Can You Hear Me Now? GOP Poll Finds Women Are Not Impressed with Republicans

File this in the Captain Obvious category, aka, the unskewed poll area. Naturally, because this is a real thing, Republicans will continue to deny it. But for the rest of you who enjoy laughing at the clown car as it guns for the cliff, a Karl Rove group and another major Republican group needed to commission a poll to find out that women say Republicans are “intolerant,” “lacking in compassion,” and “stuck in the past.”

The internal Crossroads GPS and American Action Network report was obtained by Politico. “‘Republicans and Women Voters: Huge Challenges, Real Opportunities” — was the product of eight focus groups across the country and a poll of 800 registered female voters this summer.”

Yes, real opportunities, like the opportunity Republicans have had and spit on since Mitt Romney bombed with binders full of women in 2012. The good news is that they do well with married women who have no college education (this may explain their constant efforts to destroy Democratic efforts to make college more affordable).

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Not to fear, they have solutions! Solution one: Neutralize Democratic attacks.

First, they suggest the GOP “neutralize the Democrats'” attack that Republicans don’t support fairness for women. They suggest Republican lawmakers criticize Democrats for “growing government programs that encourage dependency rather than opportunities to get ahead.” That message tested better than explaining that the GOP supports a number of policies that could help fairness for women.

This “dependency” argument is the same argument Republicans have made to justify not helping impoverished minorities, and they followed that up with grand stories about how super slavery was for black people. This might have tested well for them, but as a woman, I see right through that “opportunity”. This is no different than their attempt to explain to women that they should not care about equal pay.

Second, the groups suggest Republicans “deal honestly with any disagreement on abortion, then move to other issues.”

Oh, yes, because the “abortion” issue can just be moved on from. Even though Republicans do not support the one thing that actually reduces abortions– birth control. Instead, Republicans use their alleged moral issues with abortion — abortions they are often actually assisting if not creating by killing funding for Planned Parenthood and trying to make sure birth control isn’t covered — as a way to control women’s destinies.

This is the problem with the GOP. They condescendingly think that they can “move on” from any issue on which women disagree with them, and that they are in charge of framing the issues and women will fall into line. For example, according to an interview she did with Politico, political strategist Katie Packer Gage is tasked with assisting the GOP with women voters, and she thinks they need to go on offense. Apparently the policy War on Women isn’t offensive enough. This is where they lecture women about “freedom” in the work place (aka, no legal pay equity). They keep explaining louder that women don’t need legal protection from the folks who donate to the GOP, because dependency is bad. Women love to be explained to.

It also found that Republicans “fail to speak to women in the different circumstances in which they live” — as breadwinners, for example. “This lack of understanding and acknowledgment closes many minds to Republican policy solutions,” the report says. The groups urge Republicans to embrace policies that “are not easily framed as driven by a desire to aid employers or ‘the rich.'”.

The ladies won’t see through that. Why, just recently Governor Corbett (R-PA) was explaining that he would appeal to women voters by changing Pennsylvania’s state liquor licensing laws because this would help ladies who are buying dinner. Never mind the unnecessary ultrasounds he tried to push on women. Freedom!

Can you hear me now? No. No, they cannot. The men of the GOP figure the way out of this mess is to pivot, and attack the Democrats over their “shackles”; aka, legal protections for pay parity. The ladies will be fooled into not wanting or needing pay equity protections.

Republicans have had many opportunities to reassess their party policies, but instead — just like an addict refusing to admit they have a problem — they keep doubling down on changing their messaging, while keeping their policies. Inevitably, some GOP political strategist comes along to enable them by announcing that they are just not being aggressive enough, not attacking Democrats enough, not going on offense.

This is the sad cycle of fail of a party that refuses to change when it is being told it must in order to survive. Republicans would rather believe anything other than that pay equity for women might be the right thing. They will do anything to avoid taking a look at their stance on pay equity for women. Why are they so against pay fairness for women that they will gamble their entire future with women voters on it?

Sarah Jones

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