Columbus, Ohio (CNN) – As polls show President Barack Obama making gains among women voters while the Republican candidates grapple with questions about contraception, Ann Romney tried Friday to steer the conversation back to the economy.
"I love it that women are concerned and voting for economic reasons," she told a handful of supporters at her husband's Ohio campaign headquarters in Columbus. "Moms are very angry about the deficit spending in Washington, D.C.
– Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker
"They're very upset about the burdens their children are going to inherit and they think it's irresponsible for us to pass along that burden to our children and grandchildren," she said." So that's what I am hearing and I think women in the general election are going to make a huge difference in this nation. And women for the first time are going to be voting their pocketbooks, which is great."
Her comments came 48 hours after Mitt Romney embraced a controversial, and ultimately unsuccessful, Senate amendment that would have allowed religious employers to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage.
Questions about social issues continue to nag Romney at a time when he would clearly prefer to be focusing his message on the economy, and the emergence of the fiercely conservative Rick Santorum as his main GOP rival has done little to help matters.
Hoping to shore up support among women and portray Romney as too extreme for the White House, the Obama campaign is framing the contraception debate as a Republican effort to restrict the reproductive rights of women and meddle in private bedroom matters.
Ann Romney, though, said the women she encounters along the campaign trail are chiefly concerned with the troubled economy, particularly the debt.
"That's what I am hearing from women out there. They are saying, 'please Mitt, please listen to us, do something about it,'" she said. "And they are getting behind us for that economic reason. So this is going to be a message in an election about the economy and about jobs."
Asked by a reporter if she is concerned that the sharp focus on reproductive issues was damaging her party's image with female voters, Romney ignored the question.
Also see:
Seattle Times supports Romney as 'default choice' ahead of caucuses
Paul flier hits the other candidates
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Is she the romey running for office? She certainly acts like it.
I think most women don't want the republicans "probing them", and legislating behavior of any kind. Republicans HATE WOMEN AND WANT ONLY TO CONTROL THEM, probe them, and denigrate them.
Vote the baggers OUT in 2012.
Obama/Biden 2012 -- Warren/? 2016
Thanks Ann for taking over for Mittens, but the economy is doing much better without any republican help. Enjoy your new $12 million home in California and your two caddies.
Mormons make their wives be submissive - Our family is NOT mormon. Keep your government out of women's genitals.
"I love it that women are concerned and voting for economic reasons,"
Translation: "Please stop paying attention to my sisterwife's support of the GOP/Teatroll continued attempts to take a dump all over women's health care."
"They're very upset about the burdens their children are going to inherit and they think it's irresponsible for us to pass along that burden to our children and grandchildren,"
You know what burden I want my children to not have to carry? The burden of someone else telling her what to do with her hoohoo. Period. Does Mittens own and command your hoohoo, Ann? I certainly hope not. As it is, Mittens seems to have one of his own.
If moms are so worried about deficit spending and the debt then who do you propose they vote for Mrs. Romney? Because your husband won't cut either of them.
she might have a chance, her husband doesn't
If this lady really cared about the deficit she would be pulling for the repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the uber-wealthy! Oh, wait...the repubs would never make cuts to anything that might affect the 1%'s...nevermind. She is almost as out-of-touch with the common man's plight as her husband...
"Is she the romey running for office? She certainly acts like it."
Lol. Certainly seems like it, but really, the only reason she's out there blabbering these talking points like this is because Mittens' campaign is desperate to shift focus away from his horrible flipflop into supporting the GOP/Teatrolls' "conscience" (i.e., against science) amendment that went down in flames yesterday. The culture war the GOP is waging against women is bad BAD news for their candidates, what with 63% of the nation supporting the mandate that contraception coverage be provided by insurers, so Mittens is desperately seeking a way to shift focus away from that and back to the economy, particularly if he can (as Ann is so superficially trying to do) couch the economic issues as "women's issues." In short, these talking points coming out of the slightly more female of the Romneys are a big fat weapon of mass distraction.
Unfortunately Ann has the GOP blinders on. Continuing to perpetuate the stale Republican talking point of leaving future generations the debt load (not acknowledging that the GOP contributed previously), yet completely ignoring the question on women's rights. Deplorable. Speak for yourself and stand up to the misogyny of your religion and your party!!!
With Ann taking over for Mittens, it looks like Mittens is becoming the pivot man in a republican circle jerk.
"Asked by a reporter if she is concerned that the sharp focus on reproductive issues was damaging her party's image with female voters, Romney ignored the question."
The "true" conservatives are more than happy to put this "yoke around the neck" of the GOP.
Good luck with that!
Ann, do you support the Blunt-Rubio senate bill?
Barbie and Ken?
I'm a Mom and the last thing I would do is vote Republican because I am concerned for my children's future and voting Republican will only make things much worse for them. We need middle class growth, which is something that the GOP's policies will not do. Does Romney really think that anyone believes the GOP is fiscally responsible anymore? They spend money - just on things like tax cuts for the rich and corporations and more wars (which bring their military contractor buddies more money). At least the Democrats stand up for women and if they are going to spend money, they spend it on helping the middle class by helping make college more affordable, addressing the growing problem of expensive health insurance, making sure middle class families won't lose everything by keeping unemployment going and making sure hard-working middle class Americans will be secure in retirement by keeping Social Security going. This Mom does not agree with Ann Romney at all - maybe because I am middle class and don't live in a $12 million mansion and drive two cadillacs. Ann Romney is as out of touch with what real working Americans have to go through as her husband is. DEMOCRATS 2012
"Asked by a reporter if she is concerned that the sharp focus on reproductive issues was damaging her party's image with female voters, Romney ignored the question."
HA. I rest my case.
@Sniffit – Could not have put it better myself! Thanks for the laugh of the day. So true.
Now economy is good when the economy is good your husband party always start the war on Women , I think your in the wrong side
"Asked by a reporter if she is concerned that the sharp focus on reproductive issues was damaging her party's image with female voters, Romney ignored the question."
HA. I rest my case. Someone clue her and Mittens in: ignoring the question is confirmation that you have made the calcualtion that looking unsympathetic and unmindful to women's rights issues is the lesse damage...at least less damaging than continuing to allow everyone to talk about Mittens' active support of rolling back hoohoo rights. Your silence is all the confirmation we needed, dipsh-ts.
Ann is trying to win one for the Gaffer.
@GI Joe....I think it is obsurd to make such loaded comments with absolutely no clue what your talking about. To make a claim that LDS women are submissive because men make them be is pure bigotry and hatred. I can only pray voters like you stay out of the poles because obvioulsy your "so called" facts are unreliable. I am a Mormon and I am proud to say it. My wife is my everything. Please keep your negative defamation of LDS people (Mormons) to yourself. You sound utterly uneducated.
She only care about white rich women like her self.
We are beginning to hear from the V J J's for Mittens crowd.
GIJOE – It looks like SCFAN will be voting straight democrat this year.
Ann Romney is going to make ONE FINE first lady!