Politico -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to make the midterm elections all about women.
Armed with Democratic polling, the California Democrat has for months been touting a “women’s economic agenda” in more than two dozen events across the country, with more planned soon.
The agenda is “good politics if it changes the minds [of] our colleagues,” Pelosi told POLITICO in an interview. “What are elections about? To raise the awareness of issues.”
The strategy is aimed squarely at a demographic Democrats need to win: women — especially single women who tend to vote for them, and who often stay home during midterm elections. Getting women to the ballot box in higher numbers may be the only hope for Pelosi, who last wielded the speaker’s gavel in 2010, and who most political observers believe is a long shot — at the very best — in 2014 to reclaim it.
In a bid to win the House majority and retain the Senate, national Democrats seem intent on remaking the midterm electorate to resemble the one that came out to support President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Traditionally, turnout in midterm elections has declined steeply.
Observers say it’s an uphill slog for congressional Democrats, who would need to reverse a historical trend going back to 1832 — Andrew Jackson was president — as the last time the midterms saw more voters than a presidential contest.
“History is against them,” said Michael McDonald, associate professor of government and politics at George Mason University who has studied turnout trends. “You can never say never… but I think the evidence is still against the Democrats on this.”
There’s no question the Democratic agenda is an extension of the “war on women” narrative that Democrats have been using to slam Republicans, quite effectively, in recent elections. But now, it’s been broadened to include economic issues that Democrats argue Republicans have been ignoring.[...]
Republicans, for their part, aren’t convinced the tactics being employed by Pelosi or other Democratic leaders will have any benefit come Election Day. GOP leaders look at the polling on Obamacare, as well as Obama’s own weakness on economic issues, and the traditional “six-year itch” facing incumbent presidents, and they see a big opportunity to expand their majority.
“This is clearly a defensive maneuver by Democrats since they are losing support from women who are feeling firsthand the devastating effects of Obamacare,” said Liesl Hickey, executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
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Blog author's comments - Pelosi may try to make the midterm elections about the "war on women" but, I would hope that the voters now know what the impact of Obamacare is doing and will continue to do to the cost and quality of healthcare, and will not be swayed by the many ploys the Democrats will try from now until the 2014 midterms. The GOP has to keep Obama's economic agenda and his lies, and the many damaging and unconstitutional changes he is making to his signature piece of legislation, Obamacare, in the forefront, so they can hold the House and quite possibly win control of the Senate.
