On the day that Pres. Obama came to Denver to tout ObamaCare, including the insurance mandate on contraception, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, was also in Denver and answered our question about the Democratic attempt to pin a “War on Women” label on Republicans in the presidential election run-up.
Portman, said to be on the short list of potential V.P. candidates for Mitt Romney, was touring Colorado on Wednesday on behalf of Romney. Portman described the Obama campaign as “very cynical” and outlined the broader economic issues that concern women and families.
Here was the question [see video above]: “I was back in Ohio last week and I saw this commercial about the War on Women. What’s your reaction to that? What are you sensing back in Ohio about that? What would you say to Coloradans who are maybe being exposed to that message now for the first time?”
“Well, it’s really disappointing,” said Portman. “I talked a little about my concerns about this campaign on the Obama side. It’s been a very cynical campaign. You know, dividing Americans rather than bringing them together. And, in the case of this, comments on women, I understand the President talked about it again today. They’ve made comments about how Mitt Romney is going to roll things back decades or something. I don’t know what they’re talking about. But obviously, it’s very scary to women to hear that. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is, when you’ve got women who’ve seen their unemployment numbers go up dramatically and who are concerned about their kids and their families, they want to be sure that there’s going to be opportunities.”
“They want to be sure that they can have their kids enjoy the dignity and self-respect that comes from work – and not rely on the government. And that’s what Mitt Romney is offering – new hope. And, you know, the President talked a lot about hope and change last time. It didn’t quite turn out that way. What Mitt Romney’s got is actually the experience and the record and the policies to create that kind of hope and opportunity. And I think that’s what women, men, all Americans are looking for. But, among women, unemployment has gone from 7 percent to over 8 percent. That’s not a good thing.”
