Steffi Badanes
Blogs Editor
Now that Mitt Romney has pretty much secured the Republican nomination, the real race is beginning. But I am confident that President Obama will certainly be a two-term president. President Obama has brought positive change to the country such as passing the Affordable Care Act, repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, killing Osama bin Laden, and creating more than 4.1 million jobs. America is in much better condition now than it was when President Bush left office in 2009. But there’s so much more that needs to be done, and Mitt Romney isn’t the guy for the job. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney disagree on a lot of issues. But there is one issue that currently sticks out the most to me, and that is their different views on women’s rights.
In 2002, Mitt Romney was pro-choice. He strongly believed in protecting women’s rights to choose. Now in 2012, he’s pro-life and carelessly tells America that he plans on “getting rid” of Planned Parenthood and instead give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. So the man who once believed in protecting women’s rights now believes that women shouldn’t be able to have access to cancer screenings, pap smears, STD tests/treatments, and other forms of basic health care? He would rather help Americans who need it the least?
Let me scratch my head for a second.
But that’s not all Mitt Romney has done to contribute to the war on women. Romney supported the Blunt amendment, which would allow any employer to deny their female employees health coverage due to conflicting morals. And when Romney was asked whether he would have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, a bill that makes it easier for women to sue for unequal pay, he completely dodged the question. So like everyone else, Mitt Romney believes in freedom. But I feel that his version of freedom is different. To Mitt Romney, freedom means being free to struggle to pay for health care. Being free to make less money than those of the opposite sex for working the same job. Being free to have a baby against your will, even if you’re the victim of rape or incest.
Mitt Romney’s response to all of this? “Over 92 percent of the jobs lost under this President were lost by women. His policies have been really a war on women.” Well it’s not very wise of Mitt Romney to toss random numbers around, especially since women have regained over three times the number of private sector jobs in the last 33 months of the current recovery than gained in the same period of the 2001 recovery under President George W. Bush, according to attackwatch.com.
Regardless of what Mitt Romney or other members of the GOP say, there really is a war on women. And Mitt Romney has only fanned the flames. If we want to live in a free country, where women aren’t considered to be an interest group, we need to re-elect Barack Obama.
Video by BarackObamadotcom
