RNC Women

Americans across the country were outraged when a panel that is part of Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services made outrageous new recommendations about breast cancer screenings for women. This morning, RNC Chairman Michael Steele and I sent a letter to President Obama expressing our outrage at the decision.

Using better evidence to inform doctors in their treatment decisions is important. However, this panel’s conclusions weren’t based on sound research, but instead on absurd value judgments which put women’s lives at risk.  Health care policy expert Linda Gorman sums up the bogus scientific analysis used by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force like this: “What are the costs that the Task Force measured against the benefit of a 15% reduction in mortality in order to come up with its ‘small net benefit?’  No one knows because they don’t say.”  This panel can be ignored today, but if Obama’s government run health care experiment passes, we’ll have to accept the ... more

As a breast cancer survivor, I was shocked when the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force made an outrageous announcement that women should start getting routine, annual mammograms at age 50, not 40. Several experts disagree:

“But the American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology and other experts condemned the change, saying the benefits of routine mammography have been clearly demonstrated and play a key role in reducing the number of mastectomies and the death toll from one of the most common cancers. ‘Tens of thousands of lives are being saved by mammography screening, and these idiots want to do away with it,’ said Daniel B. Kopans, a radiology professor at Harvard Medical School. ‘It's crazy -- unethical, really.’”

While it’s only a “recommendation,” this should be a warning to all women as a preview of what’s to come if the Democrats pass their government-run health care experiment. Why? This federal panel is doing what’s called Comparative Effectiveness ... more

Last Saturday, nearly 500 Republican women from 16 western states gathered together in Denver for our RNC Regional Women’s Summit entitled "Women Winning the West."  These women, some of them new to politics, some local activists, and some elected officials, joined together to continue our drive to elect Republicans up and down the ballot in 2010. 

The women who attended the summit heard from a powerful panel of speakers, including pollster Linda Divall, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.  The attendees also spent time in workshop breakout sessions led by Perino, former John Thune campaign manager Dick Wadhams and RNC New Media Director Todd Herman. 

The purpose of the summit was to give women from across the western United States the opportunity to network together and share ideas and goals for the 2010 election cycle.  By the end of the day, we accomplished that and much more.  The energy during the summit ... more

In a deeply flawed article on Politico yesterday, Meredith Shiner and Glenn Thrush tried to use Dede Scozzaffava’s loss in New York as evidence that the GOP has a “women problem.”  They tried to make the connection that because conservatives worked against a female candidate’s campaign, then conservatives must necessarily be against women. 

Washington is famous for being filled with bad logic, but that might take the cake. 

To try to build their case, they highlighted quotes from Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) who described the GOP as: “…a party that doesn’t respect women, a party that doesn’t believe women are equal to men.  I don’t think they attract women to their party.  I think they repulse women.”

Using arguments as poisonous as Wasserman-Schultz’ to bolster a thesis as wrong as the one Shiner and Thrush came up with amounts to journalistic malpractice. 

The GOP is filled with vibrant, conservative women.  Indeed, it was a conservative woman – Sarah Palin – who helped ... more

Please check out the Real Clear Politics blog entry linked here.  Even people like the director of Emily’s List, an organization which works to elect pro-choice Democratic women to office, are beginning to take note that women are moving back to the GOP. 

“Democratic women's groups are also pointing to the depressed turnout among women as a key factor, and are seeking to raise money. ‘Republicans made gains this week for one reason: we saw crucial groups of voters staying home or, worse yet, moving to the Republicans,’ EMILY's List president Ellen Malcolm wrote to supporters Thursday.”

While the movement of Independents received most of the media attention, Tuesday’s election again showed us the power of the women’s vote.   In Virginia, despite considerable negative advertising from Creigh Deeds aimed at women, Bob McDonnell turned a 7 point Obama advantage among women in 2008 into an 8 point advantage for himself.

In New Jersey, Chris Christie showed that Republicans can be ... more

Yesterday Francis McClure asked what issues resonate with women. During the past 8 months I have traveled to over 18 states. Everywhere I go, I have discovered that it is the substantive issues that resonate best. Jobs, the economy, and the cost of healthcare are issues that matter the most to women right now. A majority of all mothers report they are responsible for decisions about their family’s health care. Jobs and job loss were the top issues in a recent women’s focus group. Women want their leadership to talk about the issues that affect their ability to support and take care of their families.

The punditry is filled today with the conventional wisdom that independents came back to the Republican Party with yesterday’s elections.  We have been seeing this migration of independents back to our Party build for months, and we believe it will continue through the 2010 cycle.

Indeed, back in September a CNN/Opinion Dynamics poll found a majority of independents disapproving of the president's job performance for the first time.  Independents are moving toward conservative candidates and the GOP because they see the Obama White House, along with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, moving too far and too fast in their push for a government takeover of our health care system.  They see that our economy is continuing to shed jobs, even after the Democrats’ stimulus plan wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, and they are wary of the Democrat plans to increase taxes on everything from bandages and wheelchairs to small businesses and our energy.   

The data bears this out.  Last night, the ... more

Republicans Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie both had good nights, and women were critical to their success.

In Virginia, despite considerable negative advertising from Creigh Deeds aimed at women, Bob McDonnell turned a 7 point Obama advantage among women in 2008 into an 8 point advantage for himself. This equates to an amazing 15 point swing.

In New Jersey, Chris Christie showed that Republicans can be competitive in the Northeast among both men and women. Chris Christie lost women by only 5 points in a state where Barack Obama won women by 17 points just a year ago.

As I write this on Election Day 2009, I am struck by the importance of the women’s vote in today’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. 

According to Rasmussen Reports polling on October 29^th, John Corzine was favored by just 46 percent of female voters in New Jersey.  Contrast this to 2008, when CNN exit polling showed Barack Obama won more than 58 percent of the Garden State’s female vote.  That 12 point swing could be enough to put Republican Chris Christie over the top. 

The story is the same in Virginia.  In 2008, Barack Obama won 53% of female voters there.  But this year, Rasmussen polling on October 27th shows Democrat gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds with just 47% of the female vote. 

While no one could argue that either Creigh Deeds or John Corzine have the political skill of Barack Obama, it is just as true that the White House has thrown its considerable clout behind each candidate.  President Obama has held rallies with each of them.  The White House ... more