Women have been the focus of this upcoming presidential election. By accident? Maybe. I don’t
think the presidential campaigns purposefully started out as campaigns in which
women were thought of as the secret weapon; or not. However, both presidential
campaigns have promoted ideals and platforms that have made this political
campaign personal for many women who stand on both sides of the political
spectrum. Are the messages to women from both parties a mere tactic to get the
women’s vote? It depends on who you ask.
The Republican Party
has focused on the economic issues they claim have been created by the Obama
administration. Additionally, Republicans have repeatedly expressed that President
Obama is diverting the attention from his failed economic policies by focusing
on rhetoric about women’s rights. Moreover, the pro-life stance of the
Republican Party is intended to strike an emotional nerve with women and as
such, the Republicans (divided by the issue on if and when abortion should be
“allowed”) are appealing to the maternal instinct of women by telling us that
they will protect life in the womb. However, we all have heard what many men
and women in the Republican leadership have
said
about women, abortions, rape, and so on (including the latest comments by
Murdock), which in my opinion should make all women (and men) angry.
In the other hand,
Democrats are appealing to women’s votes by focusing on their track record on women’s
rights. President Obama signed the Lilly
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which states that women must earn
the same pay for the same work as men (the wage gap is that White women earn 77
cents for every dollar a man makes; this gap is even higher between men and
women of color). Obama also banned employment discrimination based on gender
identity which helps women and girls increase their access and participation in
STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). The Affordable Care Act
also prevents insurance providers to discriminate against women (women pay
higher health insurance premiums than men). Furthermore, Obama stands to
protect women’s reproductive rights by supporting access to contraceptives free
of copay and women’s right to choose. Additionally, the President signed the Matthew Shepard
and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act which allows
gender crimes to be prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
Based on what we know
so far about the presidential campaign, how well are Republicans and Democrats
playing the woman card? As a woman and a voter, the Romney campaign is doing an
excellent job at pushing women (at least the ones that are not suffering from
Stockholm Syndrome) away, if you ask me. Obama has professed he wants his daughters
to have the same opportunities as every other son in America will have and his
record proves it. As a woman, I cannot vote for a party that is so wrong when
it comes to women’s rights. Some may argument that we (angry women pro Obama)
are just suffering from hysteria. Well, men would be in rage too if any woman
candidate would tell them what to do with their penises and testicles and
impose on their right to procreate (or not). I wonder how men, especially those
from the Tea Party, would react if they were the ones being regulated, raped,
and denied to choose what’s best for their bodies. We would definitely be
reading a different set of stories. But for now, it is up to us, women and the
men that place the women in their lives in high esteem, to go out and vote for
our rights and the only candidate who has supported and defended our rights.
That candidate is Barack Obama!
