President Obama already holds a big lead over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney among female voters, and the Democratic National Committee is keeping the pressure on by attacking Romney for “turning back the clock on women’s health” in a new Web video.
The ad ties Romney to two of his high profile endorsers — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a potential vice presidential candidate, and former GOP presidential nominee Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) — and their stances on women’s health issues.
“Do I believe the Supreme Court should overturn Roe versus Wade?” Romney says in the ad. “Yes, I do.”
The ad plays clips of Romney and Bachmann talking about defunding Planned Parenthood. It references a bill signed by McDonnell that would require women to receive an ultrasound before getting an abortion, and shows a clip from Bachmann talking about similar ultrasound legislation that she introduced.
Last month, McDonnell signed an ultrasound bill into law but backed off his support of previous legislation that would have required a more invasive ultrasound procedure.
McDonnell and Bachmann appeared alongside Romney at a campaign stop in Virginia on Thursday.
“Romney, Bachmann, McDonnell. Turning back the clock on women’s health,” the ad reads.
A NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released late last month showed the president with a 12-point lead among female voters.
The Romney campaign has worked to flip the script on Democrats, who accuse Republicans of waging a “war on women,” by charging that the Obama administration’s handling of the economy is the real issue that affects women.
“This is another attempt by the Obama campaign to distract from the issues that women are most concerned about,” said Romney campaign spokesperson Amanda Henneberg in an email to The Hill.
“Each night, too many women go to sleep wondering if they can pay the mortgage, if they can afford to put food on the table, and if their children will have a job after graduating from college. Nearly a million more women are out of work under President Obama while female poverty is at its highest level in nearly two decades. By all accounts, President Obama’s policies have failed women, like all Americans, and they deserve a president who will focus on getting America back on track.”
