"Female voters drawn to Romney this time; Economic focus, image resonating" by Matt Viser | Globe Staff, November 07, 2011
EXETER, N.H. - Over the course of Mitt Romney’s second presidential campaign, his advisers have repeatedly seen something in public and independent polls that was not true in his previous campaigns: he’s regularly winning a larger share of support among women than men.
“We’ve seen that difference for a while,’’ Neil Newhouse, Romney’s pollster, said last week after delivering a presentation in Washington on “Walmart Moms,’’ which he views as a key demographic in the upcoming election. “It may be that, to women, experience makes more of a difference. Experience, leadership - it’s the intangibles.’’
The small but persistent gender gap seems to have emerged because, women say, they appreciate Romney’s values, family story, business background - and, yes, his chiseled good looks - while being less interested in the ideological critiques that seem to be causing him more problems with male voters. It amounts to seeing him through a different lens.
Romney’s strength with female voters - they support him by about five percentage points more than men do - was not something he saw in his 2002 campaign for governor nor his 2008 presidential run.
This time around, Romney’s campaign has significantly softened his image. He rarely wears a suit and tie and he downplays talk of social issues, such as opposition to abortion, and focuses on economic concerns. He often talks about his family - his son Tagg recently sent a video on Twitter of Romney tossing snowballs with the family - and his wife, Ann, has been a frequent presence on the stump.
Related: Nominating Romney Means Return of Bush
I recall the ladies supposedly liked him, too.
During a recent trip to Nashua, for example, she talked of the rivalry she and her future husband had in a college poetry class. She also grew emotional as she told a group of women how supportive her husband has been during her battles with multiple sclerosis.
“He said, ‘I’m fine with you if you’re in the wheelchair, that doesn’t matter to me, I love you for who you are,’ ’’ she said. ‘ “I don’t care whether you can’t get dinner on the table anymore, I don’t care. I can eat toast and cereal for the rest of my life. But together we can still do anything.’ ’’
Not to be callous, but I'm sure the bank account helps.
The approach resonates with some voters. According to a Fox News poll, Romney got the support of 23 percent of Republican women nationally, compared with 17 percent for Georgia businessman Herman Cain; 11 percent for Governor Rick Perry of Texas; and 10 percent for Newt Gingrich, former House speaker.
The ladies don't like the good Dr. Ron Paul?
Cain’s support was overwhelmingly from men, while backing for Gingrich and Perry was more evenly divided. The poll was taken before Cain’s campaign was engulfed last week with controversy as he was forced to respond to allegations of sexual harassment.
See: The Cain Kerfuffle
The emerging trend could also hurt Romney, since men tend to vote in greater numbers. In a Quinnipiac Poll released last week, men were more likely than women to hold Romney’s health care plan, his changed positions on issues, or his more moderate political background against him.
But Romney, the overwhelming front-runner in New Hampshire, could be helped by the female vote in the Jan. 10 primary.
“Among Republicans, about 60 percent of voters are going to be men, and 40 percent women,’’ said Andy Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. “If Romney is able to get, say, an extra five percentage points among women than he does men, that certainly is a buffer against any insurgent candidate who’s going to challenge him.’’
They must be referring to Ron Paul there. Just setting up the narrative for a stolen selection,
'er, election process.
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I wonder how much the ladies will like his budget:
"Romney proposes wide cuts to budget; Social Security, health programs targeted" by Donovan Slack | Globe Staff, November 05, 2011
WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney unveiled a sweeping budget-cutting plan yesterday that would make significant cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and dramatically shrink the federal government, slashing funding to Amtrak and programs supporting the arts and public broadcasting.
As he increases military spending.
If elected president, the former Massachusetts governor said, he would gradually increase the eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security and turn Medicaid into a block-grant program that would cap payments to states for health care for the poor and disabled at fixed amounts.
Amtrak would lose all government subsidies, and Romney would slice $600 million from the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Legal Services Corporation, which subsidizes legal services for the poor.
“There are some who are going to argue that fiscal responsibility is heartless and immoral,’’ Romney said. “No, what’s heartless is to imperil our children, and what’s immoral is to imperil the strength of a nation that was founded under God and preserved by his hand.’’
Another $300 million would be cut from subsidies for family planning and tests for sexually transmitted diseases and cervical cancer, on the grounds that the funds indirectly support groups that provide “abortions or abortion-related services.’’
That make you ladies happy?
Overall, the plan would cut some $500 billion annually from the federal budget as of 2016, he said in a speech at the Defending the American Dream summit of Americans for Prosperity.
Isn't that a Koch brothers conference?
Related: Romney tax plan would save Koch Bros up to $8.7 billion each
Why would the Globe hide that?
Romney campaign advisers said the pace and scope of changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid had yet to be decided, but they said current and soon-to-be beneficiaries would not be affected.
The plan resembles one released earlier this year by Representative Paul Ryan, the Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee....
That plan did not go over very well, either.
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But Mitt has the $upport that matter$:
"Business donors shift to Romney" by Beth Healy | Globe Staff, October 27, 2011
A sentiment that’s gathering steam in the financial world, even among well-heeled Democrats and independents. Many who once had high hopes for Obama say they have lost faith in his ability to fix the nation’s ailing economy. What’s more, some are disenchanted with an administration they believe is stoking anger over high unemployment and is appeasing Occupy Wall Street-style protesters....
Talk about biting the hand that forks over taxpayer loot.
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"Romney returns to N.H. in the lead" October 25, 2011|By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent
This month, Romney has polled at around 40 percent in New Hampshire, double the support of any of his opponents. Businessman Herman Cain and Representative Ron Paul of Texas are the closest challengers.
And yet he is ignored -- mostly.
Yeah, he scares the s*** out of some people.
But Jon Huntsman, former Utah governor, is emerging as Romney’s most aggressive critic. While Cain is generally popular among Tea Party movement affiliates and Paul is an icon among libertarian-leaning Republicans, Huntsman, who has staked his campaign on New Hampshire, is trying to appeal to the independents and moderates who have gravitated toward Romney....
Why the focus on Huntsman when Paul is a more credible candidate?
But in New Hampshire, Huntsman and the others will have to contend with sentiments like those voiced in a handmade sign held by a Romney supporter this morning. “Welcome to Romney Country.’’
Translation: the fix is in!
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