Romney: Obama's 'failures have hurt women,' mum on Ledbetter Act

Mitt Romney looked to reverse a tumultuous morning on women's issues Wednesday, proclaiming "the real war on women is being waged by the president's failed economic policies" while campaigning in Hartford, Conn.

Romney took the stage flanked by six female business owners at a graphics company and repeatedly hammered the president for an economy the presumptive Republican nominee says has been particularly tough on women and families.

"I was disappointed in listening to the president when he said, 'Oh, the Republicans are waging a war on women.' The real war on women is being waged by the president's failed economic policies," Romney said.

He then referenced a handout — distributed to the crowd at the event and circulated earlier in the week by email to supporters — that examined female employment during the Obama administration.

"The progress we have made of women entering the workforce has been stepped back 20 years by this president," Romney said.

The candidate repeatedly hammered the claim that 92.3 percent of the job losses during the Obama administration were from women — a figure that has been central to the Romney campaign's rebuttal against criticism on women's issues. Democrats have argued the statistic is misleading and pointed out women actually make up a larger share of the workforce now than they did before the financial meltdown in 2008.

Romney said that even if the president didn't cause the financial meltdown, his policies have worsened it.

"Because it lasted longer, more and more women have lost jobs," Romney said. "His failures have hurt women."

But Romney avoided a brewing controversy over his staff's handling of a question about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill signed by President Obama after assuming office. Asked on a conference call if Romney supported the legislation, a Romney surrogate told reporters, "We'll get back to you on that."

A subsequent statement said that Romney supported "pay equity for women" and that he would not work to repeal the Ledbetter Act, but by that point, Democrats had seized on the stumble. The Obama campaign quickly circulated a statement from Ledbetter herself expressing disappointment in the Romney campaign.

“I was shocked and disappointed to hear that Mitt Romney is not willing to stand up for women and their families," Ledbetter said. "If he is truly concerned about women in this economy, he wouldn’t have to take time to ‘think’ about whether he supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act," she said. "Anyone who wants to be president of the United States shouldn’t have to think about whether they support pursuing every possible avenue to ensuring women get the same pay for the same work as men."

Both campaigns have made major plays for female voters in recent weeks after new polls show the president opening a wide lead over Romney among them. According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, Obama is up 19 points over Romney among women.

---