Obama, Not the GOP, Started the 'War on Women'

About Mercedes Schlapp:

Mercedes Viana Schlapp is cofounder of Cove Strategies and a conservative political commentator for both English and Spanish media. She served as director of specialty media at the White House under President George W. Bush.

"War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain advantage at the expense of his fellow man." — Napoleon Hill

Clearly, President Obama conceived and orchestrated the so-called Republican "War on Women" for one sole purpose: to regain his advantage with women voters, who had grown frustrated with his failure to grow the economy. The Obama economy has led to more women dependent on government programs including food stamps. To divert his failure, President Obama used a predictable campaign tactic: blaming Republicans while pandering and dividing by gender, race, or class to win votes. By pushing higher taxes on the wealthy and government mandates, the president and his party have instigated both class and gender warfare, which has further divided this country. All this is happening at the expense of the Republicans.

[Read Women Agree With the GOP on Birth Control.]

While the Republicans in Congress were focused on getting Americans back to work and reducing the debt, the president's and Planned Parenthood's surprise attack came in the form of a mandate forcing all employers to cover 100 percent of contraception costs. Republicans were quickly forced to shift their message from job creation to defending religious freedom and rightfully criticizing new Obama mandates. President Obama was in trouble with women voters who widely supported him in 2008, so he had to change the topic. He conspired with Planned Parenthood—the largest abortion provider—and liberal women to push contraception coverage and frame it as a part of healthcare while deliberately not honoring his promises to the Catholic Church and other religious institutions.

The Democrats were ready for battle, giving little time for the Republicans to organize. We all watched with confusion when George Stephanopoulos asked a question about the government's right to regulate contraception at one of the Republican debates. Looking back on the timing of this question it is clear that Obama and his progressive allies wanted to make a woman's access to contraception a major campaign theme. Not only had Obama sparked the fire but he also added fuel to it by implying that the Catholic Church and other traditional Christian churches were focused on criminalizing contraception, which is clearly inaccurate.

Obama and the liberal Democrats fail to represent the silent majority: the conservative women who are too busy raising families, paying bills, and making a living. These women prefer to listen to Rush Limbaugh, not Nancy Pelosi, and want their children to have jobs and a bright future in this great country. Women do not want to be dependent on government but want opportunities for all Americans to succeed.

[Read Dems Put GOP in Political Box Over Women's Issues.]

Obama may have gained the temporary advantage by starting the war but at the expense of further dividing our nation and not acting as the leader he promised to be.

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Tags:

Republican Party,

Barack Obama,

Obama administration