from the issues that matter.
On another note, I would love to know what kind of contraception costs 3 grand a year.
Evidently the kind you need when it is medically necessary and is not directly related to birth control.
Here is what Fluke actually said: ““Without insurance coverage, contraception, as you know, can cost a woman over $3,000 during law school. For a lot of students who, like me, are on public interest scholarships, that’s practically an entire summer’s salary. 40% of the female students at Georgetown Law reported to us that they struggle financially as a result of this policy.”
Kathy, note that that is “during law school,” not “per year.”
JDM, if you want to try to find a quote from her that justifies your claim, the transcript of her testimony is here: http://www.whatthefolly.com/2012/02/23/transcript-sandra-fluke-testifies-on-why-women-should-be-allowed-access-to-contraception-and-reproductive-health-care/