Republicans may have vowed to rebrand their party to attract more female and minority voters after a stinging 2012 presidential loss, but their “War on Women” never actually ended. At least that’s the argument made by EMILY’s List, the well-funded group that supports pro-choice Democratic women for national office.
A Friday memo by Jess McIntosh, the group’s communication director, points to several off-the-wall statements made by Republican pols and candidates in the last two weeks that has “effectively re-opened the wound that caused the historic gender gap in 2012.”
A number of conservatives raised eyebrows for claiming that female breadwinners are antithetical to nature, that women “don’t want” equal pay, that working mothers ruined the American education system and that “hormone levels created by nature” drive sexual assaults in the military.
“It’s tempting to write these statements as outlier rhetoric, but this is what the current slate of Republican elected officials actually believe – and it’s backed up by the Republican Party’s priorities,” notes McIntosh. “These aren’t just words, they’re a legislative agenda.”
EMILY’s List produced a highlight reel Thursday that summed up the recent developments:
