November 15, 2012 - WestchesterGuardian.com

Page 22 THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN THURSDAY, november 15, 2012LIBERTYHow Conservatives Lost Women VotersBy ANITA L. STAVERLate last year when apresidential primarycandidate was askedhow he was going toreach women voters,he responded that he was pollingwell with women. Oh, oh. Heseemed clueless about what mostwomen really want. Once again,women were being taken for grantedand once again we could lose – bigtime. And lose, we did.Reaching women is not a newconcept. The importance of our voteshould be well-known, as womenhave registered and voted at a higherrate than men since the 1980.One would think everycampaign would have a provenstrategy by now. But, while I don’tclaim to speak for all Americanwomen, no doubt many of us rolledour eyes and sighed or cringed atsome of the conservative candidates’messaging. We may not relish theharanguing and rudeness, but we arewilling to ignore it if our candidatecan clearly articulate how their positionsand plans will improve life forNEW YORKALERTCIVICBy HENRY J. STERNThe 2012 nationalelection had beendescribed by bothparties as a clash ofcompeting ideologies;the politicians said it would bean Armageddon whose outcomewould determine America’s coursefor decades.Like so many political predictions,that one turned out tobe wrong. The 50% - 48% splitbetween candidates Obama andRomney did not show a nationalconsensus. Although the resultstaken individually were somewhatbetter for the Democrats,the Republicans kept control ofthe House. There was no mandateto either expand the safety netor to weaken it. Polls showed aus and our families.Candidates cannot just treatwomen like we matter just to get ourvote. Women can spot a phony – wehave experience. They cannot take usfor granted, or treat us like a bunchof airheads who will fall for a goodline. Instead of telling us what weshould think, they should pay attentionto not only what they say, butalso how they live – 24/7/365.Developing consistent, conservativemessages, and that resonatewith women of all ages is important.But it is just as critical for candidatesto start living like they believe thosemessages, and start telling us howtheir message is relevant in our lives.A convincing message must be clearand it must connect with the heart.When a candidate says he’s prolife,like most Americans, what doeshe mean? Professing a pro-life beliefis necessary for a conservative candidate,but it is not sufficient. How doesthat translate into real life? Whatwill he really do about it? Does hehelp single moms? Does he also careabout the children we already have?Will he mow an elderly neighbor’syard or run errands for the sick? WillElection Renews StasisAmerica Has Not Decided In Which Direction To Gomajority of the population favoreda lesser role for the government ineconomic affairs, while at the sametime they voted for Obama, whoheld the opposite view.This election turned out to be avictory for moderation. Candidateswho ran primaries on the far rightmoved towards the center in thegeneral election if for no otherreason than that is where thevotes are. However, there was notenough time to pirouette twiceand a few Republicans were caughtwith their snakeskins still molting.In New York State’s 27 housedistricts (down from 45 in 1950),no Member of Congress wasdefeated primarily on ideologicalgrounds. There was no significantswing in either direction. Turnoversresulted from local sentiment andhe throw out senseless regulations sowe can feed the homeless? These arepro-life principles, too, that solidifiesthe pro-life message and makes itrelevant.Or consider gun control. Showwomen how to have both freedomand safety for their families. Gunpolicy must make sense to women.We can empathize with the 12-yearoldgirl who followed her mother’sinstructions to arm herself with agun and shoot an intruder. We canidentify with needing guns to keepour family safe.Women are smart enough todecide whether to have a gun. Wedon’t want the government telling uswe cannot have one. After all, criminalsdon’t just kill people with guns;they use knives, fires, cars and bombs,too. Does the candidate also have aplan to keep criminals off our streetsand out of our schools? That is a planwomen can support.And when a candidate claimsto support traditional family values,what does that mean? Will he reallywork to stop the child molesters andbring the Jerry Sanduskys of theworld to justice? Will he committhe individual strengths and weaknessesof candidates, not froma switch in public opinion fromone philosophy to another. As isoften the case, the same peoplewho in polls found fault with theirlegislators nonetheless generallyre-elected them.The national parties spentbillions of dollars in political racesand ended up in practically thesame place they began. Howeverthat does not mean that the moneywas wasted because if the partieshad not spent it they might haveincurred substantial losses. The factthat the races were so costly, largelybecause of the high cost of mediatime in New York State, does notprove that the expenditures wereunnecessary.State Senate Democrats werehelped by an infusion of millionsof dollars by the teachers unionin several races, coupled withPresident Obama’s strong showingto work against evil people whodestroy so many families? Will hetarget those who enslave women inprostitution?A family values mantra is notsufficient when the statistics showthat so many men, even professingChristians, are further sickening ourcommunities by viewing Internetporn. A man who demeans women,mistreats his wife, or ignores his kidshas no real family values Womenthis know. Women talk. A politicianis free to play golf or watch footballso long as he also shows that he takeshis marriage vows seriously.We want politicians whoconsider our interests as well ashis own. While we struggle tobalance household, family and workresponsibilities, we have a hardtime trusting that those we vote forwill work as hard for us. We have anagging suspicion that too manygovernment workers are lollygaggingaround while pretending to be publicservants. Our suspicion is reinforcedby the all-too-frequent newsreports of lavish travel, infidelity andprostitutes.Now, about that elephant inthe room. For so many conservativewomen, the presidential race was notabout electing Romney. It was, forat the top of the ticket.The first issue that will ariseafter the election is whether tocall the current New York StateLegislature back into sessionbefore January 1st. They wantsubstantial pay increases for themselves,which would make themthe highest paid state legislatorsin the country. The issue willlikely be what reforms they willbegrudgingly enact in order to getthe Governor to sweeten the pot.The choice of leaders will be fascinating;remember what happenedthe last time Senate Democratshad a majority, in 2009.Another factor for GovernorCuomo, a presumed candidate forPresident in 2016, is that he doesnot want to be seen as opposing aleft-leaning state legislature, so hewill have a compelling reason toparticipate in the choice of leadership,although of course he willexpress disinterest in the matter.many of us, an anti-Obama event.Romney was like the unwantedsuitor at our high school prom. Wedanced because we didn’t want toturn him down and make a scene.Our reluctance was warranted,because as we danced, he talkedabout his economic plan.Like one of those dolls we hadas kids: “Hello, my name is ChattyCathy!” Just pull the string to hearthe same lines over and over. AskRomney about anything and hewould say, “Hello, I know how to runa business.”Many of us would have voted forthe Grinch if he was the Republicannominee. Other women felt themselvescaught between the devil andthe deep blue sea, but they wereunwilling to give up their currentunhealthy relationship for an uncertainvoyage.We believed Romney caredabout the economy, but it was notclear if he cared about anything elsethat we care about. He lost us at“Hello.”Anita Staver is an attorney andPresident of Liberty Counsel, www.LC.org.If he does not weigh in and thelegislature chooses someone whois ideologically at odds with him,it will add to his difficulty ingoverning. If a fractious legislaturemakes the Governor appear to beout of step with his own party, thatwould not be helpful to his ambitionto be the Leader of the FreeWorld.Again there is a potentialconflict between the delegates tothe 2016 Democratic convention,many of whom will be proudsocialists, and the overall electorate,whose viewpoints are much moremoderate. This is analogous to thetea party situation: militant activistsinfluencing the party beyondtheir numbers and making it moredifficult for them to win a broadbasednational election.Henry J. Stern is the founder andpresident of New York Civic.