In a Bind: Women Protest GOP HQ in Ohio

     This is not what Romney needed right now. While the GOP tried to get t a handle on Romney's "binder full of women" yesterday-perhaps even giving it a positive spin-it's just not working.

      It was an awkward phrase and it's become an instant meme. It doesn't help that this awkward phrase vaguely even suggests traditional chauvinistic things like footbinding. It also doesn't help that it turns out he can't actually claim the credit for the "binder full of women" as he didn't put them there.

     That Romney is worried about the female vote is clear from the latest ad he has trying to reassure women about his abortion stance, trying to argue that he is not rigid on the subject. As Greg Sargent argues, the President should make the case that no matter what Romney says, he will nominate Right wing prolife judges who will overturn it-and also they should evoke the Blunt Amendment and Akin.

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line

      If Romney wants to get women on his side, it seems that his binder of women comment is a setback as women in Ohio dressed as binders to protest the GOP headquarters in Ohio:

      "Tiffany Ricci, an AFSCME organizer, provided TPM's Evan McMorris-Santoro these photos of her "own personal little afternoon project" of women gathered in front the Ohio Republican Party headquarters on Wednesday dressed as binders protesting Mitt Romney's “binders full of women” remark during the presidential debate at Hofstra Tuesday night."

      "It's "pretty clear which candidate has real solutions that inspire progress and which can only inspire a Halloween costume," Ricci said.

      http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/women-dressed-as-binders-protest-at-ohio-gop

      What is striking is how abortion has really broken the Democrats way this year. Usually the Dems are shamefaced about it-the GOP baits them with talk of "partial birth abortion." This year all the GOP has to say is that the question itself is a peripheral issue that the Obama team is trumping up to take the focus from where it should be-on blaming the President for the economy.

        Romney's new ad is concern over the fact that while Republicans have tried to argue that abortion is not what this election is about, women do consider this a very important issue. Indeed Gallup just discovered that 60% of women are concerned about abortion being roiled back.

        http://www.gallup.com/poll/158069/women-swing-states-gender-specific-priorities.aspx

        Nothing about the binders of women fallout seems to help Romney here. What it actually has done is not only raised serious questions-for one about his fallacious attempt to wrongly take credit for hiring more women-but it gives it a clownish aspect that tends to drive the issue deeper in the public psyche.