My must read of the day is "Here's why Democrats' phony "War on Women" won't work in 2014," by Carly Fiorina, on Fox News:
So here’s my prediction: The Democrats’ "war on women" rhetoric will continue to get uglier and nastier and less credible as they continue to sink in the polls. 2014 is our year to expose this deceptive campaign tactic for what it is. [...]
Tactics like these are motivated by a world view that sees women as easily manipulated single issue voters. [...]
I founded the UP Project because everywhere I go I meet strong, intelligent women who are tired of being taken for granted and are sick of current political environment belittling them. From career women to dedicated public servants to stay-at-home moms, they are thirsty for a genuine debate about real issues impacting their lives.
I don't buy the notion that there's a "war on women" in America—at best I think it's an offensive misnomer. Still, I've been surprised that the narrative is not more pervasive at this point in the election cycle.
Yes, it's been an issue in Colorado, but groups that tend to push the narrative are focusing on broader topics.
If we defer to history this is only temporary; perhaps it's best for Republicans to brace for it and start plotting a method to deal with an uptick in gender specific attack ads.
Women's issues are typically low on the list of voter priorities. In 2012, Gallup asked respondents what topics would be most likely to influence their presidential vote—"women's issues" were at the bottom of the list, yet that year the "war on women" was incredibly successful. Obama's reelection team made it a focal point of his campaign and it worked. Idiotic Republicans, such as Todd Akin and Richard Murdoch, emboldened the attacks, but it was working even without those two (and it's worth noting, closer to the election, it was working best in swing states) Akin and Murdoch simply made it safer for Democrats to double down on the issue and use it to further engage their base.
Obama lost the male vote in 2012, but "carried the women's vote by 11 percent," which the Wall Street Journal wrote, is "only the second time that a net-female/minus-male formula proved successful. Bill Clinton pulled off the feat in 1996."
The war on women is successful partly because it's a calculated political slogan, and if it's going to be countered it similarity needs a calculated political response.