Understanding the Female Enthusiasm Gap: Why Women Just Aren’t That Into It
Democrats in Colorado have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to make Ken Buck look unelectable to women. They have dug through Buck’s past and have run negative ad after negative ad in a desperate attempt to turn the Colorado Senate race into a referendum on his deeply conservative, anti-feminist social views.
In a post published on this blog a couple weeks ago, I argued that such attempts to energize the women’s vote would likely be in vain because it would do little to swing the election in Michael Bennet’s favor. Admittedly, my piece was fairly controversial, and a number of friends and other readers took issue with some of my conclusions.
Although I readily admit that I may be wrong in my analysis—although I still don’t think I am—this video, and the related article, from CNN.com reinforces my original analysis:
Cory Gardner’s Weak Defense on Autism Vote
Last week, EMILY’s List announced that it was launching a $300,000 anti-Cory Gardner ad campaign in Colorado’s CD-4 race. Striking similar themes in Gardner’s voting record that I have enumerated in this blog—namely that Gardner has a horrible track-record on women’s issues—the EMILY’s List campaign is running this ad, which features Kate Dran and her autistic son as she discusses the various obstacles her family has faced because of her health insurance company’s refusal to cover treatment of her son’s autism:
The ad also highlights Gardner’s 2009 ‘no’ vote on HB 09-244, a state bill that requires health insurance companies in the state to cover treatment for autism spectrum disorders. The bill ultimately passed the house with over a 2/3 majority and was signed into law by Governor Ritter.
Ken Buck’s Problem with Women Unlikely to Swing Election
There has been a great deal of coverage regarding Ken Buck’s disconnect with women voters this week ever since the Colorado Independent published its hard-hitting report on his refusal to prosecute a 2005 date rape case involving a 21-year-old UNC student.
Since the Independent story, follow-up reports have been written by the Denver Post, Greeley Tribune, and even the Huffington Post. Among the various facts revealed over the last couple of days is an admission by the suspect in the case that he continued to pursue sexual relations after the victim told him ‘No,’ as well as the suspect being recorded over the phone admitting that he recognizes what he did as rape.
For many Democrats, this story feeds into and confirms a long running narrative around the Weld County District Attorney—namely that he is bad for women voters. Other elements in the narrative include his draconian opposition to abortion, his initial support of Colorado’s Amendment 62, and the politically imprudent comment he made during the GOP primary that Republicans should vote for him because “he doesn’t wear high-heels”.
Amendment 62 and Cory Gardner’s Assault on Women’s Rights
Republican Senate candidate, Ken Buck, has garnered a great deal of state and national media attention for his unusually rigid view of what rights a woman has to an abortion. His contention that even in instances of rape and incest, abortion is still morally repugnant and should not recognized as legally permissible, has even been fodder for campaign ads against the Weld county district attorney.
With all of this negative attention focused on Buck, it has gone largely unnoticed that CD-4 Republican Congressional candidate, Cory Gardner, holds similar views on abortion and women’s rights more broadly defined. In fact, where they do differ, Gardner’s pro-life position on abortion is even more extreme than Buck’s.
Last week, in an interview in the Coloradoan, Gardner, who is running against Betsy Markey, elaborated on his pro-life views and suggested that he makes no exceptions. When asked if he would allow exceptions for rape, incest, or in instances where the mother’s life was in danger, he simply answered, “I’m pro-life, and I believe abortion in wrong.”
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