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Centrist Women Tell of Disenchantment With G.O.P.
New York Times ^ | March 10, 2012 | SUSAN SAULNY

Posted on 03/11/2012 3:39:18 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

...somewhere between the baby name game and the gifts, what had been light conversation took a sharp turn toward the personal and political — specifically, the battle over access to birth control and other women’s health issues that have sprung to life on the Republican campaign trail in recent weeks.

“We all agreed that this seemed like a throwback to 40 years ago,” said Ms. Russell, 57, a retired teacher from Iowa City who describes herself as an evangelical Christian and “old school” Republican of the moderate mold.

Until the baby shower, just two weeks ago, she had favored Mitt Romney for president.

Not anymore. She said she might vote for President Obama now. “I didn’t realize I had a strong viewpoint on this until these conversations,” Ms. Russell said. As for the Republican presidential candidates, she added: “If they’re going to decide on women’s reproductive issues, I’m not going to vote for any of them. Women’s reproduction is our own business.”

.....Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania who is one of Mr. Romney’s rivals for the nomination, created a tempest late last month by speaking out against prenatal testing. Earlier comments about women in combat and the role of “radical feminism” in encouraging work outside the home also left some women ill at ease.

“Everybody is so busy telling us how we should act in the bedroom, they’re letting the country fall through the cracks,” said Fran Kelley, a retired public school worker in Seattle who voted for Senator John McCain over Mr. Obama in the 2008 election. Of the Republican candidates this year, she added, “They’re nothing but hatemongers trying to control everyone, saying, ‘Live as I live.’...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: conservatism; freedom; gopprimary; msm
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

NYTimes - bunch of crap. Republicans are thrilled when dems don’t want to reproduce! Just buy your own birth control, morons. What a stupid discussion this has become.


101 posted on 03/11/2012 10:32:58 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

“...Ms. Russell...”

“Ms.” says it all, right there...

Oh...You’re a “centrist”? Well isn’t that just the CUTEST thing!


102 posted on 03/11/2012 10:36:43 AM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

What SPECIFICALLY is a “centrist” or a “moderate”, or “independent” for that matter.

What are its core values?


103 posted on 03/11/2012 10:37:14 AM PDT by EyeGuy (2012: When the Levee Breaks)
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To: EyeGuy
What SPECIFICALLY is a “centrist” or a “moderate”, or “independent” for that matter. What are its core values?

That they don't ever want to tick anybody off, they just want to be "nice" and gutless.

104 posted on 03/11/2012 10:38:20 AM PDT by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
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To: dfwgator
What SPECIFICALLY is a “centrist” or a “moderate”, or “independent” for that matter. What are its core values?

That they don't ever want to tick anybody off, they just want to be "nice" and gutless.

That's getting really tired.

Nowadays, people who are interested in politics take positions that involve combat with those on the other side all up and down the line.

Once upon a time, there was more agreement, and people fought over only a few issues (when they fought at all). Moderates are still like that.

The moderates may be wrong -- holdovers from a different era -- but if you're in the other, more polarized group, recognize that you're going to have to win over some moderates or centrists to win elections.

105 posted on 03/11/2012 10:51:08 AM PDT by x
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To: x

World’s Shortest Book - Great Moderates in History


106 posted on 03/11/2012 10:52:37 AM PDT by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife; lilycicero; MaryLou1; glock rocks; JPG; VinceASA; Monkey Face; RIghtwardHo; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.


107 posted on 03/11/2012 10:53:27 AM PDT by narses
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

That was a great article! To be able to quote all these sources and statistics off the cuff is amazing. The guy is a genius.


108 posted on 03/11/2012 11:15:28 AM PDT by Sicvee (Sicvee)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Do they ever stop with the “I’m a lifelong republican but now I will never vote for ______” cr@p? These women were always liberals and just want something free.


109 posted on 03/11/2012 11:18:10 AM PDT by chris_bdba
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To: magritte

No, there are states that would enact the individual mandate on their own, all the blue states would do it.


110 posted on 03/11/2012 11:29:46 AM PDT by Eva
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To: Eva

All states are free to do an individual mandate on their own NOW. That is the inevitable result of the growing medical costs on society today.


111 posted on 03/11/2012 11:34:34 AM PDT by magritte (Gladys Knight: Mormon Siren?)
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To: KingNo155
Why would a 57 year old woman need birth control? Most women are past the age of fertility by then.

Agreed. She should be more concerned with care rationing and death panels than phony "reproductive rights" fluff.

But "centrist woman" is a code word for "easily swayed by emotional nonsense". She wouldn't be able to think her way out of a wet paper bag.

112 posted on 03/11/2012 12:03:26 PM PDT by Mygirlsmom (Who you gonna believe on the economy? Obama or your own lying wallet?)
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To: dfwgator
So greatness is a matter of taking fringe positions?

Some people are moderate about some things because they care more about other things.

In the 1940s, Churchill was a moderate on domestic policy because he knew winning the war was all-important. Eisenhower was a moderate on many domestic issues because he thought the Cold War was more important. They benefited from the fact that a lot of the things we argue about now weren't real issues.

But it's like that with most politicians in power. Reagan didn't pursue his domestic agenda aggressively because he also cared about the Cold War and made winning it a priority. And Reagan wasn't as strident about foreign policy as some of his critics wished because he sensed that the Soviet Union would crumble if we stood up to it. I'm not saying Reagan was "a moderate," but even he had his critics on the right during his time in the White House.

You can despise moderates if you like but they do have the vote and enough of them do show up at the polls to swing elections one way or the other.

113 posted on 03/11/2012 12:13:03 PM PDT by x
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

It is about time for these articles to try to cant the election for the Democrats. And the media says they are not biased!


114 posted on 03/11/2012 12:31:26 PM PDT by maxwellsmart_agent
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To: Mygirlsmom
But "centrist woman" is a code word for "easily swayed by emotional nonsense".

Well said! Conservative women absolutely rock! A woman saying this carries so much more power. Your girl is blessed.

115 posted on 03/11/2012 12:36:59 PM PDT by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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Comment #116 Removed by Moderator

To: Cincinatus' Wife

Manufactured BS issue. Obama is anti Christian. No Christian man would attack the church the way he has. I say republicans should play up obama’s anti-Christian tendencies, particularly against the catholic church.


117 posted on 03/11/2012 2:07:33 PM PDT by jersey117 (The Stepford Media should be sued for malpractice)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

I’m a teacher and you are absolutely right. Even in Georgia (a very red state), public school teachers are disproportionately liberal. It’s because 100% of their salaries and benefits come from tax payers. There is absolutely no incentive for them to vote against SPLOSTs or any other tax for that matter. They are bought and payed for. The only people who don’t sympathize with them are people like me who worked for 13 years in the private sector before teaching. I don’t feel nearly the sense of entitlement as my co-workers do.


118 posted on 03/11/2012 2:31:55 PM PDT by Bishop_Malachi (Liberal Socialism - A philosophy which advocates spreading a low standard of living equally.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

lol.

The MSM just won’t give it up. The lies abound.


119 posted on 03/11/2012 2:39:32 PM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/susan-saulny/2a/b94/837


120 posted on 03/11/2012 3:02:51 PM PDT by kcvl
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