Mitt Romney has struggled to win over the hearts and votes of women across the country because he has not spoken in favor of equal pay for equal work, has been associated with the Republican party’s stance on abortion and tends to be associated with the era of women putting their careers on hold. On Monday, the Huffington Post talked with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about Romney.
“I’m not sure I’m going to state this exactly right,” she said. “But I think there are some who believe they are actually protecting women, you know, and that it is better for women to be taken care of. I think women want to take care of themselves, and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important. And frankly, I don’t understand — I mean, I’m obviously a card-carrying Democrat — but I can’t understand why any woman would want to vote for Mitt Romney, except maybe Mrs. Romney.”
Albright has long been a supporter of women in the workplace and said that Todd Akin, a Republican representative from Missouri, made “one of the more outrageous” comments she has ever heard in her life. Akin said that women are able to prevent pregnancy if they are legitimately raped.
“It was appalling and disgusting,” she said. “But if I may say so, the things that he said in one form or another are in the Republican platform. So [while Republicans are] saying he is a nutcase and they have to move away from him, they did not move away from their platform.”
At least one woman stood up for Romney, saying, “I’m guessing the millions of American women unemployed, underemployed or constantly worrying about filling the gas tank or put food on the table can think of a few reasons to make sure Barack Obama isn’t our president for another four years.” Those comments were made by Kirsten Kukowski. Kukowski is a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.
In fact, the campaign for Romney had multiple women speak at the Republican National Convention to help bridge the gender gap. One of the women who spoke was Romney’s wife, Ann.