Rick Santorum winning more support from Republican women

[alp227]

Last edited Fri Feb 24, 2012, 01:41 AM - Edit history (1)

by Amy Gardner, Washington Post, 2/24/11

Over the past several weeks, Republicans have watched squeamishly as presidential contender Rick Santorum has waded into multiple controversies that risk alienating half the 2012 electorate: women.

But in fact, Santorum has grown more popular among women while talking about his opposition to abortion, his disapproval of birth control and his view that the federal government shouldn’t pay for prenatal screenings. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows not only that Santorum is doing better among GOP women than he was a few weeks ago, but also that he is less unpopular — and also less well known — among Democratic and independent women than his Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Voters and political strategists alike say Santorum’s rise has less to do with his views on these issues than on his ability to relate to the daily struggles of the middle class.

Nonetheless, the former senator from Pennsylvania and the other Republican candidates remain largely untested by the dynamics of a general election in which independent and Democratic women are expected to play a deciding role.

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rick-santorum-winning-more-support-from-republican-women/2012/02/22/gIQAPDJjWR_singlePage.html

(facepalm) It must take a whole lot of authoritarianism drilled in the mind for the first 18 years of life to be a Republican woman. (edited to add) And I wonder how many Republican women nowadays remember when the party supported the Equal Rights Amendment (1976 platform) or if those women only began paying attention to politics post-1980?

[babylonsister]

2. Prove it. Because the WaPo says so? Are those women who aren't paying attention? nt

[alp227]

3. it's based on a poll

[babylonsister]

6. Another reason not to believe polls, unless it's Pew. :) nt

[RKP5637]

4. "It must take a whole lot of authoritarianism drilled in the mind for the first

18 years of life to be a Republican woman."

Yep, one more example of why they are trying to capture and brainwash youth into republican idealism, authoritarianism and theocracy preparation training.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Pew Research has Santorum trailing Obama by 25% with women voters.

[Control-Z]

7. Bullshit

Bullshit, Bullshit, Bullshit

"but also that he is less unpopular — and also less well known — among Democratic and independent women"

Just because someone (Washington Post) printed it doesn't make it true.

[Jim Lane]

23. No, it makes perfect sense

According to the article, Santorum "is less unpopular — and also less well known — among Democratic and independent women than his Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich."

Well, sure. He's less unpopular because he's less well known. It's only in the most recent phase of the campaign that Santorum's gotten much attention. The women who were polled had plenty of time to find out about Romney and Gingrich and thus to discover ample reasons to rate them "Unfavorable" in a poll. With Santorum, that process is less far along.

As Santorum becomes better known and gets more coverage, his unpopularity among Democratic and independent women will drop.

With all these Republican candidates, it's as Dorothy Parker said about Thomas E. Dewey: "You have to get to know the man to really dislike him."

[TreasonousBastard]

8. It helps to take off the liberal goggles...

Yes, amazingly enough there are women who don't agree with us.

Really.

My mother, a lifelong Republican, spent most of her life volunteering and fundraising for charities, including several years working with Planned Parenthood.

She stopped working with PP when they became more involved with abortion. She had no interest in stopping abortions, or making it illegal, but she has had miscarriages and simply does not understand why anyone would do that to themselves deliberately. She is one of those women who takes this whole life thing seriously, maybe too seriously, and could not become involved in assisting abortion in any way.

This is my mother we're talking about, so I'm not going to demonize her, but she's not the only one out there. And it's not that much of a stretch from her to those who would stop it.

[Dawson Leery]

10. A clear majority of Republican women are going to support any Repug candidate.

The Democrats and Independents are NOT.

[alp227]

11. if your mother was a lifelong republican she may remember the 1976 platform that supported the ERA

really it did http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/document/platform/rights.htm

in contrast, the women who came of age during the Reagan/Gingrich/GW Bush Republican party probably don't know of the time when the GOP, while not totally sympathetic with the feminist movement, at least respected women.

[fasttense]

18. It helps if you do not try to control others.

My mother was a former Nun, she left the church when she could not agree with their teachings. She lost 2 babies to miscarriage AND she would never impose her views on others.

Being the good little Catholic mother, she had six children. She was out on the DC mall with me and my sister supporting the right to choose. She understands how someone’s life can get so bad due to happenchance and things beyond their control that she would never force someone to have a baby. She makes me proud.

She knows a lot of women who are against choice. She says most of the time they don't have all the information. They don't think what would they do in case of a rape or incest. Or what would they do if their daughter were in a coma and pregnant and an abortion would help their daughter recover? She says women who stand in the way of other women's choices for abortion or birth control are only looking at one side of an issue and are not considering all the possibilities.

And she told me that she would never want to have on her conscious the thought of a woman being forced to have her rapist’s baby because she supported anti-choice.

[Blue Owl]

9. The Washington Post is printed with Santorum-based ink

and toilet-grade paper

[TlalocW]

12. Basically all this poll tell us is that Stockholm Syndrome is real

And Stockholm Syndrome for those that don't know is when captives start siding with their captors. Wiki it for more info, origins, etc., but this poll hardly worries me. Republican women can be as brainwashed as republican men - even moreso when it becomes apparent they don't care about their rights. Santorum, if he's the nominee, will drive female independents to the democrats.

TlalocW

[Whisp]

13. BULL & SHIT

[Angry Dragon]

14. This my be the election won or lost by the female vote

[DCBob]

15. This is simply an effect of Gingrich sliding.

Note Romney's numbers stayed about the same.

[JenniSiri]

16. We Are Woman March on Washington April 28th

There are a lot of women that are furious with Rick Santorum and the GOP war on women. So many that a march on DC is being organized to protest. Please See: We Are Women March on Washington For those that cannot make it to DC there is a group/s organizing for sister marches on every state capitol on the same day!

Very exciting

Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States on April 28th, 2012, as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”

All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including the right to contraception without interference from government, business, or religious institutions.

[mainer]

17. I wish there were some way to selectively deny GOP women any abortions

or birth control pills. Just for the pleasure of telling them "well, you voted for it."

[HopeHoops]

19. Thread was alerted on. While it is opinion, I'm not locking it because it is a valid P2012 subject.

[Kablooie]

20. The Stepford Party, coming to a polling station near you.

[WI_DEM]

21. So a small bunch of Phyllis Schafley wanna-be's love Ricky, so what? by and large...

democratic and independent women and even some enlightened republican women will recoil from Santorum's agenda. In the narrow confines of the GOP race where turnout has hardly been overwhelming, I don't think this is something to get too upset about.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

22. Edit.

My fault. I guess I'm a host here now. My apologies!!